December 25, 2002

stage

Stage listings are compiled by Cheryl Eddy. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, Lara Shalson, and Chloe Veltman. See 8 Days a Week for information on how to submit items to the listings.

theater

Ongoing

Are We Almost There? Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 345-7575. $12-15. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. Travel is the theme of this musical-comedy revue.

*Attack of the Wrapping Paper Caper Zeum, 221 Fourth St; 820-3353. $10-20. Fri/27-Mon/30 and Jan 2-5, 1 and 3pm. In this imaginative puppet whodunit by local ensemble Lunatique Fantastique, ordinary objects play extraordinary roles. From such everyday things as discarded wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, old clothes, and an array of kitchen utensils, the ingenious company creates a world where a Pterodactyl whisks a French coquette off to its nest and a super sleuth finds a baby dinosaur in a cardboard box. The ensemble cast of black-clad puppeteers has an acute sense of timing and comedy. In a show with no set, few lighting effects, and barely any words, the actors manage to breathe life into an old coat and hat, a bit of sparkly tinsel, and even a latex glove. Every gesture is legible and many moments are funny. Cheekily directed by Liebe Wetzel, Attack of the Wrapping Paper Caper makes for a fun, family-oriented afternoon at the theater. (Veltman)

The Bombay Trunk New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972. $18-38. Wed-Sat, 8pm (no show Wed/25); Sun, 2pm. Through Jan 5. Award-winning novelist Felice Picano's new play begins as an adept murder-mystery farce, set in what appears to be the aftermath of the bizarre murder-suicide of a frustrated mystery writer, Jonathan Cavendish (Christian Heppinstall), at his mountain cabin retreat. The plot takes a series of radical turns, revealing entirely new layers of meaning, until we're nowhere near where we started. Director Clay David's insistence on broadly comic interpretations by the able cast, the logic of which arises partly from the plot, does get a little wearisome, and Picano's darkly humorous ending comes across as disjointed. Still, the inventive plot twists and uninhibited characters keep things fairly lively until then. (Avila)

*A Christmas Carol Geary Theater, 415 Geary; 749-2228. $11-61. Thurs/26-Sat/28, noon (also Thurs/26 and Sat/28, 4:30pm); Sun/29, 2pm. Steven Anthony Jones returns for a second season as titanic tightwad and Noël nixer Ebenezer Scrooge, in American Conservatory Theater's 25th annual production of A Christmas Carol. It's probably fair to say Scrooge faces a certain amount of competition this year from a world gone pretty mean itself, but Jones gives the competition a run for its money: he's seriously scary. Laird Williamson and Dennis Powers's adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella favors the lavish Christmas window dressing suited to a perennial holiday family show. With original songs by Williamson and Lee Hoiby, and with an array of splendid costumes by Robert Morgan, the stage more than once erupts in yuletide revelry. Moreover, playing off Jones's ferocious old cuss offers some nice comedic moments for director Craig Slaight and his enormous cast, composed of actors from ACT's Master of Fine Arts and Young Conservatory programs as well as old hands Tommy A. Gomez, Brian Keith Russell, Margaret Schenck, and Rhonnie Washington. (Avila)

*Circumstance Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 345-7575. $16-26. Thurs/26-Sat/28, Mon/30, 2 and 7:30pm; Sun/29, Tues/31, and Jan 1, 2pm. The New Pickle Circus's holiday production evokes the eccentric traveling circuses of the early 20th century with the poetic sensibility of the spectacular "new circus" exemplified by Pickle Family Circus and the Cirque du Soleil–with a dash of Cabaret thrown in for good measure. The fifteen-member troupe produces an array of wonders from chair and hand balancing acts to aerial dance; from the "German wheel" to the genre-crossing music performed live onstage. But the act that dazzles most of all is the trapeze performance by "the twins," real-life sister and brother Ena and Danny Starling. High above the stage, these two engage in a breathtaking display of grace and strength as they support one another's weight through a series of movements that at one point finds Danny hanging by the back of his neck . Some of the less sensational sequences feel a bit like filler, but Joel David as the clown and Krin Haglund as the bald ballerina both stand out for their pleasing and poignant personalities. (Shalson)

*Hedwig and the Angry Inch Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St; 863-7576. $20-40. Wed-Sun, 8pm (also Sat, 11pm). Open-ended. Kevin Cahoon assumes the title role originated by John Cameron Mitchell in his 1998 Obie-winning glam musical, later a celebrated film, now making its long-anticipated San Francisco debut with a sizable cult following ready and waiting. And while die-hard fans show up prepared to sing along, the show is so instantly contagious that no homework is necessary on the part of the uninitiated. An East Berlin girlie boy named Hansel becomes Hedwig after a sex change – but the operation is botched, leaving Hedwig with just an "angry inch" of her former self. Heart in tatters but spirit intact, she plays out her story as a nightclub act. For all its value as camp, Hedwig is a cabaret act of subtle sophistication; the story, like the best glam rock, has a quiet force that is the undercurrent of its self-conscious banality and cutting humor. (Avila)

*It Could Have Been a Wonderful Life Bannam Place Theater, 50A Bannam Pl; 986-4607, www.wonderfullife.org. $15-20. Fri/27-Sat/28, 8pm; Sun/29, 3pm. Fred Raker's 25-in-one-man show – back after a successful run last year – charts the despair of aspiring Jewish comedian Phil Resnick, who winds up pigeonholed on public television while the life he could have had goes to an Anglo American-ized colleague, the host of TV's What's Up with That, America? The crisis provokes a little divine intervention by Phil's guardian angel, Jack Benny. Based on Raker's own brush with stardom as well as the Capra classic, this very funny solo performance cleverly weaves Jewish identity and self-doubt into nothing less than a wonderful 75 minutes. (Avila)

Moonwatcher: A New Tale of Chelm for Chanukah A Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida; 399-1809. $12.50-25 (Thurs, pay what you can). Wed/25-Sun/29, 7pm (also Sun/29, 2pm). A Traveling Jewish Theater's season opener marks a double milestone, being the 24-year-old ensemble company's first family-oriented "holiday show," and its initial offering under reconfigured management, headed by new artistic director Aaron Davidman. Moonwatcher, written by Davidman, Eric Rhys Miller, and ATJT cofounder Corey Fischer (who also directs), is a musical comedy set in a fabled Jewish town of addled but affable nutcases. In a holiday season normally characterized by escapism and empty sentimentality, it is refreshing to see an attempt to invoke a compassionate tradition against the welter of current events. Yet, under Fischer's direction, the show -- which incorporates puppetry, masks, and light magic -- has an appealingly carefree quality too; it's a promising opener to a new season and a revitalized ATJT, and further proof the best beginnings reimagine the best traditions. (Avila)

The Neo-Dandy Cabaret New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972. $15-25. Thurs/26-Sat/28, 8pm; Sun/29, 2pm.Cabaret has always been a haven for deviant outsiders, and this "intimate extravaganza" directed by Keith Hennessy is no exception. Each of the artists brings something unique to this queer phantasmagoria of operatic arias, aerial dance, comic monologues, and how-to demonstrations. The most enigmatic and compelling performances are delivered by Reginald Lamar and Matilda (aka Matt Bernstein Sycamore). Lamar, in whiteface makeup, sings in an eerily atonal falsetto and philosophizes on the writings of Fanon and Hegel. Matilda offers up tales of prostitution and carpal tunnel syndrome as well as a runway rant against gentrification. Kirk Read shares personal stories about sex and the Southern gothic family. And the night I attended, Noel Plemmons did an admirable job filling in for Tho Vong as the dancer. As usual with vaudeville, the evening is a mixed bag, but if you're looking for an escape from all the smug holiday cheer this season, these neo-dandies just might do the trick. (Shalson)

R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe Project Artaud Theater, 450 Florida; 626-DOME, www.foghouse.com. $20-40 (first Wed of each month, pay what you can). Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm); Sun, 2pm. Open-ended. D. W. Jacobs's R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe is bursting with so many ideas that it's almost impossible to contain them within the confines of the stage. Fuller was one of the great brainiacs of the 20th century, a philosopher, mathematician, inventor, and idealist who devoted his life to finding the best fit between nature and humanity. In Jacobs's fitful, two-hour monologue based on the life and writings of Fuller, actor Ron Campbell dexterously pings from one of the visionary's obsessions to another. Whether rattling through a dense explanation of atomic structure, proselytizing about how famine will become extinct as humans do "more and more with less and less," or espousing the joys of parenting, Campbell inhabits Fuller's eccentric soul with physical and verbal intensity – at times so much so that the margins between performance and lecture blur. (Veltman)

Bay Area

Haroun and the Sea of Stories Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949. $10-54. Tues and Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Thurs/26 and Jan 4, 2pm; no show Dec 31); Wed and Sun, 7pm (no show Wed/25; also Sun, 2pm). Through Jan 7. Berkeley Rep presents a fantastical tale saluting the imagination, based on Salman Rushdie's novel. Director Dominique Serrand and Luan Schooler adapted the Royal National Theatre version in consultation with Rushdie. Rashid Khalifa (Serrand), world-class storyteller, loses his creative powers after wife and muse, Soraya (Jennifer Baldwin Peden), leaves him. His son, Haroun (Nora El Samahy), discovers the problem may be graver still as an evil genius named Khattam-Shud (Colman Domingo) has stopped up the great oceanic source of all stories. Haroun travels a world of far-out characters and situations to unplug the source, save the day, and reunite his parents. Penned when Rushdie was still in mortal danger as a storyteller, the plot reads more like an allegory of writers' block, given its thin premise, derivative manner, and forced language – not to mention the conspicuous absence of stories in this story about a veritable sea of them. (Avila)

On Golden Pond Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield, Palo Alto; (650) 903-6000. $20-43. Tues, 7:30pm (no Tues/31); Wed-Sat, 8pm (no shows Wed/25 and Jan 1); Sun, 2pm (Sun/29, show at 7pm). Through Jan 5. TheatreWorks presents Ernest Thompson's comedy about an elderly couple.

Over the River and Through the Woods California Conservatory Theatre, 999 East 14th St, San Leandro; (510) 632-8850. $15-17. Thurs/26-Sat/28, 8pm (also Sat/28, 2pm); Sun/29, 2pm. California Conservatory Theatre performs Joe DiPietro's comedy about family and relationships.

*The Play about the Baby La Vals Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; (510) 704-8210. $10-18. Thurs/26-Sat/28, 8pm. (Also Sat/28, 2pm, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College, Berk. $12-18). Shotgun Players presents the West Coast premiere of Edward Albee's lively and provocative play, a gleeful stripping away of willful delusions. A Boy (Brent Rosenbaum) and Girl (Katie McMahon) enjoying the Eden-like bliss of first love appear to have given birth to a child, when an older couple, Man (Richard Louis James) and Woman (Trish Mulholland), arrive and complicate the picture considerably. With a dazzling, frequently hilarious perfusion of asides, direct addresses, and mischievous wordplay, Man and Woman worm their way into the youngsters' quaint paradise, inviting the audience along for the ride. An identity game ensues that shatters the complacency of clichés both psychical and theatrical. Albee has a knack for making such blood sport terrific fun and sobering all the same, like a host who plies you with drinks just so he can lay into you with a few honest truths. Director Reid Davis revels in the approach, and his actors rise to the occasion. In particular, Mulholland twitches with a marvelously spastic comic energy, while James's deft turn as the serene sophisticate with a hint of malice exerts a gravitational pull that makes the close surroundings seem all the more intimate. (Avila)

The Two Gentlemen of Verona San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose; (408) 367-7255. $20-48. Thurs/26-Sat/28, Mon/30, and Jan 1-4 and 7-11, 8pm (also Sat/28 and Jan 4 and 11, 3pm); Sun/29, Jan 5 and 12, 2pm (also Sun/29 and Jan 5, 7pm). Through Jan 12. San Jose Repertory Theatre sets Shakespeare's comedy in silent film-era Hollywood.

performance

'San Francisco's Magic Parlor' Sweetie's Cafe and Pub, 475 Francisco; 771-6066. Tues, 8pm. Magicians Walt Anthony and James Hamilton "spin tales and weave enchantment" at this new ongoing performance.

'Zero Point Field' Xenodrome, 1320 Potrero; 285-XENO, www.xenodrome.com. Thurs-Sat, 9pm. Call for price. Xeno performs a show that combines classical dance with circus arts, pyrotechnics, and more.

comedy

BrainWash Café 1122 Folsom; 861-3663. Thurs, 8pm: Comedy open mic hosted by Tony Sparks, free. Mon, 8pm: San Francisco Improv Co-Operative presents Oui Be Negroes and Bloody Everest, free.

Fort Mason Center Marina at Laguna (check daily events sandwich board to see exact location); 453-9092. Sat, 1-4pm: Improv workshop with Jim Crenna, $10. Ongoing.

Java Source 343 Clement; 387-8025. Fri, 10:30pm and Sat, 10pm: Comedy open mic hosted by Tony Sparks, free.

Luggage Store 1007 Market; 255-5971. Tues, 8pm: Comedy workshop with Tony Sparks, $3.

New Pisa 550 Green; 207-0285, www.northbeachimprov.com. Fri, 9pm: "North Beach Improv," with host Uncle Vinny Rizzo, $10.

San Francisco LGBT Community Center 1800 Market; 865-5633. Mon, 8pm: "Monday Night Gay Comedy," $8-15 (no one turned away for lack of funds).

Bay Area

Black Box 1928 Telegraph, Oakl; (510) 595-5597. Thurs, 8pm: The Oakland Playhouse improv troupe performs improv comedy, $5.

spoken word

Open mics take place almost every night in cafés throughout the Bay Area. If you want to perform, show up about half an hour before start time to put your name on the list. A day-by-day guide to spoken word events and featured readers:

Wednesday: BrainWash Café 1122 Folsom; 440-5530. "Spoken Word Salon," open mic, 8pm, free. Mama Bears Women's Bookstore 6536 Telegraph, Oakl; (510) 506-3717. "SheSpeaks," open mic night for women 18 and up, 7:30pm, $5. Starry Plough 3101 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 841-2082. "The Berkeley Slam!" with hosts Charles Ellik and dani eurynome, 8pm, $7.

Thursday: Coppa D'Oro Cafe 3164 24th St; 821-1618. "Poetry on the Patio," spoken word and acoustic music open mic with host Barbara Bennett, 6:30pm, free.