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THEATRE NEWS FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY

Posted by:	Richard Connema 05:54 pm EDT 06/22/14

HERSHEY FELDER STARS IN SPECIAL PRESENTATION OF MONSIEUR CHOPIN AT BERKELEY REPPiano virtuoso performs second movement of his critically acclaimed Composers Sonata –– Following the wildly enthusiastic reception for Hershey Felder as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, Berkeley Repertory Theatre invites audiences back this July for Hershey Felder’s Monsieur Chopin, a celebrated musical biography of legendary composer Fryderyk Chopin. You’ve seen Felder as George Gershwin on the hot streets of 1920s New York. You’ve seen him on the conductor’s podium revealing Maestro Leonard Bernstein’s heart. Now come back with Hershey to Paris in 1848…to a work of love and art and the place where his soul resides, in the depths of Chopin’s music. In his passionate portrayal of the “Poet of the Piano,” Hershey reveals the beloved and romantic composer’s secrets about his creations – and the secrets he carried to his grave – against a gorgeous, lush score of more than a dozen compositions. Come back with Hershey to meet the mysterious Monsieur Chopin. “[Felder] carries a rapt audience along on a wave of true, powerful, and wordless passion,” declares the Boston Globe. This special presentation plays only 13 performances on the intimate Thrust Stage. Monsieur Chopin previews July 25, opens July 27, and plays through August 3, 2014. Tickets start at only $29 and can be purchased by phone at (510) 647-2949 or online at berkeleyrep.org. The second installment in his Composers Sonata – George Gershwin Alone; Monsieur Chopin; Beethoven, As I Knew Him; Hershey Felder as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro; and Hershey Felder as Franz Liszt in Rock Star – Felder’s performance as Chopin has garnered effusive praise. “Felder’s rapturous, emotionally charged playing of more than a dozen pieces by Chopin is the show’s most glorious element,” raves the Chicago Sun-Times. “Music was Chopin’s solace. And when Felder sits down to play the composer springs to life in a way that says more about the soul of this quintessential Romantic than any words can convey.” The Chicago Tribune adds, “Those who saw George Gershwin Alone are likely to show up for Monsieur Chopin. They will enjoy themselves, even if they’ve never sat and listened to someone playing Chopin…. Felder has two major assets. His lush, romantic playing style at the keyboard is a fine match with Chopin’s folkloric but rooted compositions. And the man, clearly, is a fanatic about detail. M. Chopin may be emotional and showy, but it is never inaccurate at neither script nor keyboard.” And the Boston Globe proclaims, “Hershey Felder, the show’s gifted creator and sole performer, clearly feels deeply attuned to the Romantic sensibility, not just the romantic. And, in his finest moments, he carries a rapt audience along on a wave of true, powerful, and wordless passion.” ########################################## THE MARSH EXTENDS DAN HOYLE’S NEW WORK “EACH AND EVERY THING” THROUGH AUGUST 24 AT THE MARSH – Due to popular demand, The Marsh announces the extension of the newest solo show by award-winning actor/playwright Dan Hoyle, EACH AND EVERY THING, a search for connection in the digital age. Originally scheduled to run through July 12, the show has been an instant hit with audiences and critics alike, receiving highest accolades from every news outlet, and is now held over through August 24. Developed with Charlie Varon and Maureen Towey, and directed by Charlie Varon, EACH AND EVERY THING will play 8pm Thursdays and Fridays, 8:30pm Saturdays, with added shows Sundays at 2pm at The Marsh San Francisco MainStage Theater. For tickets ($20-$50), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 between 1 – 4pm, Monday through Friday. ################################################ The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) presents a special One Night Only Benefit Cabaret With Company Members from the National Touring Cast Of the Tony Award-winning show “ONCE” and Special Guest Stars David Burnham (“Wicked” “Light in the Piazza) star Sharon McNight (Tony nominee “Starmites”) Spencer Day (Star Search finalist, jazz star) Monday, June 30, 2014 - 7:30 pm Club Fugazi - 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. SF CA 94133 home of Beach Blanket Babylon Philanthropy and stellar entertainment take center stage as the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation presents a special one-night-only benefit cabaret to raise funds for The Richmond /Ermet AIDS Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Songs from Once will not be performed. The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation has worked with over 40 touring casts to date to produce "One Night Only Cabaret" events. To date, REAF has distributed over $3 million to AIDS service agencies. Tickets for this "One Night Only Cabaret" are $100 – Magnin Box, $75 – Side Boxes, $50 – Front Cabaret, $35 – Rear Cabaret/Front Balcony, $25 –Rear Balcony. Tickets are available by phone by calling Beach Blanket Babylon Box Office at 415-421-4222 A limited number of tickets are also available for the dessert party with the cast following the show for an additional $25/person. Once plays the Curran Theatre in SF – June 17 – July 13, 2014 ###################################### Douglas Morrisson Theatre Announces upcoming 2014-2015 season: “JOURNEYS” – The Douglas Morrisson Theatre (DMT) proudly announces a new season of five award-winning plays, “JOURNEYS.” The 35th season begins in August with David Lindsay-Abaire’s comically quirky Wonder of the World, directed by Dale Albright. In November, the dynamic team of Michael Mohammed and David Möschler bring to life the musical Candide, featuring Leonard Bernstein’s glorious score. Next up is the poignant and powerful Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, directed by DMT’s Artistic Director Susan E. Evans. In Spring 2015 honky-tonk blues graces our mainstage with the musical biography, Hank Williams: Lost Highway. DMT’s “Journeys” season concludes with an American classic, The Skin of Our Teeth, by Thornton Wilder, directed by Molly Aaronson-Gelb. For the 2014-2015 season, DMT has added a fifth mainstage show, and is expanding its alternative programs on Monday nights. Alt.Mondays features the Bare Bones staged readings series and new storytelling evenings, Telling Tales, as well as the Fourth Annual Playwrights CageMatch and a Broadway Sing-Along evening. In December 2014 DMT hosts a special event -- an open house for the community in celebration of the holiday season. “Every play this season tells the story of a journey, whether it’s a trip to the edge of Niagara Falls, to find the true meaning of life, to escape a small town, to climb to country music fame and fortune, or even to time-travel through all of human history. This season is all about choice: we’re inviting our audience to design their own season package. You can choose plays or musicals, comedies or dramas, or -- what we really hope -- you’ll decide to explore everything DMT has to offer,” says DMT’s Artistic Director Evans. The Douglas Morrisson season opens in August with David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy, Wonder of the World.Embark on a wild comic adventure of self-discovery with Cass as she boards a bus to Niagara Falls, leaving her home and husband after finding out he is not the man she thought she married. Lindsay-Abaire’s play was first produced on Broadway in October 2001 by the Manhattan Theatre Club and featured Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) as the free-spirited Cass and Amy Sedaris as a host of colorful characters. By the time the curtain falls, the randomness and hilarity of the universe is the only certainty. Directed by Dale Albright. In November, DMT presents the rollicking musical Candide based on the 1759 novel by Voltaire,Candide, or Optimism, with music by Leonard Bernstein, book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler; in the 1999 Royal National Version by John Caird, lyrics by Richard Wilbur; additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein. Featuring Bernstein's soaring score and lyrics from some of the wittiest writers of all time, this rollicking musical satire chronicles the lives and loves of Candide, a simple soul whose glass is always half-full. Candide, his love Cunegonde, Paquette, Maximilian, Dr. Pangloss and the old lady with one buttock survive numerous calamities but never give up their search for truth in this "best of all possible worlds.” Directed by Michael Mohammed; Musical and Vocal Direction by David Möschler. The Douglas Morrisson Theatre leaps into world of Anton Chekhov with Three Sisters in February 2015.Trapped in a provincial Russian town after the death of their father, three sisters, Olga, Mash and Irina, cling to memories of the bright and bustling Moscow they left behind as children, longing to return to a place where they imagine their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. In April 2015, get ready for honky-tonk with Hank Williams: Lost Highway - The Music and Legend of Hank Williams by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik. DMT’s spring offering Hank Williams: Lost Highway, is a musical biography of the legendary singer-songwriter, Hank Williams, one of the great innovators of American popular music, and follows his rise from humble honky-tonk beginnings to his triumphs on the Grand Ole Opry and on to his eventual self-destruction at age twenty-nine. Travel the highway with the music and legend of Williams and his unforgettable songs, including "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Move It on Over" and "Hey, Good Lookin'." In May 2015 DMT presents the 1943 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Best Drama, The Skin Of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder.From the playwright of Our Town, and former Berkeley resident, The Skin of Our Teeth is a classic of the American stage. George and Maggie Antrobus have been married for a mere 5,000 years; they have two perfect children, Gladys and Henry, and a vamp for a maid. Just a typical American family living in a present-day New Jersey suburb, but also the first family of the human race, and they must survive the Ice Age, the Flood and War — all by the skin of their teeth. The Skin of Our Teeth manages the near impossible feat of being an allegory about all of humanity and the boisterous chronicle of one family. Directed by Molly Aaronson-Gelb. ###################################### BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND MARGA GOMEZ’S LOVEBIRDS MOVES TO THE MARSH BERKELEY SEPTEMBER 19 – OCTOBER 18, 2014 Written & Performed by Marga Gomez Directed by David Schweizer – LOVEBIRDS, fresh from its New York City premiere at La MaMa Theater, moves to The Marsh Berkeley. A rollicking tale of incurable romantics from GLAAD award-winning solo theater artist and comedian Marga Gomez, LOVEBIRDS enjoyed a critically acclaimed six-month original run at The Marsh San Francisco as well as a tour to the Santa Cruz Film Festival. Directed by David Schweizer in his sixth collaboration with Gomez, LOVEBIRDS will transfer to The Marsh Berkeley (2120 Allston Way) with performances Fridays at 8pm and Saturdays at 8:30pm. For tickets ($20-$35, $50-$100 reserved), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 between 1 – 4pm, Monday through Friday. In her tenth solo show, called “captivating” by the San Francisco Chronicle and “funny, whimsical, and poignant” by the San Francisco Examiner, acclaimed performer Marga Gomez portrays a crew of wacky lovers as they chase their hearts’ desires – into the night, through decades, and to absurd lengths. Orestes Ramirez is a macho maitre d' infatuated with Gladys, a singer with a tin ear married to an academic who never sleeps and is never awake. On the other side of town Orestes's daughter cuts off her hair, changes her name, joins a coven, and starts dating the captain of a women's football team. Documenting the action is Polaroid Phillie, an ageless nightclub photographer and fixture at gay bars, Spanish restaurants, and anywhere passion happens. LOVEBIRDS received its World Premiere in January at The Marsh San Francisco, where it enjoyed a four-week workshop in 2013. It was also presented in progress at Bruce Pachtman’s Solo Sundays, and in New York City at Participant Gallery and Dixon Place. ############################## Tony Award-Winning SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE Opens 55 th Season with RIPPLE EFFECT July 4 – Sept. 1, 2014 http://www.sfmt.org https://www.facebook.com/sfmimetroupe Skyrocketing rents. Loss of diversity. Evictions, Google Glass wearing nouveau riche, The War on the Poor. What is The City coming to? The Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe (SFMT) opens its 55th season with RIPPLE EFFECT, a musical comedic tale of intersecting lives and cultures that reflect the familiar neighborhood tensions that are polarizing San Franciscans today. InterAct! Please arrive at the designated hour to hear local organizers speak, and join us at our InterAct! area, which will hold various resources, participatory exhibits, and other surprises. •Thursday, June 26, 7:30pm @ 855 Treat Ave, SF (Panel Discussion on Housing in San Francisco, more info below) •Friday, July 4, 1:00pm @ Dolores Park, SF (Eviction Free San Francisco and the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project) •Saturday, July 5, 1:00pm @ Dolores Park, SF (Plaza 16 Coalition) •Sunday, July 6, 1:00pm @ Yerba Buena Gardens, SF (Sense of Place Lab) •Saturday & Sunday, July 12 & 13, 1:00pm @ Cedar Rose, Berkeley (Gill Tract) •Saturday & Sunday, July 26 & 27, 1:00pm @ Live Oak, Berkeley (Albany Bulb) •Saturday & Sunday, August 2 & 3, 3:00pm @ SouthSide Park, Sacramento (Occupy Sacramento) •Weds & Thurs, August 6 & 7, 6:00pm @ Lake Merritt (Causa Justa / Just Cause & East Bay Solidarity Network) •Saturday & Sunday, August 9 & 10, 2:00pm @ San Lorenzo Park, Santa Cruz (TBA) •Sunday Aug 17, 1:00pm @ Washington Square, SF (Now!SF) •Thursday Aug 21, 6:00pm @ Mitchell Park, Palo Alto (TBA) •Saturday & Sunday, Aug 23 & 24, 1:00pm @ Francis Willard, Berkeley (TBA) •Thursday, Aug 28, 7:00pm @ 855 Treat Ave, SF (TBA) •Sunday Aug 31 & Monday Sep 1, 1:00pm @ Dolores Park, SF (Sense of Place Lab and Heart of the City Collective)

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