Playful Weekend

We had one of our theatre going weekends. Several times a year we like to book a room at our favorite bed and breakfast in San Francisco, Inn on Castro. Then we fill the weekend with as many plays as we can. By chance, the weekend was full of plays being done by mid-size theatre companies (generally around 100-200 seats). All five shows saw were fantastic. The list:

Blade to the Heat by Oliver Mayer, Thick House
Deals with latent homosexuality in the boxing world of 1959. Three boxers vie for the middleweight championship. Fantastic staged boxing scenes. This was my favorite play. Highly recommend you see it. (Plays through March 16 then moves to San Jose Stage Company, April 2 - 27, 2008).

Tir na nÓg (Land of Youth) by Edna O'Brien, Magic Theatre
Adaptation of O'Brien's novel The Country Girls. With live music and dance, this coming of age play follows two girls who make their way from rural Ireland to Dublin. This was E’s favorite play. He loves Irish plays. It starts a little slow and choppy but it wins you over by the end. (Plays through March 23, 2008)

Orlando by Virginia Woolf, adapted by Sarah Ruhl, A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program
Story of a young man during the reign of Elizabeth I, who decides not to grow old. He passes through the ages as a young man until he wakes up one morning to find that he has metamorphosed into a woman - the same person but in a woman's body. The remaining centuries are seen through a woman's eyes. We thought the stage version was much better than the 1992 film with Tilda Swinton and Quentin Crisp. It is performed by the ACT MFA students. We have seen them do a handful of plays and they do a great job. (Plays through March 15, 2008 at the Zeum Theatre.)

Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and Word for Word
Baldwin's short story of two brothers in 1950’s Harlem - the elder a schoolteacher and family man; the younger, Sonny, a jazz pianist with a troubled past - navigate a tense and complicated relationship against the jazzy rhythmic background of city life. Word for Word stages short stories, performing every word the author has written. (Closing weekend)

The Scene by Theresa Rebeck, San Francisco Playhouse
An attractive young woman who both despises and prides herself that every man wants her for sex. And, to boost her self-esteem, she proceeds to use sex to conquer one male after another. A dark comedy on sex, relationships, scandal and the TV industry in NY. Similar to a NYC version of “Speed the Plow”. (Closing weekend)

We still had time to visit the photography exhibits at SF Museum of Modern Art and to attend a fun drag show at Harvey’s called "The Monster Show: a killer drag show" with Cookie Dough. We also met and had a wonderful conversation with the owner of the Tao Barber Salon.

TIP: Half-price tickets for many select performances, sporting events and family activities are often available on Goldstar Events. Areas include San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Boston, and Chicago.