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Theater
Bridging Cultures and Genres
Despite the surfeit of festivals in San Francisco, rarely do we see events that culminate in cross-disciplinary celebrations of disparate art forms like music, dance, film, and theatre. The 2005 San Francisco International Arts Festival, which runs May 18-June 5, invites artists from around the world to cross-pollinate their genres in collaborative projects that push audiences' understanding of culture, humanity, and artistic excellence. With a dizzying array of exhibits, performances, workshops, panels, and lectures, the International Arts Festival covers impressive ground, distilling provocative themes in a panoply of art forms. More
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Theater
The Creating of a Modern Day Prophet
What first stirred my curiosity about the musical, was my love for <i>The Beatles'</i> music. That why probably 75% of the people were there. Our mutual love for the songs. More
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Theater
Knowledge Through Movement
It figures that the most intriguing destination in the Caribbean is the only one that you can’t easily plan a visit to. Cuba, the land of the rumba, aromatic cigars, and Afro-mythic folklore, has long held the fascination of foreigners eager for a taste of Caribbean splendor, particularly since we’ve been indoctrinated with the idea of its being forbidden fruit. But despite the archetypal visions of vintage cars and Communist propaganda, few people truly realize the impact Cuba has made on the international community, particularly with respect to its vibrant tradition of dance throughout the centuries. More
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Theater
TAGs, Twinkies, and Cultural Baggage
The characters in "F.O.P., Fresh Off the Plane", a new play by local playwright, director and producer Sean Lim, now being presented at the Magic Theater in Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, make us ask ourselves where we're from (really), as they struggle to come up with their own answers to this question. "F.O.P." is a provocative, tight, funny, and well-paced play in two acts that exposes the internal conflicts inherent in being Asian American today. More
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Theater
A Hurried, Flimsy Affair
"Evita", first staged in 1980 and currently at the Curran Theater, did not age well. The orchestral swells sound like synthesizers; the breathless songs about glamour and stardom must have resonated a lot more when Madonna was actually living as a material girl, not eight years after she played "Evita" in the movie version. The flimsy staging, with a screen showing black and white stills hanging over the performers, as if reminding the audience that the actors bear an extremely superficial resemblance to the historical figures, doesn't add any weight to the affair. More
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Theater
For A New Asian American Outlook, Head Under The Rainbow
"Under the Rainbow" written and directed by the renowned Philip Kan Gotanda hits us from multiple angles. Presented by the Asian American Theater Company, the two one-act plays take typical racial identity issues and reframe them in interesting and novel ways. More
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Theater
Ragged Wing Ensemble Soars
The aptly named Eighth Street Studios in Berkeley is a performance venue that has none of the frills of a theater; the warehouses of West Berkeley are no theater district. The entrance to the space, a cargo loading dock, opens into a lobby with the yawning emptiness of a high school gymnasium. As I paid the set designer at the folding table for my ticket to see Jean Claude Van Itallie's 'The Serpent', I felt more like I was attending a 9th-grade dance than a professional performance. More
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Theater
Not Necessarily with the Quintessential Happy Ending, But Done with Heart
As anyone who has seen or read "Angels in America" can tell you, Tony Kushner doesn't shy away from ugly juxtapositions, elaborate set pieces, loose ends, intersecting story lines, parallel story lines, biting humor, and moments of shattering revelation, voiced by people who speak the overwrought dialogue so effective on stage. Kushner composes complicated plays and has no problem giving the audience unhappy endings. More
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Theater
A fun stroll to the yellow brick road
It's been one hundred three years since L. Frank Baum penned his storied fable The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and more than sixty years since Victor Fleming immortalized the tale in film. What allows The Wizard of Oz to endure as a classic are the universal themes that people of all ages can relate to. Children appreciate the story at face value, a scared child simply wanting to return to the safe haven of her home, while adults can see the symbolic meanings behind each of the characters. Fast forward to 2003, and we now look at the times leading up to Dorothy... More
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Theater
Elaine Stritch at Liberty at The Curran Theatre
"Elaine Stritch at Liberty" is a Broadway baby's science experiment: full of grand lights, big songs, strong comedic timing and dependent variables. It's basically a two-and-a-half hour long inside joke, and why not? After 77 years, Elaine Stritch has earned the right to be self- referential for $78 a ticket. She has performed in "A Delicate Balance," "Company," and "Pal Joey." She's got the inside scoop on Brando, Burton and Garland, and a nostalgic voice of gravel. She also happens to have the best legs in the biz. For those who lack a taste for retrospect, but still crave meta- autobiography, go rent "8-Mile."... More
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