Mission Mission

Katie & Brittany checked out Peter and the Starcatcher at The Curran and found that they could enjoy it more if they were able to meet the play where was, rather than trying to bring the play to them. They really liked it! Because they really do like theater, and they want you to as well! Here’s their report:

San Francisco, and particularly the Mission, has been called Neverland by some. A place where people go when they don’t want to grow up. So when we heard there was a play that explained the origins of Neverland and the Peter Pan story, we knew we had to check it out. So off to SHN’s Curran Theater we went to see their latest play Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice (based on a children’s book by Dave Berry and Ridley Person by the same name) in its first stop of its national tour.

Brittany: I’m just going to go out and say it, I liked the show.

Katie: Say it loud say it proud!

B: I wish it had been in a more intimate space. I think it would have been a blow-my-mind-amazing-play if it had been in a more intimate space . . . It took me longer to get into it because the Curran is so big, but I still liked it.

K: I liked it, it grew on me. At first I was like, “What the hell is this? There are actors talking at me really fast, are they just going to tell me a story?” For me the Second Act was what did it for me, it was great.

B: Right! I was so sad our entire row, and half the row behind us, left at intermission. I don’t know why they left, because it definitely was not a show that deserved to be walked out on, but they really missed out on the Second Act.

K: They really did, If I had left after the First Act, I would have been like “Meh, that was a cute children’s bed-time story written for adults, and I liked the stage design.” But after the Second Act I was like, “OMG this was so good, the actors were so talented, and this was so entertaining.”

B: I loved the creativity and smartness of this show. The script has lots of fun puns and wordplay. Definitely multi-layered humor for kids and adults. The staging was so creative. I liked that they didn’t sing a lot too. Sometimes musicals go too far. I thought they used music really well.

K: Yeah their transitions were very well done, and they used music really purposefully. The guy who played Black Stash (John Sanders) made the show for me, he rocked the Second Act. When he threw down the “Yeah, and I bet your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard” I lost it. I think my adultness really took over in the first act, and then for the second act I was like, “Fuck it, I am just going to turn myself over to this play”. Once I did that I had a great time.

B: It’s fun when theatre can be that explosion of fun, imagination and creativity. It lets you feel like a kid again, which doesn’t get to happen enough in the default world. I love that a rope can be a wave, and a rubber glove can be a bird, and this play gives you permission to think those things and go on this journey.

The Verdict: Go see it! If you lack all imagination, hate kids, Peter Pan and everything fun, you’re probably not reading this blog anyway. [They underestimate our commenters! - Ed.] So just go see it.

The Drama Talk: Peter and the Starcatcher the play is smart, witty, and totally ties up all those Peter Pan origin questions you always had. Peter and the Starcatcher the touring show is delightful. Even though it has Broadway production quality, it falls back on the barebones of children’s theatre imagination for the staging, which is a welcome respite from high production quality shows that spoon feed the audience cinematic images. The company is tight, and fast. Jokes and puns fly a mile a minute. It’s nice to have a show that’s so fun, but still requires the audience to use their brains.

The Drinks: After a fanciful, and nautical night at the theatre (the show has all the trappings of any Peter Pan, pirates, mermaids, etc.) we thought a bar with tiki punch influences
(which was also listed as one of the top hotel bars in SF) was probably in order. We chose the The Burritt Room for our after-show cocktails. Katie got a Knickerbocker La Monsieur because that sounds fun, and Brittany got the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club because it’s a boat drink. Both were a great conclusion to a Wednesday night of Drama Talk & Drinks.

Peter and the Starcatcher runs until December 1st at SHN’s Curran Theater. For opening week they had Rush Tickets available for the show if you got there two hours before curtain, so check back on the SHN site for more promotions like that. There were also Gold Star tickets available for this show last week, at the time of writing that deal expired too, but that doesn’t mean that there might not be more.

Via reader Ben.

Maybe it escaped from Paxton Gate?

[Thanks, Ben!]

UPDATE: The plot thickens, from Mishka SF . . .

@missionmission or maybe it’s our security system.

— Мишка San Francisco (@mishka_sf) November 12, 2013

Listing to people passionately argue if Dolores Park is #dolo or #dopa

— Michael Margolis (@yipe) November 10, 2013

Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.

- Nabokov (but you knew that)

P.S. On a side note, Nabokov actually references our Dolores in Lolita, when his protagonist, Humbert Humbert, remarks “Mission Dolores: Good title for a book.” And indeed it would have been for him.

By a Mission Mission commenter named “speculator”:

mad cause me not afford nice place

mad at make neighborhood rent more

not mad at hardworking family guy

not mad at make shitty redundant liquor stores nice places

= confuse

With ya, buddy. Read the original post and the rest of the thread if you require context.

[Completely unrelated animated GIF by C'mon Pony]

[pic by George Belle]

Friends and neighbors of some tenants displaced by yesterday’s fire on Valencia Street have set up a fund to help them get back on their feet.

At 1pm on October 28th, our friends’ apartment at 25th and Valencia in San Francisco’s Mission District caught on fire (the cause is still being determined). Luckily, our friends noticed the fire and were able to get everyone out of the building before it was completely engulfed in flames. By the evening, when firefighters escorted them one at a time back inside the destroyed building to search for belongings, they found little left intact. Most of their posessions have been lost, and they are now without a place to live. Please help our friends get back on their feet by donating what you can!

The money raised here will be given over to the five tenants at 1448 Valencia to divvy up between those affected, so that they can replace some of what was lost.

Link

UPDATE: Our pal Leef from Mission: Comics & Art tells us that EHS Pilates, at 1452 Valencia, are also looking for some help today (Tuesday):

EHS was effected by a 3 alarm fire yesterday and suffered severe water and smoke damage. We are here at the studio NOW (12noon) trying to salvage everything else. We are looking for a little help here. If you can spare an hour today to help move props, books, etc. or just stand outside and make sure no one walks away with our equipment. Any help you can give us right now would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you. Carrie

Hope everyone’s ok.

(Thanks Camiel!)

UPDATE: Started at Maverick

That’s the opinion of one insufferable tech dude* interviewed for KALW’s Google Bus Show, which fortunately offers a far more balanced take (than the privileged notion quoted in the title) on the recent phenomenon that’s become a symbol of the gentrification and influx of wealth currently reshaping the city. It’s a good listen; folks from the neighborhood, city officials, and tech companies themselves all contribute different viewpoints to illustrate why the issues at hand might not be solved by simply banning the corporate shuttles from city streets.

*Of course, what insufferable tech bro fails to realize is that perhaps not everyone is interested in having an iPhone, Facebook profile, and Google maps. While I can’t speak for that segment of the population, as I have and get great use out of all three of those products every day, their needs have to be considered as well.

Listen here.

[Photo via Mission Local]

From the posting on Craigslist, which has been removed:

The HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORRORS is San Francisco’s first-ever Haunted House/Halloween Attraction at the city’s very own historic and national landmark: The Old Mint! For 6 nights, October 26th until Halloween Night, October 31st, the Old Mint will be transformed into 25 chambers of terror with everything from horror mazes, scare-cams, thrilling live shows, a killer-costume fashion show, and even a bar and lounge for the over 21 crowd.

Check out our website: thehauntedhouseofhorrors.com

CASTING CALL
This Saturday October 19th & Sunday October 20th

SCARETASTIC ROLES INCLUDE:
Zombies
Clowns
Vampires
Brain Eaters
Werewolves
Scarecrows
Contortionists
And many more . . . .

WHEN: October 25th – October 31st
DAY / EVENING
6 hour shifts

COMPENSATION: $400 for all 6 days, or $60 per day
2 comp tix
Good times and merriment
Costumes & Makeup Provided

From Mission Local:

A man was shot and killed at 21st and Bartlett streets at 4:30 a.m. on Monday. The police had closed off the area surrounding the shooting, with the block of Bartlett between 21st and 22nd still closed at 8:30 a.m.

I took this photo yesterday morning as I was biking by on my way to work, and due to being late did not have time to stop and ask any of the officers what was going on.  Nonetheless, I posted this photo this morning along with a tasteless joke.  I apologize to the families and neighbors of all affected by this incident, and will do a much better job in the future of finding out all the facts and employing the appropriate tact.

Guys. I was reading the excerpt from Nick Bilton’s forthcoming book about how Twitter was started in The New York Times and I realized something. I might have invented Twitter. I mean, I know I didn’t, but look at these pages that I blogged about a few years ago, it’s almost eerie. I explained my process in my previous post:

A long time ago in this very land (sometime in 2003) I sat alone in my living room, looking out the window onto Guerrero Street and wondered how I could connect with the people of the neighborhood, hear their thoughts, start a dialogue, without having to actually leave my house and face people in real life. Yes, it sounds sad and lonely. Whatever. The point is, I didn’t know about hyperlocal blogs or anything, so I made do with what I had. Which, apparently, wasn’t much. I figured I’d have to do some fishing.

One morning I tied a piece of paper onto a length of fishing line, attached a pen at the end and lowered them both out the window. I left my house for the day and when I came home that night I reeled the paper in (pen gone).

GOOD MORNING. (if evening, please reverse)

GOOD EVENING (if morning please reverse)

I mean, the bland prompt, time stamp, emoticons, timeline, it’s kinda weird. Before you jump all over me and explain why I didn’t invent Twitter or even Facebook, I know. But, maybe it demonstrates why something like that was ready to take off, that we were all ready to begin communicating in this specific manner. I guess I won’t sue. It’s not my style. And all I did was hang a piece of paper out the window. I guess I could have tried a little harder.