San Francisco – Page 5 – Spinning Platters

Theater Review: Bay Area Musicals presents Crazy for You – A Delightfully Charming Gershwin Classic

Danielle Altizio (Polly) and Conor Devoe (Bobby) dance to save the town. Photo Courtesy of Jonathan White, 2018.

New York City banker Bobby Child (Conor Devoe) has a dream — dancing dreams — but his parents just aren’t having it. Neither is his fiancée, Irene (Morgan Peters), who’s wondering why they’ve been engaged for five years without wedding bells… and she’s understandably at her wit’s end. His parents’ plan is to send him to Deadrock, Nevada to foreclose a rundown theater. His plan is to dance for the acclaimed artistic director Bela Zangler (Tony Michaels), but one quick mishap during an impromptu audition and he’s on the first train to Deadrock. Continue reading “Theater Review: Bay Area Musicals presents Crazy for You — A Delightfully Charming Gershwin Classic”

Theater Review: Danville Village Theatre Presents Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities

From l. to r.: Silda (Sally Hogarty), Trip (Micah Watterson), Brooke (Emily Keyishian), Lyman (Christian Phillips), and Polly (Christine Macomber). Photo by Marian Bliss, 2018.

Writer Brooke Wyeth (Emily Keyishian) has come home after a long hiatus to reveal her new novel to her family. Settled in Palm Springs, with conservative values, the Wyeths harbor a plethora of family secrets. It’s all water under the bridge as they go through the motions of their daily lives, secluded in an affluent neighborhood where they appear indestructible. Brooke’s novel threatens to shatter this peaceful image. And so the drama unfolds, as each member fights to keep their secrets under wraps. Continue reading “Theater Review: Danville Village Theatre Presents Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities“

Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Presents Michael Moran’s Passion Project: Hamlet

R. to L. : Hamlet (Michael Moran), Horatio (Ogie Zulueta), and Claudius (Rolf Saxon) duke it out. Photo courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

At the Flight Deck in Oakland, on a raised plank in the middle of an oblong stage, sits Michael Moran’s Hamlet. Eerie vocalizations surround him as provided by a cast of thirty actors. The entire action takes place in this space in a modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s popular tragedy about Denmark’s grieving prince. Continue reading “Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Presents Michael Moran’s Passion Project: Hamlet“

Show Review: The Final U.S. Slayer Show! (of this Leg of the Tour)

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF

January 22, 2018. Slayer announced their “farewell” tour. After over 35 years of yelling “Die By the Sword”, singer and bass player Tom Araya wants to scream no more. As much as the fans would want Slayer to keep performing forever, Tom and the only other original member, guitar player Kerry King, deserve to go out on top and begin collecting their 401k. Gary Holt, the 2nd guitar player, will always have his primary band Exodus, and certainly bands will be lining up for drummer Paul Bostaph’s services once he becomes available again. In the meanwhile, though, according to a press release issued the morning after The. Final. U.S. Slayer. Show., this “farewell” tour still has another year to go!

Continue reading “Show Review: The Final U.S. Slayer Show! (of this Leg of the Tour)”

Show Review: Tony Lucca and Ernie Halter at Neck of the Woods, 5/17/18

Ernie Halter (L) and Tony Lucca (R) at Neck of the Woods

Ernie Halter and Tony Lucca are “brothers from other mothers” who have “toured a shit-ton together over the years.” While Lucca is originally from Pontiac, Michigan, he and Halter (a native of SoCal) both lived in the LA area for years. Now, however, they have both moved to Nashville, where they’re close enough to babysit each other’s kids when the need arises. This, while great for their families, is not so great for me, as it means I get to see much less of them than when they were a mere 6-hour drive and toured California much more frequently. They recently graced the upstairs stage at Neck of the Woods on Thursday, 5/17, and because it had already been over a year since the last time I’d been able to catch Lucca in my actual neck of the woods, I got there with my proverbial bells on. Continue reading “Show Review: Tony Lucca and Ernie Halter at Neck of the Woods, 5/17/18”

Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project’s American Jornalero

Ubuntu Theater Project explores a fresh take on the American Dream in the West Coast premiere of Ed Cardona Jr.’s American Jornalero

Edited by Jessica Vaden

From L. to R.: Jose Rodriguez (Luis), Benoît Monin (Montezuma), Cristhian Ayvar (Marcelo), Juan J. Berumen (Michigan), and the phone that won’t stop ringing. Photos courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

On the corner of Hope and Haven stand six men, waiting. Four of them are jornaleros, day laborers, waiting for the work that may not come. Two are law-abiding, border protecting Minutemen, waiting to indict them with the charge of wanting a better life.

Continue reading “Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project’s American Jornalero“

Theater Review: The Go-Go’s Musical Head Over Heels at SF Curran Theater

**Go-Go’s musical Head Over Heels misses the beat**

Edited by Jessica Vaden

Peppermint (center) will become the first woman who is trans to originate a role on Broadway, starring as Pythio (The Oracle of Delphi), pictured here with members of the ensemble performing the Go-Go’s “Vision of Nowness.” All photos courtesy of Joan Marcus, 2018.

San Francisco got a peek at the new musical Head Over Heels before it heads to Broadway; it features hits from the iconic ’80s new wave band the Go-Go’s, known for their fun, cheeky songs. But underneath the funky stockings and pop sensibilities is a groundbreaking band led by five women, who ventured into what turned into the boys’ club of the late ’70s Los Angeles punk scene, playing legendary venues such as Whiskey a Go Go and The Masque. They wrote fierce lyrics, jammed with the rockers, made their way onto MTV, and paved the way for an entire generation of women who play. Continue reading “Theater Review: The Go-Go’s Musical Head Over Heels at SF Curran Theater”

Show Review: The Darkness with Diarrhea Planet at The Regency Ballroom, 3/31/2018

Rock is dead, people say. They say this because EDM and hip-hop headliners rule the festival stage, and when a rock band is seen anywhere on stage, it’s always dismissed as a legacy act. When people say this, they’re stupid. , but Iif they need convincing, here comes a tour that gives a big giant fuck you to the concept. For rock isn’t dead, and The Darkness is here to stick their big giant riffs in your face in the name of rock and roll. Continue reading “Show Review: The Darkness with Diarrhea Planet at The Regency Ballroom, 3/31/2018”

Show Review: Phillip Phillips with Ballroom Thieves at the Fillmore, 3/20/18

Let’s face it: fame found as a result of an appearance on American Idol can be a mixed bag. On one hand, there’s the bad (William Hung, that guy who sang that “Pants on the Ground” song, Nikki McKibbin). On the other hand, without Idol none of us might ever have been exposed to Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson… While I haven’t seen the ABC reboot of this show, I have been known to follow the show in the past. Ever since Phillip Phillips‘s audition with a brilliant cover of “Thriller,” I’ve been a big fan. Over the years, I’ve seen him go from a no-name hopeful on a reality TV singing competition to winning the whole shebang, to opening for John Mayer, to headlining a Napa music festival. Now he’s released his third album, Collateral, which he played San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore this week to promote. Continue reading “Show Review: Phillip Phillips with Ballroom Thieves at the Fillmore, 3/20/18”

Show Review: Stone Temple Pilots with The Dirty Hooks at the Fillmore, 3/12/18

Gather round, children, it’s story time. (Well, okay, it’s really just more of a long-winded introduction, but bear with me here…) My brother is, by far, one of my favorite people on the planet. He’s a few years older than me, so he was a senior in high school when I was a freshman, and I was fortunate that he was nice to me in front of his peers. This meant that all the older, cooler kids accepted me rather than finding me annoying. This was also the time in our lives when we first started to agree on (and bond over) music. In particular, we loved Aerosmith (because who wasn’t obsessed with Get a Grip in the early/mid 90s?) and Stone Temple Pilots. So fast forward nearly 25 years, and you’d better believe we were both dying to catch the band at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore. Continue reading “Show Review: Stone Temple Pilots with The Dirty Hooks at the Fillmore, 3/12/18”