Arts & Culture :: Theater

Magnificently familiar: Berkeley Rep's 'Cult of Love' sings and prickles

Magnificently familiar: Berkeley Rep's 'Cult of Love' sings and prickles

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Feb 6, 2024

There's lots of beautiful music in "Cult of Love," the coruscatingly funny drama now on stage at the Berkeley Rep, as the Dahl clan —elderly parents, four adult children and their partners— has gathered for Christmas and a good deal of familial conflict.

Minna Lee's big launch — 'My Home on the Moon' at SF Playhouse

Minna Lee's big launch — 'My Home on the Moon' at SF Playhouse

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 30, 2024

"I can't imagine I'll ever eat an algorithmic cookie and love it," declared queer playwright Minna Lee, whose "My Home on the Moon" is currently having its world premiere production at the San Francisco Playhouse. "Eat a what?!," you may wonder.

Jeremy Jordan's Broadway-bound once again. But next, he plays Feinstein's at the Nikko

Jeremy Jordan's Broadway-bound once again. But next, he plays Feinstein's at the Nikko

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 30, 2024

When Jeremy Jordan performs at Feinstein's at the Nikko on February 18-20, more than four years will have passed since he last played San Francisco. After his concerts, he's back on Broadway starring in the musical, "The Great Gatsby."

Trock & roll: Primo ballerino Robert Carter on his unique career

Trock & roll: Primo ballerino Robert Carter on his unique career

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Jan 23, 2024

Robert Carter may play a dying swan with Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo, but he's more of a unicorn in real life. As the longest performing member in the company, he's also one of very few men, and a Black gay man, who performs ballet on pointe.

'mouf//full' — OYSTERKNIFE's spiritual exploration at Grace Cathedral

'mouf//full' — OYSTERKNIFE's spiritual exploration at Grace Cathedral

  • by Cornelius Washington
  • Jan 23, 2024

The Bay Area's hottest live performance from the Black queer community for African-American History Month is Oysterknife's "mouf//full," February 2-4 at the venerable Grace Cathedral. The series blends song, dance and visual design in a three-day event.

A two-man one-man show: salute to George Michael at the Curran

A two-man one-man show: salute to George Michael at the Curran

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 23, 2024

With "The Life and Music of George Michael," at the Curran Theatre on February 3, the Wham-bam leather man hunk of your teenage dreams has joined the wizened, grizzled likes of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash on the "concert experience" circuit.

'The Wiz' — Deborah Cox brings Glinda goodness to the hit musical's revival

'The Wiz' — Deborah Cox brings Glinda goodness to the hit musical's revival

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 16, 2024

"As a little kid, I didn't even know about the Broadway show," said actor and singer Deborah Cox, who plays Glinda in a revival of "The Wiz," the Tony-winning 1975 musical that's playing a local stop of a national tour at the Golden Gate Theatre.

'Two Dykes and a Mic' — podcasters McKenzie Goodwin & Rachel Scanlon serve up laughs and life lessons

'Two Dykes and a Mic' — podcasters McKenzie Goodwin & Rachel Scanlon serve up laughs and life lessons

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Jan 16, 2024

"Two Dykes and a Mic" is the hit podcast created by stand-up comedians and platonic best friends McKenzie Goodwin and Rachel Scanlon, who share their magnetic chemistry, quick wit and unique perspectives.

'Babes in Ho-lland'  Shotgun Players stages Deneen Reynolds-Knott's love story

'Babes in Ho-lland' Shotgun Players stages Deneen Reynolds-Knott's love story

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 9, 2024

Until recently, it hadn't occurred to me that it could be fraught to describe something as "gentle." But playwright Deneen Reynolds-Knott's lovely coming-of-age romance "Babes in Ho-lland," is just that; gentle.

Going Out, Jan. 4-12, 2024

Going Out, Jan. 4-12, 2024

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Jan 3, 2024

Whether you celebrated the new year wildly or mildly, 2024 brings bevy of new and ongoing arts and nightlife selections, scrollable this week and every week.

Joey Vice: dancer-acrobat's the new sly Trickster in Cirque du Soleil's 'Kooza'

Joey Vice: dancer-acrobat's the new sly Trickster in Cirque du Soleil's 'Kooza'

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 2, 2024

Cirque du Soleil's "Kooza," opening Jan. 17, features two characters: The Innocent, a naïve young man, and The Trickster, a magical mentor who escorts him on a journey of discovery. Dancer-acrobat Joey Vice shares his experience as the new Trickster.

'Ruthless!' NCTC musical comedy's dressed to kill

'Ruthless!' NCTC musical comedy's dressed to kill

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 12, 2023

When the curtain rises on NCTC's camptastic, "Ruthless," even the most jaded audience members will find their outlook involuntarily brightened by the production's screaming unmellow zonker of color-coordinated design.

Matt Rogers brings Christmas to the Castro

Matt Rogers brings Christmas to the Castro

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 5, 2023

Comedian Matt Rogers, who headlines the Castro Theatre on December 20, is known for his comic skills. Now he's gone full pop star mode, recording a slickly produced yet dryly witty album, "Have You Heard of Christmas?"

'Guys and Dolls' at SF Playhouse

'Guys and Dolls' at SF Playhouse

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 5, 2023

San Francisco Playhouse's amiably diverting production of "Guys and Dolls" may well succeed at bringing a warm, fuzzy feeling to fans of the Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows chestnut. A reinvention includes some deft gender-switching casting.