Mission Mission

Brittany and Katie are on a roll, seeing some really great theater around town. Here’s their review of Porgy and Bess:

http://youtu.be/14ZD4OsCJXA

After speed dating the cast and creatives of the touring cast of Porgy and Bess, now playing at SHN’s Golden Gate Theater, we were excited to see them in action. Donning our Julia-Roberts-in-Pretty-Women opera wear, we headed to the theater for some Drama Talk and Drinks.

Katie: I liked it (laughs) . . . I mean opera isn’t my favorite, but I really enjoyed this story. Everyone was really talented and I cared a lot about the characters. I was moved by this play.

Brittany: I think what was remarkable about this production is that they did such a good job of making the opera really raw. They brought a slightly more contemporary way of singing to some songs, which I liked, but it still honored the opera tradition. If you are a purist, some of these numbers may not sound like you remember, but I think it translates well for a new musical theater audience. The way they brought the wailing and the opera together. Their crying was singing, and their singing was crying, and I loved that.

K: Yeah, The music was beautiful. The struggle really spoke to me. The love between Porgy and Bess – I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a closeted hopeless romantic – that story kept me engaged. All I can say is it was passionate and beautiful, everything I think an opera wants to be.

B: It was a beautiful production. The costumes were beautiful. ESosa created clothing that made the actors look great. The lighting was my favorite part. I thought it was perfectly done, and did such a good job of directing your attention in subtle ways. I thought every single one of the actors had a deep and awesome backstory, and it was great to see those develop throughout the show.

The Verdict: This is a beautiful revival. If you aren’t an opera person, this could be a good way to get your feet wet. It has the operatic qualities, but also falls back on the Gershwins’ jazz influences throughout the production. If you’re a Porgy and Bess purist be warned, this production moves a lot faster than the original opera, which may not be a welcome change (it wasn’t for the Porgy and Bess superfan we went with, although he still enjoyed the show). If you really can’t stand opera, Porgy and Bess probably isn’t for you no matter how good or short the production. The folks we chatted up at Mr. Smith’s after the show were admittedly not opera people, and haven’t been to a musical in years. They were significantly less impressed than we were.

The Drama Talk: Porgy and Bess started as a book that explored the Gullah culture and the lives of African American fisherman on “Catfish Row” in South Carolina. The story was first turned into a play, then Gershwin turned it into an American folk opera in 1935. Many opera companies were uncomfortable staging it because Gershwin insisted it be played by black performers, so it was first performed as a musical. This revival honors that history, from it’s Gullah roots to its civil rights undertones, rounding out with 1930s jazz influences. In doing so it creates a layered and beautiful production of this classic American opera.

The Drinks: Mr. Smith’s is right around the corner from SHN’s Golden Gate theater, on the corner of 7th and Market. But despite it’s convenient location, the trek through Mid-Market is evidently too much for many theater goers, because they were empty and about to close when we arrived after the show. The bouncer, Jerry, and bartender, Mike, were true gems, and invited us in for a final drink. We had delicious craft made cocktails, Brittany got the Marmalade Sour and Katie got the 7th Street Gimlet, and we had a great conversation with a few fellow audience members about the show and theater in San Francisco. That’s what’s great about mixing theater and drinking, it brings strangers together.

Porgy and Bess runs through December 8th at SHN’s Golden Gate Theater. All tickets are subject to dynamic pricing based on demand, but prices seem to range from $40 – $210, and are available through the SHN website.

The condo construction chaos at the New Mission Theater site is displacing the Mission Community Market for a while, but it might be for the best since they get to move over to 22nd Street between Mission and Valencia, which gets a hell of a lot more foot traffic and just generally has a lot more going on than Bartlett between 21st and 22nd, where the market usually happens. Mission Local reports:

Hasel Vasquez, who runs the perfume stand in Anita’s Beauty Salon on 22nd echoed the overall sentiment: “Not only will it help the market – it will help us,” she said referring to the new foot traffic.

Vasquez said the market’s location on Bartlett is “too tucked away” and the move closer to Mission Street will give Latinos “better access.”

Read on.

['gram by @malenarose]

Watch:

[via Mission Local]

Watch:

(Thanks, Allie!)

As Andrew mentioned a few weeks back, beloved local indie rockers Social Studies are playing every Monday in the Mission all month long! Here’s this week’s lineup, presented by Mission Mission and our pals at BFF.fm:

Social Studies
FOLI (members of Social Studies, Record Release)
The Tropics
DJ sets by Fortune & OneMoHit of Make It Funky SF and BFF.fm

Mon, November 18, 2013
Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm
Brick & Mortar Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
$6.00

RSVP and invite your friends!

This is exactly why the #GoogleBus is a good thing. @MissionMission @SFist @SFExa #tech #smartcities #SanFrancisco http://t.co/FrN61vjtsc

— Adrian Covert (@AdrianCovert) November 18, 2013

Let’s see:

[GIF by The Atlantic]

Lookin’ good, gents!

P.S. Can you believe it’s been 10 whole years since Matt was almost mayor?

[Photo by Dennis]

One of the people who keep talking during the show sat down to look at her phone behind me. I've been farting on her.

— Chelsea Otakan (@chexee) November 18, 2013

From Modern Luxury’s San Francisco Magazine profile on the history of the Delfina empire:

If Delfina played a role in the fancification of the Mission, what do you miss most about the good ole days?

Craig: Don’t get me started on the word gentrification. I don’t miss anything about the good ole days. I don’t miss crime and squalor.

I wonder if Craig thinks that he solved the underlying problems that lead to crime and squalor, or if he’s content with being a force that shifted it into someone else’s neighborhood.

I lived at 18th and Dolores through much of the nineties and 18th and Guerrero for much of the two thousands, and I’m not sure he did much more than open some high end restaurants.

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.