Out There is proud to present the deserving winners from eight Arts & Culture entries of the Bay Area Reporter 's 2015 Besties, the LGBT Best of the Bay awards. Hit it, maestro!
Best Live Music Venue
The Fillmore
Besties voters have always had a special place in their hearts for The Fillmore, which tied for winner in this category last year as well. Perhaps this is based on two factors: the classic ballroom's storied history as a quintessential San Francisco rock venue, dating from its days as the flagship of impresario Bill Graham's musical enterprise; and its continued relevance today, still an important stop on bands' national tours.
(Runners-up: The Chapel, Great American Music Hall, Masonic Hall, Regency Center, The Warfield.)
Best Small Music Venue
Martuni's
Martuni's is San Francisco's indispensible neighborhood piano bar, a cozy place where you'll still find theatre queens of all ages, genders and sexualities circled around the instrument in the back, calling out their favorite show tunes, but settling for anything Sondheim or Rodgers & Hammerstein. It's a popular stop for touring show companies on their night off, martini and mixed drink lovers, and all types of music aficionados.
(Runners-up: Rickshaw Stop, Thee Parkside, SF Eagle, El Rio , The New Parish.)
Best Museum
de Young Museum
The de Young Museum, one-half of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (its other component is the Palace of the Legion of Honor), is an important mainstay of the San Francisco art museum scene. Its recent exhibitions, devoted to the political art of Keith Haring, and "Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, "have been highlights of the fine-arts museum season. The Legion is currently showing "High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection."
(Runners-up: Asian Art Museum, Contemporary Jewish Museum, GLBT History Museum, Legion of Honor, Museum of the African Diaspora, Walt Disney Family Museum.) (Not on the ballot, but don't overlook: the San Jose Museum of Art , now showing "Jose Clemente Orozco: Figure Studies," through Aug. 3; Oakland Museum of California.)
de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 750-3600. famsf.org.
Best Theatre Company
ACT
The venerable American Conservatory Theater, an actors' company, producing theater and school of the dramatic arts, under dynamic artistic director Carey Perloff has become the Bay Area's leading purveyor of must-see productions. With the addition of its new stage at the Strand Theater this spring, it's poised to become even more of a powerhouse. Still to come this season: "Let There Be Love" (April 8-May 3), "A Little Night Music" (May 20-June 14), and "Love and Information" (beginning June 3).
(Runners-up: Berkeley Repertory Theatre , New Conservatory Theatre Center, Ray of Light Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros .)
ACT, box office: 405 Geary St., San Francisco. (415) 749-2228, act-sf.org.
Best Modern Dance Company
ODC Dance
Winner in this category for the second year running, ODC Dance, formerly Oberlin Dance Collective, founded in 1971 by artistic director Brenda Way , relocated to San Francisco in 1976 and is now a Bay Area dance institution with three resident choreographers (Way, co-artistic director KT Nelson and Kimi Okada). ODC will present Cruising Altitude, in which seven choreographers premiere new work for ODC's 65th Pilot Program, on Sat., April 11 (8 p.m.) & Sun., April 12 (4 & 7 p.m.) at ODC Commons, Studio B, 351 Shotwell St., SF. Included in the program is the premiere of Beckon, a new work by detour dance, which delves into the cruising culture of gay men and complex power dynamics of catcalling. Tickets ($15): (415) 863-9834 or odcdance.org.
(Runners-up: AXIS Dance Co., Jess Curtis/Gravity, Joe Goode Performance Group, Keith Hennessy/Circo Zero, Katie Faulkner/little seismic, Sean Dorsey Dance.)
ODC, 3153 17th St., San Francisco, (415) 863-6606. odctheater.org.
Best Ballet Dance Company
San Francisco Ballet
We're in the midst of another great season at San Francisco Ballet, with highlights having included the return of Giselle, Jerome Robbins' iconic "Dances at a Gathering," and last season's hit "Hummingbird" (score by Philip Glass, choreography by Liam Scarlett). Still to come in the season's last three programs: Alexei Ratmansky's brilliant "Shostakovich Trilogy," a triumph from last season; choreographer-in-residence Yuri Possokhov's world premiere "Swimmer"; Balanchine's "The Four Temperaments"; and artistic director Helgi Tomasson's setting of "Romeo & Juliet," closing out his 30th season with the company.
(Runners-up: Alonzo King Lines Ballet , Ballet San Jose , Post/Ballet, Smuin Ballet.) (Not on the ballot, but don't overlook: Oakland Ballet Company , Diablo Ballet.)
San Francisco Ballet, at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, box office: (415) 865-2000. sfballet.org.
Best Nature/Science Museum
California Academy of Sciences
There's always a lot to explore at the CAS. In Color of Life, a major new exhibit opening June 12, live animals, scientific specimens, and immersive interactives will allow visitors to touch, see, and experience the often surprising ways that nature's colors help us understand the health of ecosystems and the interconnectedness of life on Earth.
Per the CAS: "Live Gouldian finches within an open aviary will showcase how color patterns can vary within a single species and how this dazzling distinction gives female birds a 'heads up' when choosing a mate. A display of Riggenbach's reed frogs, whose color patterns vary dramatically between males and females of the same species, demonstrates how bright colors often spark investigations into scientific mysteries."
(Runners-up: Exploratorium, SF Botanical Gardens, SF Conservatory of Flowers.)
CAS, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 379-8000. calacademy.org.
Best Classical Venue
Davies Symphony Hall
Home to the San Francisco Symphony 's subscription concerts and Great Performers series, Davies Hall survived controversy about its acoustics when it opened in 1980 to become a much-loved institution (with much-improved sound qualities). This year a rehearsal space in the rear of the hall has been revamped into SoundBox , a nightclub-like venue for musical exploration led by SFS musicians and guest artists. It's been an instant success, selling out for all five dates this season.
(Runners-up: Old First Church, SF Conservatory of Music, War Memorial Opera House.)
Davies Symphony Hall, Grove St. between Van Ness and Franklin, San Francisco, SFS box office: (415) 864-6000. sfsymphony.org.
Best Cultural Neighborhood
Civic Center
This category was not offered on the Besties ballot, but was entirely invented by Out There because it's so true. Not only does the Civic Center hood host Besties winner Davies Symphony Hall, it boasts the War Memorial Opera House, the SFJAZZ Center, the Nourse Auditorium, the SF Conservatory of Music, and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and it's adjacent to the fashionable Hayes Valley hood, home to chic restaurants and boutiques. The civic buildings that surround Civic Center constitute the greatest ensemble of Beaux Arts architecture West of the Mississippi. The Opera House is OT's absolute favorite building in SF, from the elegant chandelier hanging in its concert hall to its stunning public spaces, including the outdoor Loggia overlooking Van Ness Ave., the "Champs Elysees" of SF. To gild the lily a little, OT lives on Grove Street, between Jardiniere and the Boxing Room, so the trips to our seats at San Francisco Symphony concerts, San Francisco Opera and SFB performances, are just steps and a heartbeat away. That's where you'll find us many nights, enjoying the best of what the Bay Area has to offer Arts & Culture fans.