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
Opening

Les belles soeurs Mission Recreation Center Auditorium, 745 Treat; 337-4713. Free. Opens Thurs/29, 7:30pm. Runs Fri/30-Sat/31, 7:30pm. (Also, Randall Museum Theater, 199 Museum Wy. Opens June 4, 7:30pm. Runs June 5-7, 7:30pm; June 8, 2pm.) San Francisco Free Civic Theatre performs Michel Tremblay's play about a group of women who gather together when one of them wins a million trading stamps and asks for help pasting them into booklets.

Cowboy Mouth Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079. $10-15. Previews Wed/28-Thurs/29, 8:30pm. Opens Fri/30, 8:30pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 3:30pm. Through June 22. Mostly Grounded Theatre Company performs Sam Shepard's play

inspired by his relationship with Patti Smith.

Thwak Post Street Theatre, 450 Post; 321-2900. $25-45. Previews Thurs/29, 8pm. Opens Fri/30, 8pm. Runs Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through June 22. The Umbilical Brothers (Australians Shane Dundas and David Collins) use physical comedy and their knack for mimicking every sound imaginable in this performance.

Wicked Curran Theatre, 445 Geary; www.bestofbroadway-sf.com. $30-85. Opens Wed/28, 8pm. Runs Tues-Sat and June 9, 8pm (also Sat, June 4, 12, 18-19, and 25, 2pm; no show June 11); Sun, 2pm (also Sun/1, 7:30pm). Through June 29. The back stories of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch are explored in this Wizard of Oz-inspired musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, opening here in its pre-Broadway world premiere.

Bay Area

Julius Caesar Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, Hwy 24 at Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit, Orinda; (510) 548-9666, www.calshakes.org. $13-49. Previews Wed/28-Fri/30, 8pm. Opens Sat/31, 8pm. Runs Tues-Thurs, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 4pm. Through June 22. See Critic's Choice.

Ongoing

*American Buffalo Omnicircus Theatre, 550 Natoma; 701-0686. $10-15. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through June 15. Subterranean Shakespeare reprises its 1999 production of David Mamet's visceral autopsy of the American dream. Three small-time operators plan a coin heist in a Chicago junk shop, with tragicomic results for themselves and the free enterprise system. The real action courses through Mamet's meaty and muscular dialogue, brimming with his signature flair for the poetry of the back alley. The highly intimate, hole-in-the-wall atmosphere of Omnicircus feels like the ideal setting. In fact, it's hard to say where the set (by Rose Anne Raphael, based on Christo Braun's original design) actually begins – you'll feel like a stowaway, on balcony seating below drainpipes that look out on a crowded room replete with found objects, recycled gewgaws, empty beer cans, twisted humanoid heaps of scrap metal (actually Frank Garvey's robotic sculpture), and a small dog. Director Stanley Spenger draws a solid bead on the play, delivering a taut, focused performance as Teach, while Dick Hillenbrand manages a terrific debut as Bobby, and Geoffrey Pond pules, prattles, and growls as junk shop owner Donny Dubrow. A benefit for SubShakes' new Berkeley digs, this unique production ends up being one of San Francisco's cooler "underground" theater offerings. (Avila)

Are We Almost There? Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 345-7575. $17-22. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. Travel is the theme of this musical comedy revue.

'BATS Improv Long-Form Festival' Bayfront Theater, Fort Mason Center, Bldg B, Marina at Laguna; 474-8935, www.improv.org. $12-15. Thurs/29-Sat/31, 8pm. Improv group 3 For All closes out the festival with a three-night stand.

Black and Blue: A Musical Revue Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 620 Sutter; 474-8800. $15-32. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through June 8. The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre presents the Broadway revue that pays tribute to African American legends of jazz and blues, with a cast that includes acclaimed vocalist Faye Carol.

'Clitoris Celebration: Thinking Outside the Box' Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 433-7875. $15-20. Thurs/29-Sat/31, 8pm. Sia Amma performs her provocative comedy show.

Cocksucker: A Love Story Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079. $20-30. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3 and 7pm. Open-ended. Writer-director Ronnie Larsen presents a tale about marines who act in gay porn videos.

'Comedy on the Square' Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 522-8900. $15. Performances include "A Celebration of Silliness!" with Fred Anderson (Sun, 3 and 7pm; through July 31).

*Cooking with Elvis Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason; 989-0023. $20 (Thurs, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through June 14. Featuring five electrifying numbers from an Elvis impersonator and boasting the histrionic talents of an Afghan tortoise, Phoenix Arts Association's Cooking with Elvis (by Lee Hall, writer of Billy Elliot) is a comic pie of surprising contents. When an accident renders Elvis impersonator Dad (Lol Levy) into an epileptic "cabbage," fourteen-year-old Gillian (played by the protean Lauren Grace) copes by retreating into a world increasingly disturbing gastronomy. Meanwhile, Mam (Linda Ayres-Frederick), a woman so tawdry and tippling she would provoke censure in New Orleans, procures a lover in the hapless Stewart (the fearless David Austin-Groen, again displaying his gift for playing total chumps). Stoutly refusing the chances for easy bathos, director Robert Hamm makes the play swing instantly from hilarity to hopelessness, from scenes of weeping to scenes of wanking, while the actors bounce to the next extreme indomitable and ready. And in the end, it's folly to deny to sheer power of the King. (Amir Baghdachi)

Devil in the Deck Climate Theater, 285 Ninth St; 364-1411. $15-25. Opens Thurs/29, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through June 28. Magician and comedian Paul Nathan performs his original show about a gambler, showman, con artist, and cheat.

*'DIVAfest' Exit Theatreplex, 156 Eddy; 673-3847, www.divafest.org. $5-20 (all-show pass $55). Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm). Through May 31. This week: Einstein's Daughter's Cabaret, by Kim Epifano (Thurs/29-Sat/31, 8pm, also Sat/31, 3pm); Toasted, by Elisa DeCarlo (Fri/30, 8pm; Sat/31, 3pm); Executive Order 9066, by Lunatique Fantastique (Thurs/29, Sat/31, 8pm); Winterkill, by Denise B. Flemming (Fri/30, 8pm; Sat/31, 3pm); Cabaret Rebel, by Beth Wilmurt (Thurs/29-Sat/31, 10pm); Tincture, by Sean Owens (Thurs/29, Sat/31, 8pm); a staged reading of Box Car Bertha, by Kerry Reid (Sat/31, 6pm); and a staged reading of Stage Door, by Edna Ferber and George Kaufman (Wed/28, 8pm) to benefit DIVAfest. When Beth Wilmurt performs her new cabaret act, Cabaret Rebel, the room changes. People crane forward in their seats. The bar man serving drinks in the back of the Exit Theater's café space stops serving them. The walls hum and sway. Wilmurt is one of the most unlikely looking cabaret artists – missing her cue and galloping awkwardly on stage in jeans, backpack, and sneakers, all gangly limbs and hiccupped apologies, there's no telling what will follow. Then Wilmurt opens her mouth. Swathing some of the most well-trammeled songs known to audiences – Clementine and The Lady Is a Tramp to name but two – in purring innocence, Cabaret Rebel is both defiant of the traditional seductress-in-black-dress cabaret style and a potent celebration of intensity, soulfulness, and, ultimately, sex. It's a pity that the mothballed black dress does make an appearance at the end of Wilmurt's performance. While the "better-late-than-never" costume change underlines the performance's haphazard atmosphere, Wilmurt looks much cuter in denim. (Veltman)

Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972. $18-38. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through June 28. The New Conservatory Theatre Center continues Pride Season 8 with the Bay Area premiere of Howard Crabtree and Mark Waldrop's gay musical revue.

Let's Pretend I'm Not Your Mother Climate Theatre, 285 Ninth St; 364-1411. $20. Thurs-Sat, 9:30pm. Through June 21. Titillation Theatre helps inaugurate Climate Theatre's new venue with writer-director Jennifer Hotcher's cabaret: a smorgasbord of sex in the city that kicks off with a course on how to undress for your lover, conducted by a professional stripper (Hotcher), and pulsates right through 10 more sexy, frequently funny vignettes, coupling among other things a dot-commer (Gaylord Rice) and her generous IPO; a girl (Jenny Jo Richmond) and man's best friend (David Allen); and a boy (Allen) and his bear rug (Richmond). Celebratory in spirit, and taking occasional poetic flights, these pieces good-naturedly and unabashedly explore the polymorphous pleasures, everything from the wacky to the sucky, that make up human sexuality. The show has been bouncing around a number of small venues for the last year (between police raids) and the momentum has paid off. The sketches may be uneven in conception, but the cast is aces and consistently pleases. (Avila)

Mysterious Skin New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972. $18-38. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through June 28. Prince Gomolvilas's Mysterious Skin opens as a UFO expert, against a dark, celestial backdrop, asks his television audience: "Have aliens contacted you?" It's a funny, uncomfortable moment – trouble hangs in the air, and it has nothing to do with the heavens. Skin, adapted from Scott Heim's 1995 novel and receiving its world premiere at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, traces the trajectories of two young men from semirural Kansas who shared a childhood experience that shaped them in a way each is unable to control. Gomolvilas does an impressive job of turning Heim's provocative story into an intriguing piece of theater. Through a combination of direct address and frequent flashback sequences the intertwined story lines and background flow, for the most part, effortlessly. Good chemistry and solid acting from a committed cast, under Arturo Catricala's ever sharp and sportive direction, convey the full range of humor, pain, and compassion in the often excellent dialogue. (Avila)

Norton I (Being the Most Noble Tale of Joshua Abraham Norton, First Emperor of the United States of America and Protector of All Mexico) Noh Space, 2840 Mariposa; 621-7978. $13-20 (Thurs/29, pay what you can). Thurs/29-Sat/31, 8pm. Theatre of Yugen's ensemble performs Yugen joint artistic director Luis Valls's new play about the colorful San Franciscan.

Oh My Goddess! Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 289-2000. $15-20. Thurs/29-Sat/31, 8pm. Writer-performer Sherry Glaser's offbeat revision of the Judeo-Christian creation myth had gone through several incarnations before its San Francisco unveiling at January's Women on the Way Festival, but probably never felt more timely or refreshing. In Glaser's rendition, waiter and slacker Miguel de Cervantes discovers his feminine side after a desperate phone call to the Psychic Friends Hotline, becoming the unlikely portal for the return of God's better half, the Jewish earth mother of us all. Ma's awoken from a 5,000-year nap, having left slacker Pa in charge of the kids, and needless to say is not happy about the state of the house or the yard. Ma relates the real story of where we came from, offering up her own set of commandments in the process, a "to-do list" that in its maternal wisdom cleverly blends the comic with the cosmic. After generously fielding their questions, Ma sends her brood out into the world again with, what else, a nice bowl of soup. A skillful performer, Glaser, with support from director Rod Kaats, makes up for the production's minor awkwardnesses with the warmth and intelligence she brings to this nourishing material. (Avila)

R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe Project Artaud Theater, 450 Florida; 626-DOME, www.foghouse.com. $25-35. Extended run: Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through June 15. 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 D.W. 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, inhabiting Fuller's eccentric soul with physical and verbal intensity. (Veltman)

The Three Sisters Geary Theater, 415 Geary; 749-2228. $11-61. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Sat and Wed/28, June 4, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through June 8. As Chekhov's three sisters beat their delicate wings against the bars of a rustic cage in American Conservatory Theater's current production, the nature of work's triumph over leisure is revealed. Bred for better things by their late father, the cultivated Prozorovs – Olga (Lorri Holt), Masha (René Augesen), and Irina (Katharine Powell), along with their brother Andrei (Tommy A. Gomez) – are somewhat comical as big fish in a small Russian pond. Chekhov explores with inimitable humor and compassion the lived moment between the past, with its sense of loss, and the future, with its seemingly necessary fantasies of salvation. In this production, the play's sweetly melancholic, nearly absurdist tone, so worthy of the label "Chekhovian," does not quite blossom as it should. Director Carey Perloff's lavish but fairly lifeless production sacrifices complexity in service of comic or dramatic effects. (Avila)

White Liars and Black Comedy Next Stage, 1620 Gough; 333-6389. $15-20. Thurs/29-Sat/31, 8pm. Multi Ethnic Theater presents two plays on the theme of tricks by Peter Shaffer.

Bay Area

The Guys Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949. $10-54. Tues and Thurs-Sat, 8pm (Thurs/29, June 7, 12, 21, 26, 28, and July 5, show at 2pm only; no show July 4); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through July 6. See "Now and Then," page 39.

The Odd Couple San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose; (408) 367-7255. $20-48. Previews Wed/28-Thurs/29, 8pm (also Wed/28, noon). Opens Fri/30, 8pm. Runs Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through June 22. San Jose Repertory Theatre performs Neil Simon's classic comedy.

Pericles Shakespeare at Stinson, Highway One at Calle Del Mar, Stinson Beach; (415) 868-1115, www.shakespeareatstinson.org. $16-23. Fri-Sat, 7pm; Sun, 6pm. Through June 29. Shakespeare at Stinson kicks off their season with the Bard's romantic tale of loss and redemption.

Saint, the Thea Bowman Story Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Theater, Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, 920 Peralta, Oakl; (510) 208-5651, (510) 208-1912. $5-15. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through June 8. The Lower Bottom Playaz present a play about the Franciscan nun and her battle with breast cancer.

*Surface Transit Berkeley Rep's Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949. $38-54. Extended run: Thurs/29-Sat/31, 8pm; Wed/28 and Sun/1, 7pm (also Sun/1, 2pm). Playing eight interrelated characters, the charismatic Sarah Jones approaches her subjects with impeccable technique and a rollicking sense of humor, garnering different perspectives on the hateful and violent prejudices separating people who in fact have much more in common than they like to admit. Berkeley Repertory Theatre's dazzling and dexterous production, directed by Tony Taccone, provides a wonderful platform for Jones, though her energy and grace would succeed in any setting. (Avila)

under milk wood Eighth St. Studio, 2525 Eighth St, Berk; (510) 704-8210. $10-20 (previews, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through June 22. Shotgun Players perform the Dylan Thomas "play for voices" set in a coastal Welsh town, and featuring more than 50 characters.

Virginia Woolf's Night and Day Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby, Berk; (510) 883-0305. $20 (Sun, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through June 8. Transparent Theatre presents Virginia Woolf's story of four young Edwardians wrestling with passion and propriety at the outset of a still undefined century. Scion of an upper-class literary family, Katherine Hilbery (Lucy Owen) charts a generational divide in keeping her head in the stars and strictly away from books. She's the center of gravity for middle-class lawyer Ralph Denham (Jason Frazier); Ralph's friend, secretly smitten suffragette Mary Datchet (Chloe Bronzan); and pompous but genial poet William Rodney (Noah James Butler). Director Tom Clyde's ambitious stage adaptation hews dialogue shrewdly from Woolf's hefty novel, but fidelity to the text inevitably runs up against certain limitations. In particular, the clearly pragmatic decision to excise the parental world leaves the generational pressures acting on the characters ill defined. Katherine, for instance, comes over as merely cold (and thus inexplicable as the object of Denham and Rodney's adoration) in the absence of her familial setting. The screen in Anne Goldschmidt's set, used to project the characters' extreme self-consciousness, might have better compensated for this. As is, the few images cast run from vaguely suggestive to distracting. Nonetheless, the play's strong performances give weight and nuance to complex feelings and thoughts. (Avila)

Visions of Kerouac Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; (415) 388-5208. $25-43. Tues and Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Sat/31 and June 7, 2pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through June 8. Marin Theatre Company performs Martin Duberman's beat generation drama.

dance

Alleluia Panis Dance Theatre Somarts Theatre, 934 Brannan; 864-4126. Fri-Sat, 8pm. $12-15. See 8 Days a Week, page 47.

'Ashtadala: The Blossoming' Mission Cultural Center, 2868 Mission; (510) 530-4621. Sat, 6:30pm, $10-25. Eight emerging Bay Area dancers perform an evening of Odissi (classical East Indian) dance. Proceeds benefit Asha for Education, an Indian education action group.

Don't Quit Your Day Job Dancers Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon; 388-0792, www.dontquityourdayjobdancers.com. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. $20. The company performs Flesh and the Fantasy, a new work inspired by Broadway and mythology.

'East as Center' ODC Theater, 3153 17th St; 499-1601, www.ticketweb.com. Thurs-Sat and Wed/28 (preview), 8pm; Sun/1, 2pm. Through June 7. $14-35. See 8 Days a Week, page 47.

Leslie Seiters and Rachel Shaw 848 Community Space, 848 Divisadero; 923-9599. Thurs-Sun, 8:30pm. Call for price. The dancers perform their first collaboration, Such Tiny Dangers.

Deborah Slater Dance Theater Dance Mission, 3316 24th St; 273-4633, www.artofthematter.org. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. $20. The company performs Survival of the Fit Enough: The Galapagos Project, based on a modern-day Darwin expedition taken by choreographer Slater.

performance

'The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom' The Marsh, 1062 Valencia; 826-5750. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. $14-21. Wes "Scoop" Nisker performs a new comic monologue based on his best-selling book of the same title.

'First Contact II: A Showcase of Young Emerging Artists' Buriel Clay Theater, African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton; 292-1850, www.culturalodyssey.org. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. $10-15. See 8 Days a Week, page 47.

'Like White on Rice' Bindlestiff Studio, 185 Sixth St; 974-1167. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. $10-15. Bindlestiff Studio presents an evening of sketch comedy, poetry, and physical theater.

'Lux Aeterna' Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission; (650) 342-8785, www.ragazzi.org. Sat, 8pm; Sun, 4pm. $22-28. The Ragazzi Boys Chorus perform in a multimedia extravaganza that features the work of video artist Karen Hellyer.

'National Queer Arts Festival' Various locations; 3340-QCC, www.queerculturalcenter.org. See 8 Days a Week, page 47.

'New Voices: Works in Progress by Emerging Jewish Artists' A Traveling Jewish Theater, 470 Florida; 346-6040, www.ticketweb.com. June 3-4, 8pm. $10-12. Emerging artists perform short works reflecting on the diversity of contemporary Jewish life.

'One' Eureka Theater, 215 Jackson; 392-4400. Fri-Sat, 7:30pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. $8-15 (Sat, 7:30pm show $20-50). The Event Players (San Francisco school kids, ages 9 to 14) perform an original musical based on an Isaac Bashevis Singer story.

comedy

BrainWash Café 1122 Folsom; 861-3663. Thurs, 8pm: Comedy open mic hosted by Tony Sparks, 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 Valencia Hall 1908 Mission; 468-9197. Sat, 8pm: Too Many Larrys! perform a special improv show to benefit the Freedom Socialist Party, $10.

Palace of Fine Arts outside lawn, Richardson at Bay; www.blueblanketimprov.com. Sun, 11am: Blue Blanket Improv presents a free workshop and improv show. Ongoing.

San Francisco LGBT Community Center 1800 Market; 865-5633. Mon, 8pm: "Monday Night Gay Comedy" with host Elvira Kurt, $10-15 sliding scale.

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," with host Diamond Dave Whitaker, 8pm, free. La Peña Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 849-2568. "Cafe Poetry" open mic with Paradise, 7:30pm, free. Koret Auditorium San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin; 252-2546. San Francisco WritersCorps celebrates the release of "Compilation Box Set," 12 small poetry books and three spoken word CDs, with readings and musical performances by participating youth poets and teachers, 5:30pm, free.

Thursday: Coppa D'Oro Cafe 3166 24th St; 826-8003. "Poetry on the Patio," spoken word and acoustic music open mic with host Charlie Getter, 6:30pm, free.

Monday: Sweetie's Cafe and Bar 474 Francisco; sciaf@yahoo.com. Poetry open mic hosted by Susan Birkeland, 8pm, free. Pegasus Bookstore 2349 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 649-1320. "The Last Word Poetry Series" with Thea Hillman and Glenn Ingersoll, plus open mic, 7pm, free. Priya Restaurant 2072 San Pablo, Berk; dreamboogie@yahoo.com. Grand opening of "Poetry Express" open mic, hosted by Mark States, 7pm, free.