On Sunday July 3, the San Francisco Opera wrapped up its 2011 summer season, which was focused entirely on performances of Richard Wagner's four-opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Many parts of this exciting new production (conceived and directed by Francesca Zambello) were both inspired and revelatory, as was much...
Posted July 8, 2011 | 05:15 PM (EST)
How fast can you think on your feet? Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? Can you turn on a dime? Change horses in midstream?
The ability to make informed decisions in crisis mode is a key tool for survival. And yet, for some people, their natural...
2 Comments | Posted July 5, 2011 | 04:24 PM (EST)
Long before the concept of branding took over the field of entertainment, many performers were known as "specialty acts." Neil Simon's 1972 comedy, The Sunshine Boys, dealt with a pair of aging vaudevillians who, over the course of many years, had grown to hate each other. With CBS trying to...
Posted June 30, 2011 | 12:56 PM (EST)
San Francisco is home to a huge number of film festivals throughout the year. As a result, I'm often in the fortunate position of enjoying an endless stream of wonderfully cinematic armchair adventures. Some of these are not to be found at the major film festivals but at smaller, more...
1 Comments | Posted June 26, 2011 | 03:30 PM (EST)
While in college, I was fortunate enough to take a course in Indo-European myths and legends that helped explain man's use of religion as a tool for coping with events beyond his ken. In an odd way, studying primitive fertility rites helped develop an appreciation of people who claim that...
1 Comments | Posted June 23, 2011 | 09:51 AM (EST)
The only times I've ever held a gun were at YMCA summer camps, where I learned how to shoot a rifle. I have never worshipped guns, wanted a gun, or fallen for the bullshit which tries to convince people that "real Americans" carry guns.
Still, there can be no denying...
13 Comments | Posted June 19, 2011 | 12:54 AM (EST)
As we celebrate Father's Day, it's interesting to compare three new films in which the father-son relationship is challenged by the revelation that either the father or his son is gay. Nothing strikes at the heart of machismo quite like finding out that the apple of your eye, the fruit...
30 Comments | Posted June 15, 2011 | 01:31 AM (EST)
Every hour of every day someone, somewhere, suffers a life-changing loss of innocence. Whether it occurs while watching the news or at gunpoint, whether it involves being corrupted by a small bribe or deflowered by a priest, the moment forever alters the way a person sees himself and the world...
Posted June 12, 2011 | 04:51 PM (EST)
The past two weeks have been filled with a media firestorm about Congressman Anthony Weiner. From outraged cries demanding Weiner's resignation to some priceless moments of comedy from his old friend, Jon Stewart, Weiner's exploits have been headline news. To my mind, the three most level-headed, rational, and humane articles...
Posted June 9, 2011 | 03:02 PM (EST)
If one examines the recent crop of new musicals it quickly becomes apparent that each of these shows was accompanied by high levels of anticipation from theatregoers.
10 Comments | Posted June 7, 2011 | 12:19 AM (EST)
In 1982 (a year prior to his death), Lanfranco Rasponi published The Last Prima Donnas, a collection of interviews with female opera singers from the first half of the 20th century. Rasponi made his feelings about the modern crop of opera singers quite clear: None of them could ever measure...
3 Comments | Posted June 2, 2011 | 09:49 AM (EST)
Although we are barely halfway through 2011, this year has delivered a harrowing display of natural disasters. From tsunamis to tornadoes, from earthquakes to erupting volcanoes, the fury of nature's forces has left millions in a continuing state of shock and awe.
And to think that hurricane season hasn't...
1 Comments | Posted May 31, 2011 | 02:14 AM (EST)
I love music documentaries. Whether they describe the intricacies of building a piano (Note By Note: The Making of Steinway L1037) or the adventures of the Los Angeles Children's Chorus on their first trip to China (Sing, China!), the process of witnessing people coming together to...
Posted May 30, 2011 | 03:00 PM (EST)
Based in Berkeley, California, PlayGround is an intensely creative incubator program for aspiring playwrights in which a monthly topic is assigned to participants. Winners get to see their 10-minute plays performed by professional actors in one of Berkeley Rep's two theatres. PlayGround's Commissioning Initiative (through which the company now commissions...
Posted May 22, 2011 | 03:10 PM (EST)
At the conclusion of Thornton Wilder's play, "The Matchmaker," Dolly Levi suggests that the youngest person should tell everyone what the moral of the story is. Barnaby Tucker steps forward and nervously proceeds to explain how, all too often, a person might find himself sitting at home, wishing he were...
2 Comments | Posted May 20, 2011 | 12:36 AM (EST)
There's a simple reason why I have always loved surfing documentaries: I'm a cowardly klutz. For me, the appeal of a surfing documentary is not about the music or the surfers hanging out on the beach. For me, it's the thrill of being able to watch spectacular film footage captured...
3 Comments | Posted May 15, 2011 | 04:00 PM (EST)
Certain genre spoofs derive an extra layer of fun from the simple fact that they are shot in black and white. Created by filmmakers who are head over heels in love with a certain type of movie, these spoofs boast an incredible amount of attention to detail and tradition.
If...
6 Comments | Posted May 13, 2011 | 01:49 AM (EST)
Whenever I visit the San Francisco Conservatory of Music I'm surrounded by gifted young students on a clearly-defined career path aimed at becoming a professional musician. Most of them come from upper middle class families who are able to underwrite such an intensely focused chapter of their higher education.
While...
Posted May 5, 2011 | 11:24 AM (EST)
Many a hero has set out on an ill-defined quest. From Odysseus to Orly Taitz, from Don Quixote to Christine O'Donnell, some people aim a bit too high. Whether fate conspires against them or they simply lack the basic skills to accomplish their dreams, they are nevertheless frequently aided and...
Posted April 21, 2011 | 12:22 PM (EST)
Over the years, audiences have become familiar with the "Hey, gang, let's put on a show" plot line. Whether one thinks of 1937's Babes in Arms, 1954's White Christmas, 1985's Nunsense, or 1997's The Full Monty, performers have always been willing to chip in so that the show could go...
2 Comments | Posted July 13, 2011 | 12:00 AM (EST)