Theater isn't just theater anymore. Throw in some dance, circus, puppetry and even a bit of some horror and comic books, and you've come a long way since, say, Neil Simon.
Women on the Way Festival at Dance Mission
Footloose Presents launches its sixth annual festival featuring new work by badass women, from up-and-coming choreographers to hybrid work to solo performance. You've got several best bets here. In Amanda Moody's solo show D'Arc, Joan of Arc reincarnates as an agoraphobic, chain-smoking housewife who is haunted by visions emanating from her television set. Moody rocked critics in 2000 with her Serial Murderess, so we're looking forward to her latest stage treat. In 6 Hours by Fresh Meat Productions, choreographer and performer Sean Dorsey (with Mair Culbreth) tells the tale of coming out and living as a transgender through dance, theater, storytelling and original music. We're also going to check out Eat Cake in the Bathroom by Eat Cake Productions, a company that's a mix of oddball (in the best sense) artists whose backgrounds range from aerial dance to physical theater to clowning and puppetry. In this hybrid show, a women is on a quest for a formula to solve creative blocks, and apparently naps in bathtubs, ballerinas with flippers and high-flying sopranos are all viable elements in the equation. You may also want to check out Chinese Clown Cabaret, a quirky piece with clowning and musical acts combining opera, Chinese folk songs and ditties performed by a daughter and mother team, Jane Chen and Tair Chen. This piece is a "Best of the SF Fringe," and you'll either love its blatant cuteness that's also paradoxically smart, or you'll find it too sweet. We found it refreshingly original. Other companies on the Women on the Way bill include Alma Esperanza Cunningham Movement, Talismanic Physical Theatre, danceNaganuma, Funsch Dance Experience and Davalos Dance Company. The program changes for each performance, so check out the schedule.
Playing January 12 to 29.
Photo of Eat Cake Productions by David Wilson.
The Mystery Plays at SF Playhouse
Last week we totally geeked out on Sandman cover artist Dave McKean's contributions to Lestat. Let the comic book theme continue with The Mystery Plays, penned by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who's the up-and-coming writer of the Fantastic Four, as well as Spider-Man and Nightcrawler. (We're not going to take sides in the DC/Vertigo v. Marvel debate, though.) A pair of interrelated one-acts, The Mystery Plays borrows, fittingly, from Hitchcock and H.P. Lovecraft in its tale about a Northeast train wreck and an Oregon crime that send two friends on different paths of self-discovery. SF Playhouse, only in its third season, has been fast gaining a reputation for presenting artistically solid productions by new and old playwrights alike; Aguirre-Sacasa is fast gaining a reputation as one of the nation's promising younger playwrights. Put these two superpowers together and watch one thrilling show.
Playing January 12 to February 11.
For more stage options, check out the listings at the Guardian, the Express, the SF Weekly, and the calendar on Theatre Bay Area's website.
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