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

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 3376 19th St; www.acteva.com, www.spanganga.com. $11.50-15. Opens Fri/5, 8pm. Runs Sat/6, Dec 13, and 18-20, 10pm; Dec 12, 8pm. Through Dec 20. Spanganga presents a stage adaptation of the Douglas Adams sci-fi classic.

It Had to Be You Playhouse, 536 Sutter; 677-9596, reservations@sfplayhouse.org. $30 (previews $15; opening night $50; New Year's Eve benefit party, $75). Previews Wed/3-Thurs/4, 8pm. Opens Fri/5, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through Dec 31. Kimberly Richards and Bill Parnell star in Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna's comedy about the contentious relationship between a struggling actress and a successful commercial director.

A Night of Extreme Vaudeville Theatre Marsh, 1062 Valencia; 826-5750, www.carnivalofchaos.org. $12-22. Opens Fri/5, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Dec 20. Comedy troupe Carnival of Chaos performs circus acts, songs, stunts, and more, with live music by Madam Noir.

Bay Area

The Death of Meyerhold Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 704-8210, www.shotgunplayers.org. $10-18 (previews, pay what you can; opening night, $20). Previews Sat/6, 8pm; Sun/7, 7pm. Opens Dec 11, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm (no show Dec 25); Sun, 7pm. Through Dec 28. Also: Jan 8-25, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College, Berk. Thurs-Sat, 8pm (no shows Jan 2-3); Sun, 7pm (no show Jan 4). Shotgun Players perform Mark Jackson's epic work – a "tragedy with a smile on its lips" – about the great Russian theater director.

The Fourth Wall Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield, Palo Alto; (650) 903-6000, www.theatreworks.org. $20-48. Previews Wed/3-Fri/5, 8pm. Opens Sat/6, 8pm. Runs Tues/9 and Dec 16, 7:30pm; Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Dec 13 and 20, 2pm; no shows Dec 24-25); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Dec 28. See 8 Days a Week. Ongoing

*Alegria Pacific Bell Park, parking lot, 74 Mission Rock; 1-800-678-5440, www.cirquedusoleil.com. $35-70. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Thurs-Sat, 4pm); Sun, 1 and 5pm. Through Dec 14. Cirque du Soleil and its very big tent return to the Bay Area with another incomparable display of human ingenuity, virtuosity, and theatrical magic. Sylvan nymphs and gaudy equine creatures suggest an enchanted-forest theme this time, but Alegria, which premiered in San Francisco in 1994, eschews a specific narrative in favor of a loose assortment of acts. The more thrilling ones include two intersecting lines of tumblers disdaining gravity with a rapid sequence of complex trajectories; and two acrobats twirling high above flexible planks shouldered by their colleagues. René Dupéré's marvelous score evokes much of the "joy" of the show's Spanish title, while adding a scintillating layer to feats whose courageous defiance of limits leave one spellbound. (Avila)

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.

*Christmas with the Crawfords Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079. $15-25. Wed-Sat, 8pm (no shows Dec 25 and 31); Sun, 4 and 7pm. Through Jan 3. Christmas is a wonderful drag, so in the interest of having yourself a scary little one, slay bells are ringing at Theater Rhinoceros, where Joan Crawford (Hedda Lettuce) and "perfect children" Christina (Jef Valentine) and Christopher (David Bicha) prepare to host Hedda Hopper (Drew Todd) and her annual Christmas show for 1944. In truth, the evening in the immaculate, powder-blue Crawford living room mixes murderous glances from Mommie Dearest with even more Yuletide mirth. Liberace (musician Tom Shaw) is at the piano, at the portable bar Baby Jane Hudson (an indelible Mathew Martin, doubling as Judy Garland), and as the live radio broadcast begins, an assortment of stars – including Carmen Miranda (Mark Enea), Gloria Swanson (Trauma Flintstone), and Ethel Merman (Mark Sargent) – wander in looking for Gary Cooper's bash next door. Naturally, seasonal songs (shot through with career-defining routines) roll out inexorably from these wayward partygoers. But frosty Joan, bent on resuscitating her moribund career, will not be outdone, and the forecast is for a meltdown. Donna Drake directs with flair a powerhouse cast of outsized personalities in creator Richard Winchester and writer Sargent's effervescent spectacle, replete with bold and buoyant choreography, great singing, and a festive holiday mixture of the macabre and the carefree. (Avila)

'Comedy on the Square' Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 522-8900. $15. Upcoming performances include "A Celebration of Silliness: Holiday Madness," with Fred Anderson (Sun, 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm through Jan 4; no 5pm shows Dec 21 and 28); Oakland Playhouse Improv Troupe (Fri, 10pm through Dec 19); "An Evening with Olaf: Physical Comedy!" (Dec 21 and 28, 5pm).

The Construction Cabaret New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org. $15-20. Wed-Sat, 8pm (no shows Dec 24-26, 31, and Jan 1). Through Jan 3. Liebe Wetzel's Lunatique Fantastique puppeteer ensemble performs its new (not for kids) show.

Date Me Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; www.ticketweb.com. $15. Fri-Sun, 8pm. Through Dec 21. Eleanor Scott performs her solo comedy about what happens when "the art of love meets love of art."

Dirty Story Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 533 Sutter; 296-9179. $5-20. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Dec 20. Actors Theatre of San Francisco performs John Patrick Shanley's allegorical tale about violence.

The Exonerated Curran Theatre, 445 Geary; 512-7770, www.bestofbroadway-sf.com. $39-68. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Dec 21. Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's play – based on true stories of innocent survivors of death row – features a rotating cast of stars (Wed/3-Sun/7, Aidan Quinn and Montel Williams; Dec 9-14, Stockard Channing and Brian Dennehy; Dec 16-21, Peter Coyote and Penn Jillette).

*Firebird Motel Thick House, 1695 18th St; 401-8081, www.thickdescription.org. $15-25. Thurs/4-Sun/7, 8pm. In Firebird Motel, a haunting new chamber opera by composer David Conte and librettist David Yezzi commissioned by Thick Description, the graveyard shift in a lonely Mojave Desert motel literally becomes a graveyard. After being visited by the ghost of a young woman who was murdered, Ivan, the seedy motel's shy night clerk, tries to save the life of another girl destined to meet the same fate. Weaving influences of ragtime jazz and baroque cantata into strands of weeping, dissonant strings, and melodious clarinet and vocal lines, Conte's music is as mesmerizing as the eerie purple light that shrouds the stage every time the dead girl's specter appears. Gutsy performances by Mark Hernandez, Milissa Carey, Julie Queen, Shawnette Sulker, and Micah Epps counterpoise Mikiko Uesugi's soulless set and Cassandra Carpenter's trailer trash costumes to create an arresting balance between the squalid and the sublime. (Veltman)

Friends Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason; 989-0023. $20 (Thurs, pay what you can). Thurs/4-Sat/6, 8pm. Peter Levy's bittersweet comedy charts the fragile beginnings of a relationship destined to become a lifetime companionship. When Ruth (Beverly Elkan), a lonely but outgoing senior, finds herself accompanied on her Central Park bench by Max (John Hutchinson), a once successful crossword puzzle writer fallen on hard times, she notes aloud, "I usually sit here alone." Not exactly an inviting opening line, and it seems as though things might end before they've even begun. But she's only making an observation, and Ruth is actually eager to have a friend. Thus commences a tender if sometimes cantankerous relationship between two people in their twilight years who each find they have something to offer the other. The plot developments require a pretty generous suspension of disbelief, and Max's character is fairly implausible (not to mention a romanticized version of homelessness), but some delightful dialogue and two genuinely engaging presences on stage make this simple piece an intimate, often touching, pleasure to watch. (Shalson)

*A Little Night Music Post Street Theatre, 450 Post; 321-2900, www.ticketmaster.com. $50-75. Tues-Sat and Dec 22, 8pm (also Sat and Dec 26, 2pm; no shows Dec 24-25); Sun, 2 and 7pm. TheatreWorks artistic director Robert Kelley has another musical hit this season, following last summer's Bat Boy, with his revisiting of Stephen Sondheim's witty and wistful paean to romantic love (a semiridiculous affair worthy of clowns, as the show's most famous song has it). Inspired by Ingmar Bergman's only film comedy, the play studies romance through the eyes of Fredrika (Courtney Stokes), 13-year-old daughter of the aging free spirit and actress Desirée (an enchanting Charlotte Cornwall), who lives with her grandmother (Norma Hughes), a wealthy former courtesan. With Sondheim's tripping melodies and marvelous lyrics garbed in an exquisitely detailed production, Night casts a powerful spell early on and sustains it to the end. (Avila)

Noises Off Marines Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter; 1-877-771-6900. $40-60. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Jan 11. San Jose Repertory Theatre brings its hit production of the Michael Frayn comedy to San Francisco.

*Oil! (Chapter One: The Ride) Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, Marina at Laguna; 437-6775. $27 (Wed/3, pay what you can). Wed/3-Sun/7, 8pm (also Sun/7, 3pm). J. Arnold Ross (Robert Parsons) sits at the wheel with J. Arnold Ross Jr. (Max Napier) at his side. The year is 1912, and father and son, spiffy in matching driving outfits, peel across a gently rolling southern California highway on their way to Dad's business appointment. The Ride is but the first chapter of Oil!, Upton Sinclair's sweeping California saga, a portentous opening brought gleefully to life with customary fidelity to the original text in Word for Word's revival of its 2001 production. The four-person ensemble – which also features Gendell Hernandez and Stephanie Hunt in a rapid-fire succession of animate and inanimate roles – play exuberantly. And if the dark side of industrialism is, thematically speaking, a shadow only just beginning to grow across the otherwise sunny scenery, it's doubly sly of director Delia MacDougall to have transformed the car's Engine (Hernandez) and Speedometer (Hunt) into characters in their own right. (Avila)

A Streetcar Named Desire Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079. $5-15. Fri-Sat, 8:30pm. Through Dec 14. UStikeEm Productions performs an "alternatively gendered" version of Tennessee Williams's classic drama.

StretchMarks: Growing into Motherhood Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor; www.dramamamas.com. $17-22. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Dec 13. The felicitous arrival of a mother's first born – not necessarily what the brochure would lead you to believe. For a better idea of what's to come, or to commiserate with those who understand all too well, there's the Drama Mamas (Christine Armand DiBiasi, Christine Garofoli, Sarah Cluff, and Jodi Schiller) and their light but soulful comedy celebrating "the joy and the madness of mothering." Three very different personalities – Leda, the artist (DiBiasi); Saundra, the businesswoman (Garofoli); and Annie, the nurse (Deborah Banks) – are first-time moms in the same prenatal yoga class, and over the next several years support one another with an understanding that transcends differences of class and temperament. In addition, Mother Nature (Anna Melillo) jumps in with the kind of experience you can't buy. While the script can prove jarringly uneven, director Alice Shikina strikes a nice overall balance between the show's humor – some of it predictable, some of it fresh – and the emotionally cogent portraits intelligently drawn by DiBiasi, Garofoli, and Banks. (Avila)

Trucker Rhapsody Exit Stage Left, 156 Eddy; 821-2481, www.ticketweb.com. $15-20 (Thurs, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Dec 13. First Seen presents the West Coast premiere of Toni Press-Coffman's drama about the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Triptych Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, Marina at Laguna; 441-8822, www.magictheatre.org. $24-38 (previews $20; opening night $50). Previews Wed/3-Fri/5, 8:30pm. Opens Sat/6, 8:30pm. Dec 7-21: runs Tues-Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 2:30pm. Through Dec 21. Dec 22-Jan 4: runs Fri-Sat, 5 and 8:30pm; Sun, 2:30pm. Magic Theatre stages the world premiere of Edna O'Brien's drama about three women who share an obsession with one man.

You Should Be So Lucky New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org. $18-28. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Jan 4. Christopher (Patrick Michael Dukeman) is a reclusive gay man and semi-employed electrologist whose lonely life turns around after he is befriended by a wealthy and hirsute Jewish senior citizen. Mr. Rosenberg (Richard Wenzel) takes a fatherly shine to him over the course of several hair removal sessions in Christopher's modest, if eccentrically furnished Greenwich Village apartment. Rosenberg sends his new protégé to a big charity ball – whence he returns with a prince of a guy, Walter Zuckerman (Scott Cox) – and finally leaves him a major inheritance, which the ghost of the former financial adviser insists on overseeing. Rosenberg's avaricious, terribly intimidating daughter Lenore (a razor-sharp Adrienne Krug) contests the will, however, throwing everyone, including Christopher's feckless and histrionic sister Polly (Camilla Busnovetsky), into a blind panic. A showdown ensues before daytime TV's Oprah-like "Wanda" (Laura Sottile). In its mishmash of styles, playwright Charles Busch's screwy 1994 comedy, presented by New Conservatory Theatre Center, somehow resembles Christopher's monstrous sense of decor (a farcical mélange by set designer Cat Stevans), and yet it's an approach that works quite well over all, especially as director Christopher Jenkins and his sharp cast bite into the material with affable glee. (Avila)

Bay Area

'Continental Divide: Mothers Against and Daughters of the Revolution' Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. $10-55. Mothers: Fri/5, Tues/9, Dec 13, and 26, 8pm; Sat/6, Dec 14, 21, and 27, 2pm; Sun/7, Dec 10, and 28, 7pm. Daughters: Thurs/4, Sat/6, Dec 11-12, 16, 19, 23, and 27, 8pm; Sun/7, Dec 13, 20, and 28, 2pm; Wed/3, Dec 14, 17, and 21, 7pm. Berkeley Rep performs two interconnected plays by David Edgar about a gubernatorial campaign.

Endgame Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; (510) 841-7287 or (510) 644-9940. $10-20 (Wed, pay what you can). Wed-Sat and Dec 15, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through Dec 21. Wilde Irish Productions performs Samuel Beckett's poetic exploration of heartbreak, longing, and loss.

Lobby Hero Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; (510) 843-4822. $34-36. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Dec 21. Aurora Theatre Company performs Kenneth Lonergan's modern morality tale set in a Manhattan high-rise.

Macbeth La Val's Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid, Berk; (510) 464-4468. $10-15. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Dec 13. Impact Theatre performs a "fast-paced, bloody take" on Shakespeare's classic tale of ambition gone awry.

*The Pavilion Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; (415) 388-5208, www.marintheatre.org. $28-45. Wed/3, 7:30pm; Thurs/4-Sat/6, 8pm (also Sat/6, 2pm); Sun/7, 2 and 7pm. Marin Theatre Company presents Craig Wright's clever and overall enjoyable play about a high school reunion that brings former sweethearts Peter (John Flanagan) and Kari (Deborah Taylor) together after 20 years, though it may prove still too soon to bridge the pain of their decidedly messy breakup. Rather than let a sentimental premise grow maudlin, Wright wraps his wistful little drama in an exuberant existential cosmology, introduced by the Narrator (Joan Mankin) in a short history of the universe that, replete with visual aids, traces the course of evolution to the condemned pavilion in Pine City, Minn., where the reunion gathers. Danny Scheie's astute direction coaxes engaging performances from Flanagan and Taylor, while Mankin, who doubles hilariously as the full range of Kari and Peter's barely maturated classmates, lends the production an irresistible energy. (Avila)

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife The Stage, 490 South First St, San Jose; (408) 283-7142, www.sanjosestage.com. $20-42. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Dec 21. San Jose Stage performs Charles Busch's adult comedy about a woman's midlife crisis.

Wintertime San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose; (408) 367-7255, www.sjrep.com. $18-52. Previews Wed/3-Thurs/4, 8pm (also Wed/3, noon). Opens Fri/5, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, Dec 16, 22, and 29-30, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm; Dec 10, noon; no shows Dec 24-25 or Dec 31-Jan 1); Sun, 2 and 7pm (no shows Dec 14; Jan 4, show at 2pm only). Through Jan 4. San Jose Rep performs Charles L. Mee's comedy about three couples who find their romantic getaways unexpectedly complicated.

dance

Dance Naganuma SomArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan; 864-4120, www.dancenaganuma.com. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. $15. The company performs "Sticks and Feathers," an evening featuring the premiere Whispers, the work in progress Forest House, excerpts from Faerie Birds: Trapped and Kiyohime, and 1992's Fences.

Leigh Evans Noh Space, 2840 Mariposa; 695-8889. Fri-Sat and Dec 11, 8pm. Through Dec 13. $15. See Critic's Choice.

Mna Rua Dance Productions 848 Community Space, 848 Divisadero; 922-2385. Fri-Sun, 8:30pm. Through Dec 14. $14 (no one turned away for lack of funds; Sat/6, pay what you can). Tara Brandel and her company perform Love Dances, a dance theater piece that explores the tenacity of love during difficult times.

Vortex Collective Xenodrome Theater, 1320 Potrero; 436-9780, martialdance@yahoo.com. Fri-Sat, 8pm. $10-15. The movement artists' collective, consisting of queer people of color, premieres original work inspired by martial arts, theater, jazz, and modern dance.

Bay Area

Aguas da Bahia Dance Company Kaiser Auditorium (second fl of Kaiser Center Bldg), 300 Lakeside, Oakl; www.aguasdabahia.com. Fri, 8pm. $16-18. (Also Sun/7, 7pm, Brava Center for the Arts, 2781 24th St, S.F.) The dance company performs "Aguas," a night of regional Brazilian dance, folklore, and theater. performance

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; www.batsimprov.com. $8-12. This week: "King-of-the-Hill Theatresports" (Fri, 8pm); "Gorilla Theatre" (Sat, 8pm); "Sunday Players" (Sun, 8pm).

'Cinderella Waltz' Mission Recreation Center Auditorium, 745 Treat; 337-4713, www.sffct.org. Thurs-Sat, 7:30pm. Free. San Francisco Free Civic Theater presents an extension of its latest show, Don Nigro's fractured, for-adults retelling of the classic fairy tale.

'Circushead' Spanganga, 3376 19th St; (925) 209-4178. Sun, 8pm. $7. Comedians Will Franken and Reannie Roads and musicians Eric Moore and Jonah Daniel perform in this "scripted variety show," a series of interconnected sketches, songs, and film clips.

'Domino' Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission; 978-ARTS, www.yerbabuenaarts.org. Mon, 8pm. $5. See 8 Days a Week.

'The Guest House: An Evening of Rumi and Friends' Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness; 392-4400. Tues, 7:30pm. $25. A renowned poet and translator of Rumi, Coleman Barks heads up this evening of storytelling, dance, and song.

Stephanie Juno, Heather Gold Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission; 978-ARTS. Thurs, 6pm. Free with gallery admission ($3-6). The performance artists present separate works: Edgeworthy and Need a Lawyer?, respectively.

Mansaku-no-kai Kyogen Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness; 392-4400, www.theatreofyugen.org. Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. $32-60. The Japanese company performs the classic comic theater style developed under the samurai warrior class during the 14th and 15th centuries.

'Mystery Box House' OmniCircus, 550 Natoma; 701-0686. Sat, 9:30pm. Through Dec 13. $10-15. DeusMachina performs a surreal show with live music, actors, and artists, plus a cast of life-size robots.

'The Play of Daniel' St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. Wed-Fri, 8pm. $15-24. Aurora Theatre Company and the Pacific Mozart Ensemble perform the 12th-century work exploring the biblical tale of Daniel in the lion's den.

'Three Voices: Emerging Voices at TJT' Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida; 285-8080, www.atjt.com. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. $15. Three emerging Jewish solo artists – Israeli Robbie Gringras and Bay Area locals Amy Tobin and Dan Wolf – perform their latest works.

'Working for the Mouse' Off-Market Theater, 965 Mission; 896-6477. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through Dec 13. $12-20. Combined Art Form Entertainment hosts an extension of Trevor Allen's solo play about his experiences working as a Disney character.

Bay Area

'A Context for Peace' La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 849-2568, www.lapena.org. Fri, 8pm. Call for price. Bay Area musicians, composers, authors, and poets express their desire for peace with new musical works, poems, and spoken word. comedy

Climate Theater 285 Ninth St; 863-1076. Mon, 8pm: "Monday Night Improv Jam," presented by the San Francisco Improv Co-Operative, $5.

Cobb's Comedy Club 915 Columbus; 928-4320, www.cobbscomedy.com. Wed, 8pm: "An Intimate Evening with Stan Ridgeway," $17. Thurs-Sun, 8pm (also Fri-Sat, 10:15pm): Eddie Brill with Jim Short, hosted by Mark Nadeau, $13-16. Mon-Tues, 8pm: "All Pro Comedy Showcase," $7.

Edinburgh Castle Pub 950 Geary; 885-4074, www.castlenews.com. Mon, 9pm: "Make Room for Love: A Night of Comedy with Charles Ezell," $5.

Great American Music Hall 859 O'Farrell; 478-2277, www.musichallsf.com. Wed-Thurs, 8pm: Singer-songwriter-comedian Stephen Lynch performs, $21-39.95.

Mock Cafe 1074 Valencia; noychromosome@yahoo.com. Fri, 9pm: "No Y Chromosome Comedy Showcase," $7.

Odeon Bar 3223 Mission; 871-6388, www.odeonbar.com. Fri, 9pm: Comedian Mike O'Connell performs, $5. See 8 Days a Week.

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

Spanganga 3376 19th St; 821-1102. Fri, 10pm: "Two Years and Still Not Famous," sketch comedy by Uphill Both Ways, $10. Through Dec 12. 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, S.F.; (415) 440-5530. "Spoken Word Salon," with host Diamond Dave Whitaker, 8pm, free. Canvas Cafe 1200 Ninth Ave, S.F.; (415) 504-0060, mike@westcoastvideo.net. "Open Mic Talent Showcase," 7:30pm, free. Barrows Hall Eighth fl, Lippman Rm, UC Berkeley, Berk; (510) 642-2743. "June Jordan's Poetry for the People Fall 2003 Reading," 7pm, free.

Thursday: Coppa D'Oro Cafe 3166 24th St, S.F.; (415) 826-8003. "Poetry on the Patio," spoken word and acoustic music open mic with host Charlie Getter, 6:30pm, free. Hotel Cosmo 761 Post, S.F.; www.artworksf.com. "Poetry (and More) at the Cosmo," with hosts Jeanne Powell and Philip T. Nails, 6pm, free. Oakland Box 1928 Telegraph, Oakl; (510) 451-1932, www.oaklandbox.com, www.oaklandpoetry.net. "Oakland Poetry Slam and Verbal Kre-â'shen," open mic and featured readers, plus slam competition, 8pm, $10. Poetry Center San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway, S.F.; (415) 338-3401, www.sfsu.edu/~poetry. Clayton Eshleman reads, 4:30pm, free. New College of California 776 Valencia, S.F.; (415) 440-5530. "Poets and Performers for Matt Gonzalez," open mic poetry and songs hosted by Diamond Dave Whitaker, 6:30pm, "give what you get what you need" donations accepted. Morrison Library Doe Library, UC Berkeley, Berk; (510) 642-0137, lunchpoems.berkeley.edu. "Lunch Poems Reading Series," with featured reader Robert Hass, 12:10pm, free. City Lights 261 Columbus, S.F.; (415) 648-8288. Release party for Michelle Tea's Beautiful: Collected Poems, 7pm, free. Club Eros 2051 Market, S.F.; kirkread@earthlink.net. "Smegma," reading with Lynn Breedlove, Jaime Cortez, Tina D'Elia, Seth Bisen and Keith Hennessy, and Daphne Gottlieb, 8pm, $5-10.

Saturday: Berkeley Public Library South Branch, 1901 Russell, Berk; (510) 527-9905, poetalk@aol.com. Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts an open reading, 3pm, free.

Sunday: Cody's Books 2454 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 845-7852. "Poetry Flash," with Clayton Eshleman, 7:30pm, $2.