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

Friends Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason; 989-0023. $20 (Thurs, Sun, and previews, pay what you can). Previews Thurs/30, Sat/1, and Nov 6, 8pm. Opens Nov 7, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm (no show Nov 27); Nov 9 and 16, 2pm. Through Dec 6. A lonely widow and a homeless man become friends after meeting on a Central Park bench in Peter Levy's comedy.

Oh Captain! Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson; 978-2787, www.42ndstmoon.org. $15-29. Previews Wed/29-Thurs/30, 8pm. Opens Fri/31, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6pm (also Nov 15, 1pm); Sun, 3pm. Through Nov 16. "Lost" musicals company 42nd Street Moon takes on the 1958 musical version of the Alec Guinness film The Captain's Paradise.

Oil! (Chapter One: The Ride) Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, Marina at Laguna; 437-6775. $27 (previews and Wed, pay what you can). Previews Nov 4-5, 8pm. Opens Nov 6, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sun, 8pm (also Sun, 3pm). Through Dec 7. Word for Word presents brings back its production of Upton Sinclair's study of the California oil boom.

'ReOrient 2003: Fifth Annual Festival of Short Plays Exploring the Middle East' New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom; (510) 986-9194, www.goldenthread.org. $12-18 (opening night, $25). Previews Thurs/30-Fri/31, 8pm. Opens Sat/1, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Nov 23. Short plays by Israel Horowitz, Motti Lerner, Yussef El Guindi, and others are presented in two alternating series by Golden Thread Productions, with programs repeating Thurs and Sat, and Fri and Sun.

You Should Be So Lucky New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org. $18-28 (opening night, $38; Thurs/30, pay what you can). Previews Wed/29-Sat/1 and Nov 5-7, 8pm; Sun/2, 2pm). Opens Nov 8, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Jan 4. The New Conservatory Theatre Center presents Charles Busch's screwball comedy.

Ongoing

Are We Almost There? Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 345-7575. $20-22. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. Travel is the theme of this musical comedy revue.

The Barbecue Murders Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079, www.therhino.org. $5-15. Wed/29-Sat/1, 8:30pm. Theatre Rhinoceros' Studio season kicks off with John Fisher's creepy work in progress.

Blood Poet Lorca! Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 533 Sutter; 273-5164. $15-20. Extended run: Fri/31-Sun/2, 8pm. In Luis Oropeza's lyrical solo show, celebrated Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca relives moments from his life, mingling memories of his family and his thirst for writing with the rise of Franco's dictatorship and his own murder at the hands of nationalists. While the narrative lacks focus, and the prose – in an effort to mimic Lorca's bravura dramatic style – often seems more overwrought than a matador's costume, the mise-en-scène and performance are often engaging. As Oropeza, dapper in a dickey bow, plays piano on a chair and stages a puppet show on a tabletop, so John Maloney's fluid direction, Cliff Caruthers's ghostly sound effects, Christopher Kristant's metaphoric use of a derelict house setting, and Rob Robertson's strong lighting similarly demand the audience's full attention. (Veltman)

Blue Window Exit Stage Left, 156 Eddy; 440-4913. $16-25. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 8. When Libby invites a hodge-podge of thirtysomething urbanites over for a dinner party – most of whom don't know each other – she hopes to forge the human connections that have eluded her since tragedy struck her life four years ago. However, from the opening montage of this play by Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss) in which the hopelessly awkward Libby rehearses the conversations she hopes to have with her various guests – an eclectic group of professionals, all of whom are alienated in their own way – we know that we're in for a less-than-harmonious evening. The Chameleon Theatre Company does a good job staging Lucas's montage scenes in a tight space; however, it's the party that is the crux of this play. The difficulty with this uncomfortable encounter is that the forced humor and overcompensation of the guests look much like overacting and the mutual irritation of the partygoers can too easily become our own. (Shalson)

The Book of Liz Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 273-4115, www.unidentifiedtheatre.org. $15-35. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Nov 30. Unidentified Theatre Company performs David and Amy Sedaris's comedy about a woman who leaves her cheese ball-making religious community to seek a more satisfying life as a waitress.

A Bright Room Called Day Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor; 721-9682. $20. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 8. "Welcome to Germany." Agnes (Libby O'Connell), ever the gracious hostess, finds her tongue at last and welcomes Mr. Swetts (John Craven), the Devil, to her home. It's the final moment of a particularly memorable scene in La Luna Theatre Collective's strong, if uneven, production of Tony Kushner's first play, an exuberant piece of theater whose uncanny mix of politics, ebullient dialogue, lively intellectualism, dramatic playfulness, and moral seriousness presages his monumental Angels in America. And though inspired, like Angels, by the excesses of the Reagan era, A Bright Room Called Day seems crazily, depressingly, eerily to have grown more precisely contemporary in its audacious look back at the final months of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Adolf Hitler. (Avila)

'Cafe Project: Triple Espresso' Canvas Cafe and Gallery, 1200 Ninth Ave; www.taconspiracy.org. Free (donations requested). Sun/2, 7pm; Mon/3-Tues/4, 8pm. Theatre Artists' Conspiracy performs a festival of one-act plays by local authors.

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 863-1940, www.ticketweb.com. $10-15. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 15. Actors Anonymous Theatre Company performs Alan Ball's bittersweet comedy set at a Tennessee wedding reception.

In Our Names Exit Theater, 156 Eddy; 364-1801, www.twoplustwoequalsix.com. $12-18. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 8. Vanessa Clark's dark comedy explores the allure of power through a cast of eclectic characters.

Last Act for Walter Gordon and other plays Costume Studio Stage, 1119 Market; 433-7827, 552-6672. $20. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 16. Local ventriloquist performer Ronald E. Coulter and his partner, Sidney Star – together in showbiz for the past 50 years – take the stage with a trio of original plays.

Nickel and Dimed Brava Theater Center, 2789 24th St; 647-2822. $18-32. Extended run: Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through Nov 23. TheatreWorks and Brava! For Women in the Arts copresent the northern California premiere of Bay Area playwright Joan Holden's stage adaptation of Barbara Ehrenreich's 2001 best-selling exposé of low-wage work in America. An ambitious, kinetic if flawed production, it centers on a fiftysomething left-wing journalist named Barbara (a charming Sharon Lockwood), who at the behest of her editor (Darren Bridgett) takes a succession of minimum- and low-wage jobs to see firsthand how people get by on the strange planet of the working class. While the play infuses this bleak but marvelously peopled landscape with lots of humor and some stimulating insights, the desire to entertain and the urge to earnestly confront sometimes feel at cross purposes. (Avila)

*Out at Sea and The Party Next Stage Theater, 1620 Gough; 1-866-GOT-FURY, www.foolsfury.org. $12-20 (pay what you can, previews and Thurs). Extended run: Thurs/30-Sat/1, 8pm. If you like your satire spicy, foolsFURY has a bill not to be missed: a program of two very funny one-acts by the internationally renowned short-story writer and playwright Slawomir Mrozek. In Out to Sea, three hungry men adrift in a raft – Fat (Gwen Loeb), Thin (Emilie Miller), and Medium (Alexander Lewis) – discuss who among them should rightfully sacrifice himself to the appetite of the others. In The Party, three friends (Lewis, Loeb, and Miller) show up to an empty room prepared for what they had thought was supposed to be a party. The initial confusion and disappointment turn to a questioning of the nature of the party they thought they had been invited to. Is it a wedding or a funeral? And what's the difference again? Clever direction and excellent performances bring nimble physical comedy and a range of thematic colors to these rarely seen theatrical gems. (Avila)

*The Sex Habits of American Women Magic Theatre, Bldg D, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 441-8822, www.magictheatre.org. $24-38. Wed/29-Sat/1, 8:30pm; Sun/2, 2:30pm. In Julie Marie Myatt's gentle and wry new play, a cantankerous old shrink, Dr. Fritz Tittels, sits at his typewriter in 1950s New York, cranking out a "groundbreaking" book about the fiery, thumping desires that lie beneath every American housewife's ample brassiere. About as equipped to write about women's sexuality as his wife is capable of letting down her fluffy, good-little-wifey guard and revealing her innermost thoughts, the good doctor and his spouse expose the cracks in a culture of stereotyped role models. Despite an implausible scene in which the couple's daughter bares all to her mother and the modern-day video sequences that don't really add up to much, strong writing, slick and cheeky performances, and seamless staging make this old-fashioned tale pretty engrossing. (Veltman)

StretchMarks: Growing into Motherhood New venue: Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor; www.dramamamas.com. $17-22. Opens Nov 13, 8pm. Runs Nov 14-15, 20-22, Dec 4-6, 11-13, 8pm. Through Dec 13. Four Bay Area moms perform their show about parenting.

*Thursday Thick House, 1695 18th St; 821-4849. $15-20. Thurs/30-Sat/1, 8pm; Sun/2, 5pm. Through Nov 2. The world premiere of Adam Bock's Thursday offers a pleasant excursion into a spotless, TV-toned, pastel neighborhood – where no one seems to be doing much in the way of real work and the day flies by in a series of sharply stylized comical encounters and pantomimes among a circle of quirky characters. The story revolves around Marcy (Chloe Broznan), who returns to her hometown via rehab after a failed career as a TV starlet. Encore Theatre Company's sleek production knowingly imbues Bock's high-energy buffoonery with choice snippets of pop music, a spare but eye-catching pop-art set, and a disarmingly sharp and charming cast. (Avila)

Topdog/Underdog Curran Theatre, 445 Geary; 551-2000. $35-68. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Wed, Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Nov 16. See theater review "Two's a Crowd."

Waiting for Godot Geary Theater, 415 Geary; 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. $11-56. Wed/29-Sat/1, Nov 4-8, 11, and 12-15, 8pm (also Wed/29, Sat/1, Nov 8, 12, and 15, 2pm); Sun/2, Nov 9, and 16, 2pm. American Conservatory Theater performs the 50th-anniversary revival of Beckett's existential classic.

Wheel of Fortune Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia; 626-3311. $9-15 (Thurs and Nov 10, pay what you can). Thurs-Sun and Nov 10, 8pm. Through Nov 10. Campo Santo performs John Steppling's latest drama.

Windows and Mirrors: Stories by Paley, Malamud, and Biller A Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida; 285-8080. $18-30. Thurs/30-Sat/1, 8pm; Sun/2, 2 and 7pm. (Also, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College, Berk. Runs Nov 6-8, 8pm; Nov 9, 2 and 7pm). A Traveling Jewish Theater and Word for Word team up again (after 2000's Jewbird and Goodbye and Good Luck) to present verbatim stage plays of works by master short story writers Bernard Malamud and Grace Paley, with the addition this time of a Jewish author of a newer generation, Germany's Maxim Biller. Word for Word's JoAnne Winter directs Paley's funny and penetrating New York stories, Wants and A Conversation with My Father, each set against the aftermath of the antiwar movement of the 1960s; and Malamud's Spring Rain, a wistful portrait of a middle-aged urban patriarch's loneliness and alienation on the eve of World War II. Z Space's David Dower directs Biller's piece of mock-noir about a German Jewish writer who meets his doppelganger in Manhattan, Finkelstein's Finger, a darkly humorous, irreverent examination of the Holocaust's effects on the descendents of both perpetrators and victims. An enjoyable ensemble (featuring ATJT founders Naomi Newman and Corey Fischer, along with Karine Koret and Michael Smith) gets the most from these small, human tales emerging from a social landscape scarred by cataclysm. (Avila)

Worse than Chocolate Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079. $15-25 (previews, pay what you can). Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Nov 8. Actor-playwright Jaeson Post's new comedy centers on four overeducated, under-socialized misfits in the word-processing department of a San Francisco law firm. Leading the pack is Alex (Post), a lesbian and movie buff who, with best friend and workmate Frankie (Liz Ryan), strenuously resists the Better than Chocolate stereotype in favor of their own not-necessarily-PC proclivities. But a bad breakup has left Alex timid about dating, so it's all talk and then home via the video store until a new and flirty attorney (Maryssa Wanlass) joins the firm, prompting Frankie and officemates Shelly (Sina Eiden) and Paul (Jeffrey Hartgraves) to help get Alex back in the saddle. The resulting debacle crashes head on with another, the sinister machinations of slimy supervisor Bob (Leon Acord), to endanger the happy harmony of this alternative family. It's a queer sitcom straightforwardly rendered (with the possible exception of a scene involving a dildo ex machina, that is). Post's natural charm, and nice ensemble work from director Hartgraves's likable cast, sustains us through the thinner patches of this warm, unabashedly nerdy, sometimes sexy show. (Avila)

Bay Area

Lionheart Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; (510) 848-7800. $8-20 (Thurs/30, pay what you can.) Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Nov 23. Central Works presents Gary Graves's new take on the legendary king.

No Ghost Hamlet Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby, Berk; (510) 883-0305, www.transparenttheater.org. $25 (Thurs, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Nov 23. Transparent Theater presents its experimental take on Shakespeare's classic, with a female Hamlet, a live rock band, and other modifications.

Phaedra Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut, Berk; (510) 234-6046. $8-12. Thurs-Sat, 8pm (no show Nov 6). Through Nov 21. Subterranean Shakespeare presents a new and bold reworking of Euripides' tragedy by Bay Area playwright Deborah Rogin. Phaedra (Miranda Calderon), young bride of King Theseus of Athens (David Klausner), anguishes over her secret desire for her stepson, the chaste Hippolytus (David Stein), causing her old Nurse (Mae Ziglin Meidav) to fret over her mysterious affliction. The first act has the disparate thoughts of the four characters intersecting across time and space, as the actors wander around the audience. With the consummation of the young lovers' passion, act two brings Theseus home from war and the characters into outright confrontation, though not as much as one might wish. Emphasizing female solidarity and maternal instinct in the violent relations between the sexes, Rogin places the Nurse between the wrathful king and an innocent Phaedra. But the absence of any wickedness in Phaedra, or Hippolytus, leaves Theseus as its sole repository, and the play loses its focus when he's gone. Although stylized movements and line readings can compete with the emotional import of a scene to cloud deliveries, director Stanley Spenger's actors capably put across a flawed but intriguing text. (Avila) dance

Kenneth Kvarnström and Co. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, 700 Howard; 398-6449, www.performances.org. Thurs and Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. $24-40. See Critic's Choice.

Smiun Ballet Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 978-2787, www.smuinballets.org. Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. $20-60. Michael Smuin's company opens its 10th-anniversary season with the world premiere Tango Palace: Tangos, Fados, and Other Curios, plus Suite Gershwin and Les noces.

Bay Area

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft at Telegraph, UC Berkeley, Berk; (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkley.edu. Fri-Sat, 8pm. $26-46. From Taiwan, the modern dance company performs artistic director Lin Hwai-Min's Moon Water.

College of Marin Dance Fine Arts Theatre, Kentfield Campus, College of Marin, 835 College, Kentfield; (415) 485-9385. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 8. $10-15. The students perform their fall dance concert, "From Head to Soul."

Momix Dance Theatre Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, Avenue of the Flags at Civic Center, San Rafael; (415) 499-6800, www.ticketmaster.com. Sun, 3pm. $18-35. Moses Pendleton's company of dancer-illusionists perform Opus Cactus, a 19-part suite inspired by the Arizona desert.

Moscow Ballet Chabot College Performing Arts Center, 25555 Hesperian, Hayward; (510) 625-TIXS, www.nutcracker.com. Sat, 2 and 7:30pm. $25-45. The company kicks off its U.S. tour with The Great Russian Nutcracker.

performance

'Angry Jellow Bubbles' Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 289-2000. Sun, 8pm. $15. Eva Minemar directs her show, an exploration of the meaning of womanhood through song, dance, and comedy.

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; www.batsimprov.com. $8-15. This week: "True Fiction Magazine," Halloween show, (Fri-Sat, 8pm); "Sunday Players: Theatresports" (Sun, 8pm).

'Flash Family!' Blue Bear Performance Hall, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, second fl, Marina at Laguna; 885-5678. Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 15. $7-14. The improv theater company performs.

'GenderEnders' Cherry Bar, 917 Folsom; www.genderenders.com. Tues, 8:30pm. $4-7. Transgendered, intersexed, and genderqueer artists are invited to this performance open mic; this week's features include Lynn Breedlove and Storm Florez, with host Julia Serano.

'Late Night with God' El Rio, 3158 Mission; 282-3325. Wed, 8:30pm. $5-10. See 8 Days a Week.

'Open Process Series: Psychos Never Dream' Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia; 626-2787. Mon, 7:30pm. $5-15. Intersection and Campo Santo present an open reading of the work-in-progress play by Denis Johnson.

'Women's Work' Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 289-2000, www.venue9.com. Tues, 8pm. Through Nov 25. $8-10. This week in the ongoing multimedia performance series: the Show's multimedia Metamorphosis; Dattner's Stand-up Gold; Alma Esperanza Cunningham Movement's Hello Show; Courage Group's Do You Know Marie Claire?; and Tura Franzen's Tura Does Tura.

Bay Area

'Wayang Bali: Dangerous Flowers' Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College, Berk; (925) 798-1300. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. $7-15. See Critic's Choice.

comedy

Climate Theater 252 Ninth St; 863-1076. Mon, 8pm: "Monday Night Improv Jam," presented by the San Francisco Improv Co-Operative, $5.

Hyena Playhouse 2390 Mission, #304; (310) 289-4517. Sat, 8pm: "Trophy Wife and Houseguests," comedy with Maura Lake and others, $10.

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. Canvas Cafe 1200 Ninth Ave; 504-0060, mike@westcoastvideo.net. "Open Mic Talent Showcase," 7:30pm, 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. Mediterranean Cafe 2475 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 549-1128. "Word Beat Reading Series," with featured readers Monique Everhart and Jack Boulware, 7pm, free. Poetry Center San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway; 338-3401, www.sfsu.edu/~poetry. Aharon Shabtai reads poetry, 4:30pm, free.

Saturday: ACCI Gallery 1652 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 843-2527, www.accigallery.com. "Three Western Voices," poetry reading with Utah Phillips, Paul Foreman, and Pack Browning to benefit the Berkeley Foundation for the Arts and the ACCI Gallery, 8pm, $10.

Sunday: First Unitarian Universalist Church 1187 Franklin; 273-1303, www.sixteenrivers.com. Benefit poetry reading for Sixteen Rivers Press with Kay Ryan, Diana O'Hehir, Gillian Conoley, and Ellen Dudley, 2:30pm, $10-50. See 8 Days a Week.

Monday: Perry's Joint 1661 Fillmore; 931-5260. "Celebration of the Word," with featured reader Elise Peeples and host Jeanne Powell, 7pm, free.