We know, you've got a lot of pulls on your time these days, what with company holiday parties and SFist's first Bay Blotto tonight, but you really should know about a couple of very badass things happening on stage right now:
at the Rhino
In this Kaufman & Hart farce, the charismatic but egomaniacal Sheridan Whiteside, visiting the Stanleys for dinner as he passes through town, trips on their front steps and ends up as their troublesome houseguest for six weeks. P.A. Cooley, who was hilarious in his turn in last year's edition of Uncle Dickie's Wicked Little Christmas (see last week's Stage Fog for info about this year's edition), plays the cantankerous guest.
The Bright River at Traveling Jewish Theatre
We're not just listing this 'cause it's Hanukkah (or just because our good friend Julie did the poster), we're listing it 'cause it sounds so damned cool. It's a modern retelling of Dante's Inferno, told by a traditional Jewish storyteller, Tim Barsky. But that's only giving you a little bit of it. Here's more from Epic Arts, one of the coproducers (the JCCSF is another): "a live soundtrack. performed by some of the best hip-hop and klezmer musicians in the Bay Area. A dizzying theatrical journey through a world spinning helplessly out of control, the show sends audiences on a mass-transit tour of the Afterlife. Guided by a fixer named Quick, and moving through an urban landscape that is at once both intensely real and fantastic, it is a cinema verite look at life and death in America. The Bright River blends hip-hop, physical theatre and folklore, reflecting Barsky’s training as a Jewish storyteller and oral historian. Tim is also the world's first beatbox flutist, capable of producing up to 8 rhythms and melodies at the same time. Bassist and multi-instrumentalist Safa Shokrai, cellist Jess Ivry, and beatboxer/ vocal percussionist Kid Beyond (SF Weekly's “Best Beatboxer”) bring a diverse set of skills and traditions to bear. Jeff Raz, of the Clown Conservatory, brings a wealth of physical theatre as the show’s director." We are so on it.
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.
The Man Who Came to Dinner