Out and about April recap

It has been another busy month for GuyDads. There has not been much time for blogging.
- We will have seen six plays by the end of the month. It has been a mixed bag as for the quality of the shows.
* “Act A Lady” at New Conservatory Theatre Center had the potential to be a campy fun. The men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to put on a play dressed in "fancy-type, women-type clothes," the whole community is affected. Unfortunately, the production was dull and uninspired.
* The biggest theatrical frustration is the continued lack of sustained artistic vision by the Bay Area’s largest theatre company, A.C.T.. Their production of “War Music” was a modern interpretation of Homer's Iliad. It was mind-numbingly dull and unctuously self-important. Two of their three shows so far this year have been an artistic bomb.
* There were, however, two surprising, excellent plays. “The Story” by Tracey Scott Wilson at San Francisco Playhouse tells the story of an ambitious reporter going against her editor to investigate a murder and ends up reporting an unbelievable human interest story. The play explores the elusive nature of truth between reality and fiction; and where morality and ambition become dangerously blurred.
* The second play is “Distracted” by Lisa Loomer at TheatreWorks. It is a funny, well balanced, thoughtful look at a family dealing with ADD. It also had an amazing video set.
* Play number five was “SF Follies”. This was an enjoyable review similar to “Beach Blanket Babylon”.
* The sixth show is Woody Allen’s “The Floating Light Bulb” at Traveling Jewish Theatre. We see it tonight.

- We went to two San Francisco Symphony concerts: 1) Carl Orff’s “Carmina burana” with 4 other choral pieces and 2) Bizet’s “Music from L’Arlésienne”, Poulenc’s “Concerto in G minor for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani”, and Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending”, and his “Symphony No. 4 in F minor”.
- Visited the new Contemporary Jewish Museum and saw two exhibits: “New Works/Old Story: 80 Artists at the Passover Table” and “Jews on Vinyl”.
- Attended 5 Giants baseball games including opening day.
- Spent a Saturday night at a bed and breakfast in San Francisco and checked out the Dolores Park Easter celebration with The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
- Signed up for an all day wine tour in Napa Valley called “Energy 92.7 Big Gay Wine Tasting Day”. We toured 4 wineries; had pastries for breakfast, played “Petanque” – a French style of Bocce ball; enjoyed a catered, garden lunch and bought two and a half cases of wine.
- We attended one benefit dinner for Facing History and Ourselves. The keynote speaker was the highly regarded education professor from Stanford, Linda Darling-Hammond. She spoke on what needs to happen to improve the current state of our schools. Next month we have 2 benefit dinners to attend.
- We hosted two Friday night Shabbat dinners. One with two other gay couples and one with family.
- As mentioned in an early entries (here, here and here), we hosted a first night Passover Seder for 16 gay men. E spent at least three days cooking and preparing for it.