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

Flaming Iguanas Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079, www.therhino.org. $15-25. Previews Thurs/1-Fri/2, 8pm. Opens Sat/3, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm (also April 10, 18, 3pm). Through April 24. Theatre Rhino presents John Fisher and Duca Knezevic's multispace, multimedia adaptation of Erika Lopez's novel about a "bicoastal, biracial, bisexual biker chick."

Not a Genuine Black Man Marsh, 1062 Valencia; 641-0235. $15-22. Opens Thurs/1, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through May 15. Brian Copeland performs his first solo show, a comedic yet poignant look at growing up in the suburbs.

Saint Joan of the Stockyards Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 1-866-468-3399, www.custommade.org. $15-18. Opens Sat/3, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through April 25. Custom Made Theatre Company performs Brecht's version of the Joan of Arc story, set in Great Depression-era Chicago.

Bay Area

The Miser Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College, Berk; (510) 704-8210, www.shotgunplayers.org. Free (donations accepted). Previews Sat/3, 8pm; Sun/4, 7pm. Opens Mon/5, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through May 2. Shotgun Players kicks off its free-admission season with Molière's classic farce.

My Àntonia Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; (650) 903-6000, www.theatreworks.org. $20-48. Previews Wed/31-Fri/2, 8pm. Opens Sat/3, 8pm. Runs Tues, 7:30pm; Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm; no 2pm shows Sat/3, April 10); Sun, 2 and 7pm (no 2pm shows Sun/4, April 25). Through April 25. TheatreWorks presents the world premiere of Stephen and Scott Schwartz's adaptation of Willa Cather's coming-of-age drama.

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 Carpetbagger's Children Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason; 989-0023. $20 (Thurs, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through April 17. The Phoenix Theatre presents distinguished playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote's 2001 drama about three grown-up daughters of a former Union soldier turned wealthy Texas plantation owner. Told as a series of monologues, the play has the feel of a pop-up short story as it contrasts the distinct perspectives of Cornelia (Gretchen Grant), Grace Ann (Linda Ayres-Frederick), and Sissie (Kate Austin-Groen) concerning certain family trials and triumphs on and around their late father's estate. Foote introduces several themes along the way – including race relations, the distorting influence of wealth and privilege on intimate ties, and the stigma associated with being the family of a carpetbagger – but inconsistently, giving the drama an unfocused quality, beyond perhaps the idea of unsettled loyalties. Nevertheless, the play serves as a vehicle for three wonderfully sharp and graceful performances. (Avila)

'Comedy on the Square' Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 522-8900. Most shows $15. Upcoming performances include "A Celebration of Silliness," with Fred Anderson (Sun, 3 and 7pm, ongoing); "Circus Head" with Will Franken (Sun/4, 8:30pm); "Bush Bash 2004: A Political Comedy Show" (April 11, 8:30pm); "New Vaudeville Comedy Showcase" (April 16, 8 and 10pm); "Comedy Showcase" with Tony Sparks (April 25, 8:30pm).

Disney's The Lion King Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market; 512-7770, 356-LION, www.bestofbroadway-sf.com. $26-82. Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Sat and June 23, 25, 28, and 30, 2pm); Sun, 1 and 6:30pm (no shows June 27 and July 4). Through Sept 5. Apparently director and designer Julie Taymor didn't win those Tonys for nothing. The Bay Area premiere of her staged interpretation of Disney's The Lion King, courtesy of Best of Broadway, works so well you're liable to forgive the residual Disney that clings to this singular spectacle. The plot – a lion cub grows up in exile until he can assume his rightful place on the usurped throne of his late father – must be familiar to nearly everyone by now; the characters are the stock ones recycled by Disney. They're animated, however, by a superb cast. (Avila)

Dr. Faustus Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, Marina at Laguna; 441-8822, www.magictheatre.org. $25-53. Wed/31-Sat/3, 8:30pm; Sun/4, 2:30pm. Set in a timeless scene with a strong 17th-century locution on the loose in it, David Mamet's version of the Faust legend catches the title character (David Rasche) on a double-celebration day: it's the birthday of his adoring son (Benjamin Beecroft and Nathan Wexler) and the day of the triumphant completion of his long-awaited magnum opus, a work that claims to have reduced all of human nature to a mathematical equation. Dr. Faustus amounts to so great a departure into an obsessive formalism that it leaves its familiar but alluring themes and the playwright's usual strengths registering only dimly on the horizon. (Avila)

*Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson; 978-2787, www.42ndStMoon.org. $17-30. Thurs-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6pm (also Sat/3, 1pm); Sun, 3pm; April 14, 7pm. Through April 18. 42nd Street Moon's new season of "lost musicals" gets off to a strong start with the 1949 musical comedy by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields. Set aboard a cruise ship bound for Paris, it follows Little Rock, Ark., ingenue Lorelei Lee (Amy Louise Cole) and her best friend and chaperone, Dorothy (Cynthia Myers), on a voyage of discovery in which romance and jewelry play not necessarily equal parts. Although today known to generations of movie watchers via the 1953 Hollywood version starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, this zany flapper-powered escapade, which launched Carol Channing's storied career, rarely receives a staged revival. This may have something to do with the mostly forgettable if pleasant score, whose most glittering exception is the indelible "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," followed closely by two or three especially tuneful numbers. That said, this well-cast and sprightly production – presented in the semiformal staged-concert format, with costumed actors holding songbooks – moves smoothly and enjoyably along to musical director Dave Dobrusky's piano accompaniment, with capable singing and nice comic turns across the board. Expertly helmed by director Caroline Altman, the show gets added kick (sometimes rather high) from Cindy Goldfield's lively choreography. (Avila)

How to Write a Song Off-Market Theater, 965 Mission; 896-6477, www.offmarkettheater.com. $12-20 sliding scale. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through April 10. Ira Marlowe performs his multimedia comedy about a songwriter's adventures in the music biz.

The Island and Sizwe Bansi Is Dead Next Stage, 1620 Gough; 333-6389, www.wehavemet.org. $20. Thurs/1-Sat/3, 8pm; Sun/4, 7pm. Multi Ethnic Theater performs two works by South African playwright Athol Fugard.

Mamma Mia! Golden Gate Theatre, One Taylor; 512-7770, www.ticketmaster.com. $40-81. Tues-Sat, April 12, 8pm (also Sat and April 14, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through April 17. This surprisingly enduring Broadway musical, a tribute to love (free and otherwise) told through the songs of '70s-pop gods ABBA, returns to San Francisco. I know people must be buying tickets to this, but there's just something decidedly tepid and amateurish about the whole conceit. The singing – belted out by the characters in sometimes jarringly idiosyncratic fashion against Keith Thompson's nine-piece electric rock orchestra – generally comes across like exceptional karaoke. (Avila)

A Man of No Importance New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctcsf.org. $18-38. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through April 11. New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the West Coast premiere of the musical by Terrence McNally (its season's esteemed playwright in residence), an adaptation of the small 1994 Albert Finney film about a meek and closeted Dublin bus conductor with a Wilde side. Set in the still-conservative but transforming early '60s, with music and lyrics by the team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, the sorry "double life" of our middle-aged virgin protagonist, Alfie Byrne (Arthur Scappaticci), oscillates between sedate meals with sister and roommate Lily (Shelly Lynn Johnson) and more extraverted flights of aesthetic fancy as beloved director of his church's amateur drama group. But a flap with church authorities over his intention to stage Salome, aggravated by a crush on bus-driver friend Robbie (Levi Damione), pressures Alfie to heed the words of his patron saint, Oscar, and erase the line between art and life. As a modest-size, character-driven musical, there may be a bit more merit in the idea than this flat and perfunctory production suggests. But, despite a stronger second act, George Quick's muted direction and uneven cast do little to sell us on it. (Avila)

Mystery Box House Omnicircus Theatre, 550 Natoma; 701-0686. $10-15. Opens Fri/2, 9:30pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 9:30pm. Through May 1. Subterranean Shakespeare and Omnicircus present this "erotic robotic junkyard cabaret."

*Sandwich Exit Theatre, 277 Taylor; 673-3847, www.sffringe.org. $12-20 sliding scale. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through April 10. Innocence is dead, and cooking shows have not looked the same since Martha Stewart's conviction or Banana, Bag and Bodice's "musical about animals and humans." While awaiting the rehabilitation of the former, you'll be interested to know the latter – a 60-odd-minute burlesque with a cat, a rabbit, and a potato bug – returns to the Exit Theatre unrepentant, even slightly expanded, after premiering at last year's San Francisco Fringe Festival to much applause and wafts of bacon grease. Couched in a cozy environment done up like a cross between a meat locker and Pee Wee's Playhouse, a clownish couple (Jessica Jelliffee and writer-performer Jason Craig) and their morose house cat (Parnell Klug) unpack the harm in the harmless construction of domesticity and lunch. Featuring sly musical accompaniment by David Malloy (Buffalo Knife Man to your left as you come in) and catchy, tuneful sing-alongs like "Poked in the Womb," it's a darkly absurd and satisfying send-up of the so-far futile attempt to declaw human nature. (Avila)

Sorya! 2 Chickens and a Bear Noh Space, 2840 Mariposa; 621-7978, www.theatreofyugen.org. $15-20. Fri/2-Sat/3, 8pm; Sun/4, 3pm. Theatre of Yugen presents its second annual offering of Kyogen comedies, with works by Pirandello and Chekhov performed in the Japanese theater style, as well as a new translation of a traditional play.

Talking with Angels Actors Center of San Francisco, 3012 16th St; 389-8975, www.talkingwithangels.com. $17-25. Extended run: Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through May 8. Shelley Mitchell performs her solo play, drawn from the diaries of four young women living in Nazi-occupied Hungary.

Three Hotels Thick House, 1695 18th St; 401-8081. $10-20. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through April 11. Eastenders Repertory Company presents Jon Robin Baitz's profile of the corporateering class, those 21st-century colonialists in Armani neckties, as seen through the prism of a marriage in meltdown. Preceded by a shorter piece, Baitz's similarly themed but slight Four Monologues, Three Hotels unfolds as two sets of monologues by a disillusioned corporate executive (Craig Souza) and his emotionally shattered wife (Michaela Greeley). Their peripatetic life is set against the vicious and emotionally enervating company culture that begins to divide them after the random murder of their only child. Meanwhile, at the back of the stage, a series of slide projections showing, alternately, Morocco, the Virgin Islands, and Mexico act as a window into the various channels of life that continue implacably somewhere beyond the placeless formality of hotel walls. Baitz's skewering of the sociopathic monomania and cannibalism of a transnational corporate culture offers little we don't already know, even if there's pleasure to be had in his dark humor. Director Charles E. Polly gets strong, focused performances from Greeley and Souza, however, who together ensure that the play's ultimate emphasis on corruption comes over in compellingly intimate terms. (Avila)

The Time of Your Life Geary Theater, 415 Geary; 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. $16-73. Wed/31-Sat/3, April 7-10, 13-17, and 20-24, 8pm (also Sat/3, April 7, 10, 17, 21, and 24, 2pm); Sun, 2pm (also Sun/4, 7pm); Tues/6, 7pm. Through April 25. ACT presents Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of William Saroyan's San Francisco-set drama.

The Underbelly Diaries Exit Stage Left, 156 Eddy; 819-2036. $15. Thurs/1-Sat/3, 8pm. Anabolic steroids may produce bodies of Greek god-like dimensions, but in the process, they reduce certain of the body's attributes to childlike proportions. This is one lesson to be gleaned from Aaron Berg's solo comedy about his experiences working as a body builder, prostitute, and stripper. Considering that he's speaking from personal experience, this may be too much information. But it's the perfect metaphor for Berg's tell-all, confessional, self-deprecating mode of autobiographical performance. It captures the irony at the heart of Berg's tales about being a privileged Jewish boy from the suburbs who thought street life would be glamorous, who thought turning tricks would impress the girls by making him rich but found instead that he wound up paying for sex as often as he got paid for it. Berg is a dynamic performer and a great storyteller who is often quite hilarious. However, he overestimates the provocative power of politically incorrect humor, and his stories are frequently less shocking or unconventional than they strive to be. (Shalson)

Underneath the Lintel Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy; 267-4876, www.ticketweb.com. $12-18. Thurs/1-Sat/3, 8pm. Teatro Shalom presents Seattle-based writer-performer Glen Berger's solo work, a modern Jewish folktale about a fussbudget librarian from Holland who becomes obsessed with a very overdue book checked out to an ancient patron, anonymous but for a single initial. One clue after another leads the Dutch homebody on a transnational hunt for this elusive, seemingly immortal globetrotter and monumentally irresponsible bibliophile. As he sacrifices all former security in pursuit of the mystery, the librarian turned sleuth confronts his own missteps, including a youthful hesitation that may have cost him his only chance for happiness. This second narrative thread imposes itself weakly and somewhat awkwardly on the ultimately existential journey, however, while the story's repetitious aspects and gentle but often dull humor grow wearying. Like many a fairytale, Berger's light treatment and euphoric ending belie a darker theme, and his persnickety clown may convey it best to a younger audience, or one absent jaded miscreants anyway. (Avila)

Bay Area

*All My Sons Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield, Palo Alto; (650) 903-6000, www.theatreworks.org. $20-50. Extended run: Thurs/1-Sat/3, 8pm; Sun/4, 2pm. The story of an industrialist whose wartime profiteering may have played into the death of his own soldier son, Arthur Miller's All My Sons tries to delineate an ethic of personal responsibility too often lost in the machinery of modern society and its stock phrases about "doing one's job" or "doing business." Kent Nicholson's note-perfect production for Palo Alto's TheatreWorks is animated by an admirable cast, led by the superb Will Marchetti as businessman-patriarch Joe Keller and the equally fine Carla Spindt as his wife. Nicholson's faithful rendering affirms that the more timeworn aspects of the play need not get in the way of a solid drama with a simple yet still palpitating message at its core. In fact, the nostalgia factor inherent in the play's postwar setting and perspective may only heighten Miller's intended contrast between the seeming serenity of American middle-class life and the bitter strife and disharmony uncovered in the course of the plot. (Avila)

*The Bright River Transparent Theatre, 1901 Ashby, Berk; (510) 644-2204, www.epicarts.org or www.timbarsky.com. $12-20. Extended run: Thurs/1-Sat/3, 8pm. Writer-musician-performer Tim Barsky and company take you to the other side with a committed piece of underground theater that refashions the Jewish storytelling tradition in a fusion of hip-hop beats, jazz-inspired improvisation, and slam-style lyricism presented by Epic Arts. Musicians Jessica Ivry, Shree Shyam, and the phenomenal human beatbox Andrew Chaikin join Barsky in creating a cool and hypnotic bed of sound over which Barsky's inspired phrasing flows brightly like the river separating this life from the next. (Avila)

*Ghosts Berkeley Repertory's Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. $10-55. Tues, Thurs-Fri, 8pm (also April 8, 2pm); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm); Sat, 2 and 8pm (no 2pm show April 10). Through April 11. Director Jonathan Moscone and a charismatic cast breathe considerable life into Berkeley Repertory Theatre's production of Ibsen's morbid classic, a withering assault on the self-destructive moral hypocrisy of bourgeois society. Mrs. Alving (a powerful Ellen McLaughlin) has held back the ugly truth about her outwardly respectable but secretly dissolute late husband to protect her now grown-up son, Oswald (a winningly erratic Davis Duffield), a bohemian painter returned from Paris in failing health. Her desire to relieve her suffering son's self-doubts with the news that his complaint relates to his father's sins rather than his own finds itself checked by the prim Pastor Manders (James Carpenter), who's helping her open a public memorial to her husband. But when Oswald pursues the maid Regina (Emily Ackerman), good daughter of a local sinner (Brian Keith Russell), the ghosts of the past return with greater fury. Except for a sort of Royal Tenenbaums moment (in which our emotions end up unnecessarily and distractingly cued by a sentimental pop song), Moscone's direction moves things forward with elegant precision. (Avila)

My Old Lady Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; (415) 388-5208, www.marintheatre.org. $28-45 (Tues, pay what you can). Tues, Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Thurs/1, 1pm; April 10, 2pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through April 11. Marin Theatre Company performs Isreal Horowitz's comedy about an American writer who inherits an apartment in Paris – only to discover it's already occupied by an elderly woman and her daughter.

dance

Company Chaddick ODC Theater, 3153 17th St; 863-9834, www.ticketweb.com. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. $19. The company celebrates its 19th season with "Eclipse," featuring new collaborations by artistic director Cheryl Chaddick.

Erika Shuch Performance Project Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia; 626-3311, www.theintersection.org. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through April 17. $9-15 (Thurs, pay what you can). See 8 Days a Week.

Paul Taylor Dance Company Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, 700 Howard; 392-4400, www.performances.org. Program A: Thurs/1, 8pm; Sun/4, 2pm. Program B: Fri/2, 8pm. Program C: Wed/31 and Sat/3, 8pm. $35-55. Program A includes Arden Court, Runes, and Dante Variations; Program B, Mercuric Tidings, Le grand puppetier, and Promethean Fire; Program C, Aureole, 3 Epitaphs, Sunset, and Piazzolla Caldera.

*San Francisco Ballet War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness; 865-2000, www.sfballet.org. Program Five (Apollo, The Four Temperaments, Serenade): Wed/31, 7:30pm; Fri/2, 8pm; Sun/4, 2pm. Program Six (Square Dance, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Who Cares?): Thurs/1, Sat/3, 8pm (also Sat/3, 2pm). $8-132. Program Five is the best demonstration I can think of for why Balanchine's reputation, 20 years after his death, is higher than ever. The revolutionary ideas he worked out, some as early as the 1920s, in Serenade, Apollo, and The Four Temperaments couldn't be more different from each other, yet time has barely diminished their impact. San Francisco Ballet has never looked better than in these stunning choreographies. Not just stars like Tina LeBlanc, who recently came back from her second maternity leave and who has never danced better, or hothead powerhouse Gonzalo Garcia, who literally grows up in Apollo – but also all those semianonymous corps dancers who carry the weight and define a company. They're tops. If you like Americana, go to Program Six, comprising ballets Mr. B. made during his long love affair with American pop culture. They're good, but not as good as the earlier stuff. (Felciano)

'SkyDancers ... Women Who Fly Through the Air! A Feast and Festival of Aerial Dance' Dance Mission Theatre, 3316 24th St; 273-4633. $18-20. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 6pm. Through April 11. $18-20. This week: Jo Kreiter and Flyaway Productions, Susan Voyticky, Jane Martin, Kerri Kresinski, Dance Brigade, and Terry Sendgraff choreographing for Elizabeth Randall and members of Project Bandaloop (Fri. night only). See Critic's Choice.

Bay Area

'San Francisco Open DanceSport Championships' San Francisco Airport Marriott, 1800 Old Bayshore Hwy, Burlingame; (650) 366-0504, www.sfopen.com. $5-50. Fri-Sun, 9am-midnight. Amateur and professional ballroom dancers of all ages compete at this weekend-long event.

performance

'CAFE Presents' Off-Market Theater (and Studio), 965 Mission; 896-6477, www.cafearts.com. $10. This week: "Improv Revolution" (Thurs, 8pm); "The Bitter Show," sketch comedy (Fri, 8pm); Will Franken performs stand-up (Sat, 8pm); "Ha Bloody Ha," live talk show hosted by Harmon Leon (Sat, 10pm, through April 24).

'La Llorona/The Weeping Woman: A Mayan Legend' Marsh, 1062 Valencia; 285-5110. Sun, 4pm. $10-15. Music Theater Collaborative presents excerpts from Hector Armienta's new musical.

'Pacific Playback Theatre: Tricksters and Fools' Traveling Jewish Theater, 470 Florida; 282-8558, www.acteva.com/go/playback. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. $15-20 sliding scale. See 8 Days a Week.

'Va Va Voom Room' Plush Room, York Hotel, 940 Sutter; 885-2800, www.vavavoomroom.com. Extended run: Fri-Sat, 8 and 11pm (no shows May 14-15). Through May 22. $29.75. The New York City-based ensemble performs a burlesque and vaudeville cabaret.

Bay Area

'Jane Austen in Berkeley: Episode One' Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby, Berk; (510) 841-9441, www.andreamock.org. Mon/5, April 12, and 19, 8pm. $7. See 8 Days a Week.

'Kids Rad Puppet Mini-Fest' Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar, Berk; (510) 763-0022. Sun, 3-5pm. $6. Kids and parents are invited to this afternoon of puppet shows, plus a puppet-making workshop.

'Martha's Scandalous Speakeasy Show and Sexy Cirque Extravaganza' Kimball's East, 6005 Shellmound, Emeryville; (415) 248-5395, www.scandals4short.com. Thurs-Sun, 8:30pm. $29-59. Circus and vaudeville acts, plus burlesque dancing, jazz, and more, highlight this revue.

comedy

Bazaar Cafe 5927 California; 831-5620. Tues, 8pm: "Doug Ferrari and Friends," stand-up comedy, free.

Blue Danube Coffee House 306 Clement; 221-9041. Thurs, 8pm: "Quipster Cabaret," with Blair Butler, Mark Schaffer, Joe Klocek, W. Kamau Bell, and M.I. Blue, free.

Climate Theatre 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: "All-Pro Comedy Showcase," $7. Thurs-Sun, 8pm (also Fri-Sat, 10:15pm): Judy Tenuta, Mark Davis, $20-25.

Everett Middle School Auditorium, 450 Church; 642-5905, events@826valencia.com, www.826valencia.org. Thurs, 7pm: "826 Valencia's Second Annual Comedy Night," with Patton Oswalt, Brian Malow, Kasper Hauser, and others, $12-20. See 8 Days a Week.

Hyena Theater 2390 Mission, Ste 304; 821-3601. Sat, 8:30pm: "Hyena Comedy Showcase," stand-up show, $6.

Java Beach 1396 La Playa; 665-5282. Wed, 8pm: "Doug Ferrari and Friends," stand-up comedy, free.

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

Rasselas Jazz 1534 Fillmore; 346-8986. Wed, 8pm: Comedy with Miracle Malone, plus jazz artist Susie Butler, $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, SF; (415) 440-5530. "Spoken Word Salon," with host Diamond Dave Whitaker, 8pm, free. Canvas Cafe 1200 Ninth Ave, SF; (415) 504-0060, mike@westcoastvideo.net. "Open Mic Talent Showcase," 7:30pm, free.

Thursday: Mediterranean Cafe 2475 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 526-5985. "Word Beat Reading Series," with featured readers Garrett Murphy and Manuel Garcia Jr, followed by open mic, 7pm, free. Hotel Cosmo 761 Post, SF; www.artworksf.com. "Poetry (and More) at the Cosmo," with hosts Jeanne Powell and Philip T. Nails; this week, April Fool's Day celebration, plus open mic, 6pm, $3. 16th Street/Mission BART Plaza 16th St at Mission, SF; (415) 255-9881. "CAI Street Arts Workshop," open mic, 8:30pm, free. Canvas Cafe 1200 Ninth Ave, SF; (415) 731-2253, www.openmicshowcase.org. "Open Mic Showcase," taping for new public TV series, 7pm, free. El Rio 3158 Mission, SF; (415) 782-3170. Poet Joe Pachinko reads from The Urinals of Hell, 7pm, free. Morrison Library Doe Library, UC Berkeley, Berk; (510) 642-0137. "Lunch Poems Reading Series," with David St. John, 12:10pm, free.

Friday: Great American Music Hall 859 O'Farrell, SF; (415) 885-0750. "Green Wedge," spoken word forum with Matt Gonzalez, Jello Biafra, Medea Benjamin, Kevin Danaher, and musical guest Sun of Mercury, 9pm, $15. San Francisco Center for the Book 300 De Haro, SF; (415) 565-0545. "Poets Pulling Prints," with devorah major, 7pm, free.

Saturday: Herbst Theater 401 Van Ness, SF; (415) 392-4400, www.youthspeaks.org. "Youth Speaks Eighth Annual Teen Poetry Grand Slam Finals," with host Chinaka Hodge and a performance by Robert Moses' Kin, 7pm, $5-15. Berkeley Public Library West Branch, 1125 University, Berk; (510) 527-9905. Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts an open reading, 3pm, free.

Sunday: Cafe Prague 584 Pacific, SF; (415) 433-3811. Mark Schwartz hosts featured reader Jeanne Powell, plus open mic, 4pm, free.

Monday: Priya Indian Cuisine 2072 San Pablo, Berk; berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com. "Poetry Express," featured reader Joe Finkleman, with open mic hosted by Mark States, 7pm, free. Perry's Joint 1661 Fillmore, SF; (415) 928-8904. Featured reader Nancy Wakeman, followed by open mic, 7pm, free.