Stage Fog 'Round the World
From Milwaukee to Israel to Australia, you can visit them all from the comfort of your theater seat right here in SF. We've got three shows and one festival for you this week, and one of them is absolutely free. Thing is, you actually have to read this whole column, and not just this paragraph, to get to the free stuff. We know, there's always a catch.
Golda's Balcony at American Conservatory Theater
We just love hearing about schoolteachers who hit it big. It gives us hope that one day our high school English teacher will crawl out of the beleaguered California public school system and rise to the heights of, say, Princess Diana...or Sting...OK, bad examples. Playwright William Gibson has a knack for glorifying teachers. First he churned out The Miracle Worker -- you know, the Helen Keller story that's a staple of community theaters everywhere. More recently he took on the story of Golda Meir, a Russian-born Milwaukee schoolteacher who became Prime Minister of Israel in 1969. Coined the "Iron Lady" of Israeli politics, Meir was one of two women to sign the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and had a series of intense government posts, though her PM career was somewhat eclipsed by the Yom Kippur War. Brief history lesson over. Actress Tovah Feldshuh, who originated the role in this solo show and garnered a 2004 Tony nomination for it, returns for this engagement at A.C.T., thus sparing us the sight of Valerie Harper, who takes up the national tour in October. Previews begin on Saturday.
Killing My Lobster and the Wonderful World of Science at the Victoria Theatre
From history class to science class, we wanted to warn you that the Lobsters are closing on Saturday, so you better hustle if you don't want to miss the best sketch comedy SF has to offer. We got all excited when we saw that they have a commercial for the show on their site-finally, some theater companies are catching about streaming video-but then the link wasn't working. Well, maybe it'll work for you. Anyway, from the science of Internet dating to Ben Franklin to the dangers of teaching evolution, not to mention the dangers of crazy roommates, KML's scenarios are perfect for, as they put it, the "chemically minded and periodically tabled."
Slow Falling Bird at Exit on Taylor
If you want to take a chance on black box theater, Crowded Fire may be one of the city's best bets. It's one of a few companies launched during the dot-com boom that's survived the bust, and lately it's been picking up critical recognition for premiering new work. The latest world premiere is Christine Evans's Slow Falling Bird, a surreal play based on actual events at Australia's Woomera Immigration Detention Centre. But Bird isn't didactic documentary theater-one of the characters is a baby that refuses to be born, so how's that for surreal? If you're still unsure about dropping your hard-earned cash, try this incentive: pay-what-you-can previews start on Saturday.
The San Francisco Theater Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens
Your reward for sticking with us this far is a day of free theater at the second annual San Francisco Theater Festival on Sunday. Yeah, we knew you'd be excited. Think of it like movie previews over at the Metreon, except this is for theater and they're previews you might actually want to see. Some highlights include Brian Copeland in Not a Genuine Black Man, Xeno (whose video link does work), FoolsFury in What You Will (we mentioned them a couple of weeks back) and the Magic Theatre. The improv and sketch comedy, like Oui Be Negroes, Blue Blanket Improv and BATS Improv, may prove the biggest draw. The festivities begin at 11 a.m., and if these previews don't get you excited, there's plenty else to do in the area. The other good thing about the festival, besides being free, is that no one will notice if you bail before intermission.
SFist Karen, contributing
Photo: Crowded Fire