During the curtain speech at her 2004 engagement at the Curran Theatre, Dame Edna Everage announced that that sweet little possum Carole Shorenstein Hays had just signed the deal the buy the theater. For theatergoers, it didn't make much difference, because the Curran would continue along with the Orpheum and the Golden Gate as one of the venues where SHN presents its series of touring theatrical productions. But all that changed two years ago, when SHN and Shorenstein Hays parted company for still-unexplained reasons. SHN kept her initials, while Shorenstein Hays kept the Curran.
All SHN touring shows now head only to the Orpheum and the Golden Gate, while the Curran went dark. Would Shorenstein Hays conclude that commerce overcame any hard feelings and make the Curran available again to SHN shows? Or would she mount a Broadway-type subscription series in direct competition with SHN? Direct answers are hard to come by from the amiably vague Shorenstein Hays, but the answer seems to point in other directions entirely.
The front of the theater is now splashed with Keith Haring-style graffiti glyphs, with an array of bright red shards pointing toward the stage-door alley on the left side of the building. That alley, where All About Eve famously filmed location scenes, is now the temporary entrance to the theater and probably will be until renovations are completed in 2017 �" renovations intended to be "holistic and celebratory." Once you enter through the stage door, you are almost immediately on the stage peering into the dark theater, with its enormous chandelier eerily reflecting ambient light.
Audiences are seated on risers facing the empty auditorium, during the bend-the-rules productions that make up the Curran: Under Construction series (more details below on the upcoming productions). The series began last week with a starkly intense play from the UK, David Greig's The Events, in which two actors were directly in front of the audience performing on the stage floor with a few props and no scenery. There was, however, a 20-member church choir on risers opposite the audience, singing both hymns and representing the focus of the play's horror explored in flashbacks, inspired by a right-wing extremist's 2011 attack on a summer camp in Norway.
The Events and the six upcoming Under Construction presentations, as well as Shorenstein Hays' reputation at SHN as the artistic risk-taker, point to the most out-of-the-box programming philosophy since the theater opened in 1922. Often seen as retiring and press-shy, Shorenstein Hays was positioned at the front of the stage-door alley through which all first-nighters had to pass. She was a smiling, accessible greeter, giddily posing for photographs with artist Aaron De La Cruz in front of his murals.
Shorenstein Hays was giving De La Cruz a nice showcase, and he provided her with a friendly foil who could deflect direct questions. "Ask him," she said jocularly several times when I tried to get specific about her post-renovation ideas for the theater. When answers did come, they were genially nebulous. The most concrete answer I got was when I asked how the notoriously cramped lobby is going to be reconfigured. "We should have blueprints soon," she said.
A press release promises "newly remodeled lobbies [that] feature three bars, digital displays, work by local artists and festive and elegant lighting." Another issue being addressed: the restrooms, which have previously included a memorably steep, narrow staircase down to the gents. "Generous stairs and an elevator will take patrons to the totally reinvented lower level featuring generous new restroom facilities for men and women," reads the press release. For the auditorium itself, new carpets, lighting, and refurbished seats are planned, along with new electrical and mechanical systems to enhance theatrical flexibility.
Ultimately, all of this is in service to what appears on the stage. As renovations begin, Hays Shorenstein "will be scouring the world's stages, including London and Asia," in curating the post-construction productions for the Curran, with a goal of "programming daring and excellent works that otherwise might not find their way to a major West Coast theater" (i.e., probably not tours of Phantom of the Opera, Jersey Boys, and Riverdance.) But maybe Fun Home, the tragicomic Tony Award-winning musical on which Shorenstein Hays is a lead producer? "That would be nice," she replied when asked about the chances of the tour playing the Curran.
In the meantime, we can speculate on the theater's future in which Shorenstein's goal is "to create a beacon here for theatrical artists and audiences the world over." But speculation is not needed about the Under Construction series, which has six diverse productions set between now and the end of January. Here's a look at what to expect.
The Object Lesson (Oct. 14-18) is an environmental performance piece by Geoff Sobelle in which the audience is encouraged to roam through floor-to-ceiling stacks of boxes before the show begins. The boxes are filled with the memories and detritus of one hoarder's life, with each box bringing forth meditation on a life sequestered in cardboard.
Ghost Quartet (Oct. 23-31) is Dave Malloy's song cycle performed by four actor-musicians that weaves together numerous examples of ghost stories in a search for a common denominator and an answer to why we still seek out these stories.
Steve Cuiffo Is Lenny Bruce (Nov. 19-21) recreates a night with the groundbreaking comedian/social commentator. Bruce performed at the Curran on Nov. 19, 1961, and Cuiffo has crafted a one-hour set based on his Curran-period material and other samplings from a repertoire that includes still hot-button topics.
Stew �" Notes of a Native Song (Dec. 3-5) returns the singer-songwriter to the Bay Area, where his Passing Strange had its pre-Broadway run. The new show is an homage to James Baldwin with a collage of songs, text, and video inspired by Baldwin's drive to air uncomfortable truths.
Story Pirates' Greatest Hits Show (Dec. 11-13) bases its sketch musical comedy on stories written by elementary school students. Some sketches will be improvised from ideas suggested by kids in the audience, and each show will include the premiere of a story written by a local elementary school student as part of the Curran's outreach to local schools.
Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Jan. 21-31) is part of the playwright-actor-songwriter's long-term project that will culminate in a 24-hour event that offers a subjective look at the American story through song. Mac is best known to local audiences as the author of Hir and The Lily's Revenge presented at the Magic Theatre.
More information on doings at the Curran is available at sfcurran.com.