Sunday, June 29, 2008 Tilting at windmills I realize that June has been an extremely poor month for blogging -- I've only managed to scrape together four entries so far. But July is shaping up to be a veritable sweeps month for The Conical Glass! Next month, you'll read about: The shameful secret obsession that's been taking up way too much of my spare time -- and keeping me from blogging! A stunning attempt to cure a longtime phobia! My shocking(ly expensive) plan to achieve a lifelong desire to "divide my time" between two locations -- is the Bay Area not enough to fulfill me? My life as a stalker! Am I turning into Mel from "Flight of the Conchords"? You won't want to miss a single entry! Meanwhile, I toddled over to Berkeley to check out the new run of Josh Kornbluth's latest monologue, "Citizen Josh," which I reviewed last year. (Hey, did I mention that I designed Josh's brand new web site? Oh right, I did.) "Citizen Josh" will be playing through July 20 and I urge you to see it because it's funny and delightful and entertaining. As a bonus, after every single performance, Josh will be doing a "talkback" with various people from the community in which they discuss issues raised in the play. Today's guest was Robert Hurwitt, the theater critic from the San Francisco Chronicle. As a theater nut, of course I pay close attention to Hurwitt's columns and frequently go see shows he recommends, and I was rather tickled to note that I had been seated right next to him. (I wouldn't have recognized him, but Josh's stage manager came over and introduced himself to Hurwitt a few minutes before showtime.) I thought about saying hello but was too shy, but then his wife asked me if I lived in their town -- she thought I looked familiar -- so we struck up a conversation. (I don't live in their town, but it turns out that I do live near their son -- he's a theater critic, too, for the East Bay Express.) The Hurwitts seemed like extremely nice people and I was pleased to note that Robert seemed to really get caught up in the show, chuckling appreciatively at all the funny lines, even though I think Josh was a teensy bit miffed last year when the critic gave "Citizen Josh" the "polite applause" rating, instead of the "wild applause" he bestowed upon Kornbluth's previous effort, "Love and Taxes." A large part of the monologue deals with a neighborhood park in Berkeley and a local group's efforts to install new playground equipment there. Coincidentally, Hurwitt played an instrumental role in the creation of the park -- the open space had been eyed by Peralta College for an administration building -- and he had some fascinating stories to tell about his lobbying efforts to turn the land into a recreational area. At first it might have seemed like a quixotic effort -- the word quixotic appears several times in Josh's show, and its logo appropriately depicts the monologuist tilting at a windmill -- but today Ohlone Park is there for all to enjoy. When Josh opened it up for audience questions, someone in the front row tried to convince Hurwitt to do an investigative piece on Cody's Books, the Berkeley institution which closed super-abruptly a few days ago. It seems like a lot of folks think there's some kind of dark conspiracy at work when to me it seems more like a case of really, really bad mismanagement. First the bookstore, famous for its Telegraph Ave. location, opened a second outpost in Berkeley's tony Fourth St. shopping district; then it expanded further into San Francisco, which I thought from the get-go was a horrible idea (expensive real estate, plus it was only a few blocks from another venerable independent, Stacey's, and a big Borders). The SF store didn't last long, and the last time I went to the Fourth St. store I couldn't help but notice how bare the shelves were. By that time, the Telegraph store had also closed. Finally, the Fourth St. location shut down and Cody's relocated to Shattuck Ave. in downtown Berkeley. I never even had a chance to check out that store because it barely lasted a couple of months before abruptly calling it quits, to the shock of customers and staff alike. Now a Berkeley landmark is gone forever, and I don't think it can completely be blamed on the popularity of chain stores and the Internet -- it just seemed like there was a lot of incompetence in the decision-making there over the past few years. posted by 125records @ 10:04 PM   1 comments Thursday, June 19, 2008 "Pity" shocks and stuns Last night we finished the ACT season with John Ford's 17th century tragedy "'Tis Pity She's a Whore." Anyone who doubts the power of an almost 400-year-old play to shock modern audiences should take note of how many people are walking out on this production; after intermission, almost the entire row in front of us had cleared out. Yes, it's quite shocking (a synopsis of the play is available here,) but I must admit that I found it quite powerful and entertaining, despite my difficulty comprehending all of the nuances of the dialogue (the same problem I have with Shakespeare). I was fascinated by the set design -- the play takes place on a gorgeous, multi-level set consisting mainly of staircases, battery-operated candles and gigantic organ pipes, with beautiful, shimmery backdrops -- and the music, composed and performed by cellist Bonfire Madigan, who looms above the stage, clad in a white gown and angel wings. My biggest complaints are that I'm super-tired of core company members Gregory Wallace playing the foppish comic relief character, and Rene Augesen playing the ingenue, because while they're both excellent actors, I've seen them both in these roles a kajillion times by now. Interestingly, none of the plays announced for next season seem to provide a big showcase for the core company actors; perhaps that will freshen things up. As I do every year, it's time to rate the plays! Here are my rankings, from best to worst, though really, only the final play qualifies as a "worst." I remember liking "The Rainmaker," I just don't remember too much about it at this point. Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by Hugh Wheeler) Curse of the Starving Class By Sam Shepard 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford The Blood Knot by Athol Fugard The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol posted by 125records @ 3:11 PM   0 comments Monday, June 16, 2008 Love and marriage Today is the day that same sex couples are allowed to start getting married in California. Of course, it's possible the right will be taken away by the voters in November, but for a few months, at least, it's game on. I'm sure a lot of longtime couples will be hurrying to wed before election day rolls around, just in case (even though a recent poll showed that a majority of Californians now support same sex marriage). Gays might even rush headlong into marriage the way straight people have been doing for centuries! Because Joe and I are big supporters of marriage equality, he decided to volunteer as a deputy marriage commissioner, and will be marrying couples in the very same place the two of us got married a few years ago, the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder's Office. They are having special extended hours tonight, from 5-8 PM. He was "recruited" by our friend Janet A., who has been performing marriages at the office for several years now. If you go by the stereotype, she does not seem to be the type of person who would be eager to help same sex couples get married -- she's a 60something churchgoing lady, born and bred in the South -- but she is extremely enthusiastic about the new California law, and in fact she performed the county's very first same sex wedding tonight (I just saw the back of her head on the TV news!). Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is also marrying couples tonight, but we all know who was first. Way to go, Janet A.! Maybe Joe will guest blog about his marryin' experiences in this space later (hint!). In any case, I'm proud of him for actually getting out there on the front lines. posted by 125records @ 5:49 PM   3 comments Sunday, June 15, 2008 Writers, but no drinks It has been a long time since I last wrote, but one of the advantages of having a small readership is that I am frequently able to get together with a good percentage of my readers when I go on vacation. It was great to see Jeff, Janet, Andy, and of course my parents. (I'm assuming the kIDs are too young to read blogs, and probably wouldn't be interested in mine unless I started writing about trains or merry-go-rounds.) Gradually getting back into the San Francisco swing o'things, last night I went to Writers With Drinks at the Make-Out Room. WWD is a monthly event that brings together half a dozen writers to read from their work. I had never been before, but one of my clients, Naomi Hirahara, was scheduled to read. She lives in the L.A. area and I'd never met her before, even though we've worked together for a few years now. Joe declined to come along, and I was worried about having to hang out in a bar by myself. As it turned out, I needn't have worried; I got there just as the event was starting, and the place was packed. Despite the "With Drinks" moniker, there's no way I could have gotten within a foot of the bar. (Too bad, since Pimm's Cup was on the specials board... I wonder if Forbidden Island will be bringing the cocktail back as a summer special this year?) The first two writers were Lisa Myers, a very funny and sexually frank comedian, and Gina de Vries, a contributor to Tough Girls 2: Down And Dirty Dyke Erotica. I'm not sure if Gina's piece was autobiographical, but it certainly sounded like it was. She was an excellent reader, really conveying the emotions of her first-person narrator. Following them was the big attraction, Armistead Maupin, a local legend and the author of the Tales of the City series. Maupin read a chapter from his new book wherein his main characters, a gay couple who sound not dissimilar to Maupin and his own partner, had a threesome with a strapping black hairdresser. Since Maupin is a huge, huge deal in San Francisco, I suspect his presence was responsible for at least a portion of the big crowd. At this point, we were halfway in and I was a little worried because everything we'd heard so far had been extremely X-rated, and I wondered how Naomi, who writes an acclaimed mystery series about an elderly Japanese-American man who survived the bombing of Hiroshima, would fit in with this crowd. A good portion of the audience seemed to have been able to shove its way over to the bar and were hooting at the references to -- OK, this is a PG-rated blog, I'll just say sexual things. After Maupin, there was a 10-minute break and I was finally able to find Naomi and say hello. She was there with her husband and Cara Black, a local mystery author who must be the unofficial welcome wagon for every crime writer who comes to town, since she always seems to be able to make time to meet them, host them, or ferry them around SF. No wonder I run into Cara so frequently; I'm sure the out-of-towners greatly appreciate her hospitality. Naomi said she would be reading from her contribution to the Los Angeles Noir anthology, which would presumably be a bit spicier than her usual fare. Naomi followed a poet, about which the less said, the better -- even the dude in a beret sitting by the stage didn't seem into it, and you'd think that would be right in his wheelhouse -- and read an excerpt from her story, "Number 19." It was a story of obsession, but with no explicit sex. Still, the audience was quiet while she was reading, and appreciative at the end. The final reader was Sheerly Avni, who delighted the crowd with a mini-memoir about her life as a Duran Duran fan, from her obsession with the band in junior high to her attempt to meet them backstage after a recent gig in L.A. There's definitely something to be said about the power of a good story read aloud -- you kind of lose track of time and get wrapped up in the words, and while anyone can listen to an audio book in the car or on their MP3 player, sharing a story with an audience is a rare pleasure; the sound of over 100 people hooting with laughter over a funny incident in Maupin's tale, or clapping in appreciation when Avni namechecked Duran Duran heartthrobs John Taylor and Simon LeBon, pulls you in even further. Even if the bar remains out of reach, I'd like to check out this very San Francisco experience again. posted by 125records @ 1:24 PM   2 comments Sunday, June 01, 2008 San Francisco funnies This is what life is like in San Francisco: we pirouette around our luxurious living rooms drinking champagne out of fancy flutes, and then we eat gay cake. Mmm... it tastes like rainbows! Yep, SF is still being demonized in the heartland. We all go see gay comedians, because there is no other kind of comedian in San Francisco. Everyone here is gay, gay, gay! Those are our San Francisco values! James Judd is performing his solo show, "7 Sins," at the Exit Theater this month, following a successful run at Theatre Rhinoceros. Not only is the Bay Area native gay, but he owns a winery! So San Francisco! "7 Sins" is a hoot from start to finish. Judd tells a bunch of hilarious anecdotes about his life, from his childhood obsession with Patty Hearst to his gig as a stand-up comic at the crappiest hotel on the Vegas strip. His path to "7 Sins" has been an unconventional one: he also held down jobs as a criminal defense attorney (!) and dotcom journalist. The latter career took him on a business trip to China, which is where the show wraps up -- in a whorehouse with five Chinese billionaires, six hookers, and a bilingual birthday cake. One of Judd's blurbs calls him "a Paul Lynde for the new millennium." Lynde gave a lot of Americans their first exposure to gay culture through his jokes on "Hollywood Squares"; he apparently felt incredibly bitter about his inability to build a career beyond "Squares" and sitcom guest appearances, and blamed homophobia (though he never officially came out). In San Francisco, gays and straights, young people and old, are all coming together to laugh at James Judd's side-splitting stories. And that's something worth valuing. posted by 125records @ 10:28 PM   2 comments About Me Name: Sue Home: San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States About Me: See my complete profile Previous Post Tilting at windmills "Pity" shocks and stuns Love and marriage Writers, but no drinks San Francisco funnies This is not a review of "Sex and the City" Never too old to rock Beovision Indiana Spoiler and the Kingdom of the Crystal Spo... Shear genius Archives October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 Links Subscribe to RSS feed 125 Records Interbridge.com Blog archives, Jan. 2004-Oct. 2006 Search me! Powered by