From this week through to Christmas Eve, Bay Area theaters are presenting a fall season of remarkable variety. While there's a bit less conspicuously queer-themed work being presented, there are plenty of deeply humane stories to be shown on stages.

There is some urgency to attending classical music concerts this fall. Who knows what will happen after November? Many upcoming Bay Area offerings present choices that might even help maintain our sanity through a communal love of music.

San Francisco band Sly and the Family Stone sang about "Hot Fun in the Summertime" in the 1960s, but those of us who have been here for a while we know that the real hot music comes to the Bay Area in the fall.

Matteo Lane, who combines Midwestern and European influences in his material, has a distinctive delivery style that often has audience members struggling to catch their breath between jokes and laughs.

Get out of town for some refreshing overnight road trips that deliver major changes of scenery with minor fuss and planning. Jim Gladstone, his hubby and their dog, visited Mariposa Valley, Yosemite National Park, and the Anderson Valley inns and shops.

While Linda Ronstadt has retired from music and concerts, a reissue of her classic Grammy-winning album, "Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind" is notable, as well as a mirthful new album from contemporary Linda Thompson.

Actress Megan Davis, who's also a screenwriter, shares another of her talents with her debut poetry book, "What Breaks Us."

The author of the acclaimed coming of age novel set in 1970s Greenwich Village discusses his work process and inspiration behind the story.

Find a new band to adore, drag queens and bartenders to tip, or a theater production worth a Standing O. We've got it all with our expansive listings of nightlife and art events in Going Out.

Messily we roll along. That's the feeling audience members will share as they endure the unfocused, overlong "Shipping & Handling," a major misfire by Crowded Fire Theater which runs through September 7 on the Magic Theatre stage at Fort Mason.

Spanning a nearly 80-year period, from the 1940s to the present day, Lambda Literary Award finalist Patrick Nathan takes readers from Hollywood to New York to Las Vegas to Paris, all the while seamlessly incorporating significant historical events.

You could boldly go where no one has gone before. But we recommend you go where everyone goes, like the Bestie-winning nightclub Oasis to see hilarious shows like "Star Trek Live." Select even more alluring galaxies to explore in Going Out.

New reissues of works albums by John Lennon, Joni Mitchell even Michael Hutchence of INXS have been released in some in lavish packages with Blu-rays and booklets.

A 1939 comedy about murderous spinster aunties doesn't immediately induce goosebumps. But Matt M. Morrow, Center Rep's new artistic director, says he's cracked open the old chestnut and found new inspiration.