Mission Mission

Fall theater season is upon us, which means lots of great new shows to see around the Bay Area. Cutting Ball Theater’s first show of their 17/18 season just opened at the Exit Theater on Taylor. The Mineola Twins, by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel, is a “razor sharp satire about domestic upheaval in times of political progress and in the rise of conservatism”. It sounded like a pretty timely topic, so we headed over the the TL for some drama talk and drinks.

Elissa Beth Stebbins as Myra (right), Steve Thomas (left) and Sango Tajima (center) Photo by Liz Olson

Katie: That was so interesting! What a cool story! I wish I went in knowing a little bit more about the script. Usually I like to be surprised, but this was such a smart show, I think may have gotten more out of the first few scenes if I had known more about the story.

Brittany: I really liked it. The woman who played the twins (Elissa Beth Stebbins) was amazing. She played each sister so well I honestly couldn’t tell at first if there were two different but nearly identical looking actors, or just one amazing actor playing both roles. Turns out it was just one incredibly talented person, but her physicality was so good each character was totally distinct.

K: Yes, she was remarkable. It was such an interesting show too. I was constantly curious about where the story was going to go next.  It is ridiculously relevant to what the country is going through now and it’s a play that was written in the 90s. I think it did such a great job at creatively exploring the left versus right, conservative versus liberal.

B:  Yes it’s super timely. It also makes you reflect on your own beliefs, and that feeling of superiority that comes with feeling you have the moral high-ground. It’s great to see a play that reveals so much about the division in our society without hitting the audience over the head with politics too. It was just a compelling story about twins, who while they couldn’t be more different, still are the same.

The Verdict: Go see it! Great actors and a super relevant script make it an enjoyable thought-provoking evening.

The Drama Talk: Even though this play was written in the 90s it couldn’t feel more contemporary and in-tune with the political turmoil happening today. Cutting Ball Theater always does really relevant work, but their artistic director did a great job picking this play for this season. Beyond a great script the lead actor Elissa Beth Stebbins was remarkable. It’s worth going just to see her performance. While there were some nitpicky things that we didn’t love, the show as a whole was so engaging nothing could really detract.

The Drinks: A block from the Exit on Theater, is a chill cocktail bar in the Tilden Hotel called The Douglas Room. It has great cocktails and delicious well priced snacks. We also love that they had plenty of seating the two times we have gone. It was a great place to debrief about this thought provoking show.

The Mineola Twins plays through October 29th the Exit on Taylor. Tickets range are $35 and can be purchased on their website. Right now there are tickets available on Goldstar for $15-$20.

[via Christian]

Yesterday Drama Talk & Drinks sat down for coffee with our friends on the Roll Over Easy show on BFF.fm to talk about the theater scene in SF.

What’s Roll Over Easy you ask?:

Roll Over Easy is a radio show that’s all about starting your day off right. We take you from under the covers to after coffee every Thursday morning, and along the way we’ll give you plenty of good tunes and fun conversation about the City you know and love. 

Our hope is that by the end each show you’ll be a bit more knowledgeable about San Francisco, and hopefully a bit more in love with it too. Our show takes place in a fictional diner and is made from one part us, one part you, and a dash of coffee.

So if you’re waking up next to your babe or if Muni is making you late for the 4th time this week, let Sequoia & The Early Bird serenade you with the sweet sounds of a proper San Francisco good morning. 

If you ever wondered what your DT&D writers sounded like in-person here’s your chance! Our interview begins roughly mid-way through the episode (at the 1:06 mark) – but give the whole show a listen for lots of SF love.

[Photo and headline by Ariel Dovas]

Troy is one of the greats.

The official caption:

Mission District | San Francisco

[Link]

I ate at the counter at Zante’s last night and it was pretty fun, and it reminded me of the time I did it 9 years ago, and blogged about it here:

You get to watch the hustle and bustle, and if you order Zante’s “Best Indian Pizza” by the slice, your slice comes out hotter and crisper and more fully loaded than usual. Also, they have Lowenbrau.

I didn’t notice any Lowenbrau, but other than that it’s all still true I think, and now my phone takes way better pics.

THIRTEEN HOUR HAPPY HOURS! Why limit happy to an hour? Bacon Bloody Mary’s, Irish Coffee, Mexican Coffee, Fresh OJ Mimosa…Pops Bar gets your morning going every day at 6am and keeps happy hour going until 7pm! So Rise N Shine, then kick back and unwind, Pops is your official starting point in the Mission.

This week’s entertainment line up at Pops Bar:

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Capp Street Crap has the scoop:

Inspired by the success of Indian pizza in the city, Bissap Baobob owner Marco Senghor has converted his second space in the Mission into a pizza restaurant that offers three Senegal-inspired pies alongside traditional flavors.

Read on for lots more info. (It’s open “5pm-2am most days.”)

[Photo by Capp Street Crap]

You love his photographs of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Now you can own a taste of the work he’s done down in Mexico, while also helping those in need:

All profits will be donated to Mexican earthquake relief efforts through Oxfam. Oxfam has pledged to direct 100% of donated funds to support services and relief and recovery efforts in affected areas. Please choose the product with the amount you would like to donate. If you would like to donate more than $100, please do it directly with an organization and send proof of payment to thetenssf@gmail.com and I will ship you a zine.

Zines are 40 pages of color photographs I took in Mexico from 2014 through 2017. Zines will ship beginning the first week of October.

Get yours here.

[Editors' note: DJ Nutzeffekt is an employee of Mission Mission, so maybe this is some kind of conflict of interest? No big deal though right?]

Well shake it off! We’re giving you another reason to love Mondays at Pops Bar. Introducing a brand new happy hour, NOT MY PLACE (In the 9 to 5 World), on 4th Mondays from 6-9pm. You’ll probably recognize our resident DJ Nutzeffekt from American Tripps. Tonight he is joined by special guest DJ Lizzy (Tuff Signals, BFF.fm). Expect Rock ‘n’ roll old and new, all vinyl with a special Oh Sees set to prep you for their show later in the week. Remember, when life gives you Monday, treat it to happy hour!

Check out this week’s full entertainment line up at Pops Bar:

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