Arts & Culture :: Theater

Help Is On The Way... back! REAF's star-studded biannual benefit returns

Help Is On The Way... back! REAF's star-studded biannual benefit returns

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Aug 2, 2022

The 26th Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation (REAF) "Help Is On The Way" concert, the first to be held in person since 2019, promises a stellar array of Broadway, film, cabaret and TV stars.

Unreal Estate: 'Dream Hou$e' at Shotgun Players

Unreal Estate: 'Dream Hou$e' at Shotgun Players

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Aug 2, 2022

"Dream Hou$e," being presented by Shotgun Players through August 14 has been written with no more coherence than a recollected dream. There are some incredibly vivid fragments and themes in play here. They just don't hang together.

Kevin Rolston's 'Deal With The Dragon'

Kevin Rolston's 'Deal With The Dragon'

  • by Christopher J. Beale
  • Jul 26, 2022

"Shame is a really tricky beast," said gay playwright and actor Kevin Rolston. "It hides things from you and whispers in your ear that you're not good enough." Rolston's new solo play, "Deal With The Dragon," explores many emotions.

Still here: SF Playhouse mounts the local premiere of 'Follies'

Still here: SF Playhouse mounts the local premiere of 'Follies'

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jul 26, 2022

Seeing "Follies" is like spotting the Bigfoot of Broadway history: It's the stuff of legend, even when it lumbers a bit. The current San Francisco Playhouse production more than does justice to this rarely revived classic of the Sondheim canon.

Bay Area Playwrights Festival 45: exposing new plays, on stage and online

Bay Area Playwrights Festival 45: exposing new plays, on stage and online

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jul 26, 2022

With in-person readings at Potrero Stage, and online viewing, the 45th Bay Area Playwrights Festival will reach new audiences with five staged readings of works in-progress.

Berkeley Rep's 'Sanctuary City' sends up flares

Berkeley Rep's 'Sanctuary City' sends up flares

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jul 19, 2022

Contemporary social and political issues are tightly woven into "Sanctuary City," playwright Martyna Majok's gut-wrenching, personal-is-political drama, set between 2001 and 2005, and now playing at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

'References to Salvador Dali' ... maybe not

'References to Salvador Dali' ... maybe not

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jul 12, 2022

Magical realist frosting is slathered thick on the humble crumbs at the heart of "References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot," now playing in a Custom Made Theatre production.

Going Out, July 8-15, 2022

Going Out, July 8-15, 2022

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Jul 7, 2022

What's up? Art, theater, nightlife, music and more.

'La Belle et la Bête' — Opera Parallèle merges Philip Glass score with Cocteau's classic film

'La Belle et la Bête' — Opera Parallèle merges Philip Glass score with Cocteau's classic film

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jul 5, 2022

The curtain rises on one of San Francisco's most exciting arts events of the year next week as Opera Parallèle presents the world premiere of its innovative take on "La Belle et La Bête" (Beauty and the Beast), combining live music and film.

Sketch 12: showcase of new choreographers

Sketch 12: showcase of new choreographers

  • by Philip Mayard
  • Jul 5, 2022

Choreographic luminary Amy Seiwert brings the twelfth iteration of her annual 'Sketch' collaborative series to Fort Mason's Cowell Theater July 15 & 16, with world premieres by Natasha Adorlee and New Mexico-based choreographer Joshua L. Peugh.

For SF LGBTQ theater, it's a Kinsey Sicks Christmas

For SF LGBTQ theater, it's a Kinsey Sicks Christmas

  • by Matthew S. Bajko
  • Jun 29, 2022

Nearly two decades after the Kinsey Sicks debuted their Christmas show "Oy Vey in a Manger" at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, the dragapella group is bringing it back to the LGBTQ nonprofit arts organization for a yuletide residency this year.

SF's LGBTQ theater brings diverse voices to the stage

SF's LGBTQ theater brings diverse voices to the stage

  • by Matthew S. Bajko
  • Jun 22, 2022

In October, San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center will mount the world premiere of Nick Malakhow's new play "A Picture of Two Boys."

Hell, yes! surprising salvation in 'Hadestown' at the Orpheum

Hell, yes! surprising salvation in 'Hadestown' at the Orpheum

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jun 21, 2022

At a time when every day's headlines feature collapse, corruption, war and plague, "Hadestown" works like an angel in devil drag. Its sultry come-on promises to lick you with flame, then anoints you with balm of Gilead.

'The Prom' composer Matthew Sklar

'The Prom' composer Matthew Sklar

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jun 21, 2022

Matthew Sklar, composer of the "The Prom," the snazzy, uplifting queer musical that opens June 22 at the Golden Gate Theatre, discusses the eight-year development of the show, whose themes joyfully take on homophobia in a small town.