more garlic needed

 These damn vampires just don't go away. Yesterday I met Neti at the SF Playhouse for a spirited production of Dracula (A Feminist Revenge Fantasy. Really) and though not my favorite play ever, it did keep us wide awake and featured some wonderful acting, especially by Stacy Ross and Susi Damilano (top photo). There was a lot of blood letting and some humor, great costumes and set design. Worthwhile.

The Marsh before Paprika

 Yesterday I met John and Mary (of Ashland fame) over at The Marsh on Valencia Street. We thoroughly enjoyed Dan Hoyle who portrays fascinating characters from all over our country. So much talent. Then we walked down to Paprika for some chicken paprikas (with mashed potatoes) and all in all, a really lovely evening. So nice catching up with my friends again. 

after all these years

 We saw M. Butterfly years ago and of course it no longer shocks. We have come a long way with gender fluidity and self-identification in our culture. This play was written in 1988, and we loved it then. To see it again yesterday was quite wonderful because of the acting, costumes and beautiful staging. And also we still don't quite understand China and The East and maybe we never will? SF Playhouse deserves a ton of appreciation for putting on this lovely drama. As I recall, B.D. Wong played the Butterfly decades ago. Yesterday it was the gorgeous and very talented Edric Young who studied at Stanford University.

into the crowds

 I was tempted to stay home because this is probably my least favorite musical, but we know that comfy isolation can be dangerous, so I went Into the Woods yesterday at the SF Playhouse. The actors, scenery and costumes were all fabulous, but well, you know ~ chaos. Inside and out. TONS of people downtown in the bad weather, but my Lyft rides were excellent and I had some laughs with Neti and her friend Getty and all in all an ok day. But yes, happy to get home, as per usual.

one glorious Saturday

 And all thanks to Dancing Jen. First, lunch at Chao Pescao right next to the Tenderloin Gardens where people were working and enjoying the sunshine. So lovely to catch up with my dear friend. Then we walked over to the Orpheum to see the outstanding production of Suffs. Oh, see this if you possibly can, it was a fabulous production and I was inspired by the music and the message. We owe so much to those brave women who fought for years so women now have the freedom to vote. And then the reminder that the 14th Amendment has never passed. So much work still to do. What a lovely day, I am so grateful.

just in time

 I have seen this wonderful play several times and it is always so much fun. Noises Off at the SF Playhouse provides the kind of laughter and release that we all need these days. The actors are terrific and I urge you to see this chaotically delightful play. I saw this yesterday afternoon after my house guest left for Palo Alto and yes, a very successful visit. Emma's Room rocks.

yes, that was loverly

 I needed a good old solo day yesterday so off I went for duck noodle soup at King Thai Noodle and then to the SF Playhouse for My Fair Lady. I had a splendid time and so enjoyed this musical which I have seen many times, so nostalgia was my companion and a most welcome one. I prefer to live in the present, but once a a great while I do sink back into the days of yore. And that's OK. Oh, the dog belongs to SF Playhouse and she came out for intermission yesterday. Very cool.

The Z Space on Sunday

 What a treat. Thanks to this very blog I was able to remember that I read parts of Annunciation by Lauren Groff as a short story back in 2015 when the world was young and innocent. Sort of. Yesterday was a terrific adaptation by Word For Word at Z Space where I met Pat and we both so enjoyed this amazing production. A young woman leaves her family to come to the Bay Area. Sound familiar?

an unexpected treat

 My friends John and Mary (of Ashland fame) have ACT tickets and yesterday John didn't feel like taking BART from Oakland to The Strand and so I was invited to this great musical Co-founders, and I had a terrific time with Mary and we both loved this world premiere (!) of the hip-hop musical, which originated here in the Bay Area with four friends.  Lots of high tech start-up Silicon Valley touches with great staging and some almost magical dancing and singing. A Sunday afternoon of fun.

Tony Awards

 Now I want to go to NYC. It takes about four years for plays to travel to our little city and some of these just looked so enticing. I enjoyed the big splash Tony Awards last night ~ the fashions were amazing, as per usual. OK, back to real life today.

plan your Saturday

 This will be such a treat. 

NEW YORK – (JUNE 2, 2025) – CNN will broadcast live the penultimate performance of Good Night, and Good Luck from Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre on Saturday, June 7 at 7pm ET across CNN and CNN International and will stream the event live on CNN.com, and via CNN’s apps on connected TVs and mobile devices, without requiring a cable login. This CNN special event will stream live on Max across all subscription plans.

Remember ~ 3pm here in SF. 

my favorite play of 2025 (so far)

 I saw this play years ago and also read the book, but of course I didn't remember a lot of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time so yesterday was a treat in a sold-out performance at the San Francisco Playhouse. Neti enjoyed it too and I urge you to see this if you possibly can. Through June 21st and so well acted and directed. A surprising final scene, so stay until the lights go back on.

to be, or...

 I discovered the amazingly talented (and very nice) Eddie Izzard when I worked at Borders. He is a British comic and so much more. Yesterday I met Mary (of Ashland fame) at The Strand on Market Street for a completely sold-out one person play of Hamlet ~ Eddie plays 23 characters! What a treat. After the performance we walked to Absinthe on Hayes Street to meet John (of Ashland fame) for a delicious dinner and lots of catch-up chatter. Such a special SF Sunday.

duck soup & fat ham

 I gave my SF Playhouse ticket to Neti because I will be on the Danube for our regular scheduled play. Ahem. But Amy had an extra ticket, thank goodness, so yesterday we saw this excellent, fun one act play, Fat Ham (based on Hamlet) and I'm so glad that I did. But first I needed the big bowl of duck noodle soup at King of Thai for lunch. Oh yum. Then this exuberant play was a total delight with a cast of seven terrific actors and I do recommend that you see this if you have the chance. By the way, Doug's SF Theater Blog is linked here ~ he is a really good reviewer and I always abide by his recommendations. Well, almost always. In any event, a happy Wednesday for me in the heart of my city.

Dosa heaven

 I've walked by Udupi Palace veggie Indian restaurant many times so finally last night I had my dosa (bottom photo) dinner here with Doug and Barb who are almost regulars. It's right across the street from the Marsh where Jess from our writing group was performing. A very pleasant evening. Next year I will DO St. Pat's dinner again, but too much is going on in 2025. Whoosh.

hmmmmm, racism?

 How well I remember the "No MSG!" back in the day. The SF Playhouse presented this interesting (if not 100% wonderful) play Exotic Deadly: or The MSG Play and I am glad that I saw it yesterday despite feeling a bit underwhelmed with the experience. Maybe MSG was just a fear/fixation of Caucasians? Yes, most likely it was. Great acting, as per usual, by the way.

a Sunday splurge

 Yesterday I bought a ticket to the ACT's Strand for Eddie Izzard's performance here in April. I remember when he visited Borders and was one of the nicest and best of the celebrities. So I will see him the Sunday before I go on the big Danube trip and this Hamlet is supposed to be fabulous. We all need treats these days.

Downtown! Theatre!

 I'm happy to report that SF Downtown was packed with happy shoppers yesterday. There were lines checking out at Macy's Union Square and a ton of families enjoying the chilly Sunday. Neti and I had fun at Waitress at the SF Playhouse and then I hopped in a Lyft as I was late to the book club meeting at Suze's ~ that was festive indeed and I shall report on that at a later date. A lot going on and it must be the happy holiday season. Yup.

A Christmas Memory

 

Heidi was my date last night as Doug and Barb treated us to this wonderful reading at the tiny Theatre Rhinoceros in the Castro. Honestly, it reminded me of the old/old days in SF when Bill and I would go to the small clubs and venues as we grew to love this amazing and diverse city.  Truman Capote's story is filled with nostalgia and warmth and all that entails during this season. Many of us used Kleenex® and it was beautifully read by Sandra Schlechter. Our old writing friends Martha and George and their son and his finance were there too and yes, the eventing was magical. Doug won the grand restaurant prize in the raffle and hooray for that!

The Strange Library

 I could only attend the writers' party for an hour yesterday because I had a hard-to-get ticket for the Z space to see this unusual (understatement) play entitled The Strange Library by one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami. I have never really understood anything he writes, but it is all so beautiful that I knew this would be a great experience. It was. Each audience member was given a book in Japanese (officially checking it out with the librarian) and we returned these books at the end of the play when we each got a donut and well, you know, it was THAT kind of theater and I loved every moment of it..