Arts & Culture

Book 'em: page-turning gifts

Book 'em: page-turning gifts

  • BOOKS
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Nov 21, 2023

Books really and truly are the gifts that keep on giving. From the reissue of classics to highly anticipated memoir, and even a nostalgic nightclub ephemera picture book, we've got a few fun selections for your gifting that are sweet.

Going Out, Nov. 16-24, 2023

Going Out, Nov. 16-24, 2023

  • THEATER
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 15, 2023

Get ready to stuff yourself, we mean with arts and nightlife events, in this week's Going Out.

'Fellow Travelers' — Intoxicating and passionate tragic historical love story

'Fellow Travelers' — Intoxicating and passionate tragic historical love story

Scorching, jaw-dropping, steam-up-your-windows explicit, raw with unwavering honesty — and not just the sex, but the emotions and pathos — are all on display in one of the best new streaming series of the year, Showtime's "Fellow Travelers."

'Travelers' and tension — The Lavender Tube on 'Fellow Travelers' and 'A Murder at the End of the World'

'Travelers' and tension — The Lavender Tube on 'Fellow Travelers' and 'A Murder at the End of the World'

As the Showtime series 'Fellow Travelers' presents a gay and lesbian historical perspective, our TV columnist offers reminders on the false idea of 'moderate' Republicans, plus accolades for the mystery series 'A Murder at the End of the World.'

The Pope of Trash enshrined — John Waters exhibit at LA's Academy of Motion Picture Arts Museum

The Pope of Trash enshrined — John Waters exhibit at LA's Academy of Motion Picture Arts Museum

  • ART
  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 14, 2023

Renzo Piano's elegantly flowing Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, a new Los Angeles must-see, now features a fourth-floor gallery that hosts a sprawling multimedia tribute to the movie-making career of "John Waters: The Pope of Trash."

Gilbert O'Sullivan — singer/songwriter at Swedish American Hall

Gilbert O'Sullivan — singer/songwriter at Swedish American Hall

  • MUSIC
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Nov 14, 2023

More than 50 years after Gilbert O'Sullivan's Grammy-nominated breakout single "Alone Again (Naturally)" made him a household name, the singer/songwriter continues to record and perform concerts, including at SF's Swedish American Hall Nov. 24.

'The Holdovers' — frosty days at a 1970s prep school

'The Holdovers' — frosty days at a 1970s prep school

  • MOVIES
  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Nov 14, 2023

Christmas has arrived early this year in the form of Alexander Payne's career-resuscitating and first period film, "The Holdovers," which reunites him with "Sideways" star Paul Giamatti, both at the peak of their respective powers.

'Chasing Bright Medusas' — Benjamin Taylor's new biography of Willa Cather

'Chasing Bright Medusas' — Benjamin Taylor's new biography of Willa Cather

  • BOOKS
  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Nov 14, 2023

Benjamin Taylor's "Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather," like his other biography on Marcel Proust, integrates the subject's homosexuality, communicating its centrality in the authors' lives.

Vichet Chum's 'Kween' — playwright's debut novel delights and educates

Vichet Chum's 'Kween' — playwright's debut novel delights and educates

  • BOOKS
  • by Laura Moreno
  • Nov 14, 2023

"Kween" is the welcome new novel by debut author, playwright and actor Vichet Chum, the Texas-born, Lowell, Massachusetts-bred son of Cambodian immigrants.

Marlena's Birthday at Patricia's Green

Marlena's Birthday at Patricia's Green

  • CULTURE
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 12, 2023

Friends of Absolute Empress Marlena (aka Gary Mclain) celebrated the 84th birthday of the local icon at Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley on November 12.

Going Out, Nov. 9-17, 2023

Going Out, Nov. 9-17, 2023

  • ART
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 9, 2023

We've got plays, musical, art exhibits and nightlife fun that are outta this world, well, actually possibly in your neighborhood, in this week's Going Out.

Queen + Adam Lambert at the Chase Center— rhapsodising over the 'Rhapsody' tour

Queen + Adam Lambert at the Chase Center— rhapsodising over the 'Rhapsody' tour

  • MUSIC
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 9, 2023

Themes of science fiction, steampunk and outer space projected onto multiple screens did not upstage the musical artistry of Queen + Adam Lambert at their Chase Center concert November 8.

'Out in the Ring' — documentary's takedown on the history and future of LGBTQ pro wrestlers

'Out in the Ring' — documentary's takedown on the history and future of LGBTQ pro wrestlers

  • MOVIES
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 7, 2023

Ry Levey's fascinating "Out in the Ring," a 2022 documentary about LGBTQ people in professional wrestling, offers an expansive history with action-packed clips and multiple interviews that deconstruct the 'homoerotiphobic' dual nature of pro wrestling.

'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' — Shotgun Players pulls the wig down from the shelf

'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' — Shotgun Players pulls the wig down from the shelf

  • THEATER
  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 7, 2023

As conceived by writer John Cameron Mitchell and composer/lyricist Stephen Trask back in 1997, "Hedwig"— now being presented by Berkeley's Shotgun Players — is intended to feel like a late night in a dive bar, not an evening at the theater.