Sally Dana as Dr. Andrea (Andy) Powell in Disruption at Z Below; Photo by Mario Parnell

Katie: Wow, I’m happy about how the story ended, but feel some whiplash from how quickly the problem was resolved. It seemed like a very complicated legal matter.

Brittany: Yeah, it was really stressful for most of the show and then it just wasn’t. For a script that at times felt like it was fairly slow moving, it wrapped up very fast. I enjoyed it, even though it was a lot of talk and not much action. I was engaged. For those unexpected moments of stress, playing games like 슬롯 사이트 might be of aid.

K: There were a lot of good things about this show, but the lack of “action” took me out of it sometimes. The blocking felt unnatural, it was like the actors didn’t have anywhere to move. There were moments when I felt overwhelmed by the dialogue too. Also the connection to the #MeToo movement was a little muddled for me. Given the focus of the promos I thought it was going to go deeper into talking about that movement, whereas it felt more like a side note.

B: That’s true, but I still left with a “you go girl” feeling, bounce house for sale so it captured some of the ethos even if it didn’t feel like it spoke directly to the #MeToo moment. I like 3 Girls Theatre, and that they produce plays by women with strong female characters. Disruption was clearly written from a woman’s perspective, and it was interesting to see such authentic female characters. All their reactions, and guilt, and anxieties felt genuine.

K: I agree, I felt like a fly on the wall in a real office and there was something cool about that. I think overall it was authentic and it’s female forwardness was refreshing.

The Verdict: While there’s still some new-play clunkiness to the script and the staging, it’s a compelling story that portrays some very authentic strong female characters. We think it’s worth checking out.

The Drama Talk: It’s refreshing to see a show focused on strong female characters dealing with the kinds of challenges and emotions professional women confront in their lives. While the effort to shoehorn in current events like the #MeToo movement at times feels forced, Disruption still covers some important topics such as the ramifications of sexual harassment, gender bias, and the pressure professional women feel when they try to “have-it-all”. The script at times was a bit wordy, and the staging a bit stiff, however the compelling and authentic portrayals of women kept the show engaging.

The Drinks: After this show we felt pretty empowered so we wanted to go to a cocktail bar with powerful drinks and a high powered atmosphere. We checked our True Laurel and it was both of those things along with some delicious small plates.

Disruption runs through April 28th at Z Below. Tickets range from $35-$55 and can be purchased through their website. Right now there are tickets available on Goldstar from comp-$27.50.

Ruben J. Carbajal as Laurens, Michael Luwoye as Hamilton, Jordan Donica as Lafayette, Mathenee Treco as Hercules Mulligan & the Hamilton Company – photo by Joan Marcus

Brittany: Hamilton is this ground-breaking, barrier-shattering show that transcended the musical-theatre world and ended up as part of pop-culture. It feels strange reviewing it, since everyone knows it’s amazing. I will tell you what was surprising for me though; the show felt like a rock concert. Those tweens behind us were literally screaming with joy when the lights went down.

Sam: You don’t get that often, two thousand people thick with adulation. They definitely come in knowing the history and the songs too. I knew about the Hamilton-Burr duel from the Got Milk commercials twenty years ago. It’s a story that has captured popular imagination in one way or another for a while. I do think knowing the music makes it a much more lived experience, where you can stop trying to understand the fast paced lyrics and can instead get caught up in the show. People knew when to cheer, when to “oooh”, it was participatory. Even though I don’t know the music well, I found it helpful to at least have a passing familiarity with the music and the story. I wish I knew it better.

B: I was very happy that I knew the music as well as I did. This show is lyrically deft. They’re constantly spitting lines and there’s a hundred things happening at once on stage. Even knowing the soundtrack well, there were moments I was like “oh my god, it’s all happening so fast, how do I follow everything?”  It felt very fleeting, which in a way was fitting. Life goes really fast and he’s always running out of time.

S: It was really fast. It’s like reading a book and then seeing a movie, although in this case it was hearing the soundtrack and then seeing the play. You have these songs in your head and your concept of what they’ll look like on stage, then the show paints a different picture.  I spent part of the play just reassigning all of these preconceived ideas I had to the actual staging. It was a much more minimalist production than I thought it might be. They made use of very few props, aside from a desk and some paper or a few chairs. But there was also this amazing lighting that bathed the stage and helped direct your attention.

B: One of the most wonderful things about this show is just listening to the soundtrack is a rich experience. I think that’s why the minimal set and props worked so well. The lyrics are so multi-layered, you don’t need anything else. On one level he’s just telling a story, but he’s also talking about American history and referencing hip-hop artists, and referencing musical theatre and theatre history.

S: Loved that Gilbert and Sullivan.

B: And the Shakespeare too, right? And you can’t see those revolving stages and not think Les Miz.

S: This is totally the Les Miz for this generation. My favorite part was definitely the rap battles in Washington’s cabinet between Jefferson and Hamilton. They were at the intersection of all the exciting things going on, policy and personality, smack talk and realpolitik.

B: So you’re like Jefferson? “Let’s get back to politics.”

S: I don’t want to be on record agreeing with Jefferson.

B: That actor (Jordan Donica) was amazing. When you go into the show you hypothetically know that the guy who plays Lafayette also plays Jefferson…

S: Wait, what?

B: …but seeing it is just remarkable. They were two totally different characters. Wait you didn’t realize it was the same actor?

S: No…

B: Well he was that good I guess. Generally the whole cast was amazing. Another thing I didn’t expect was how much this show isn’t just about Alexander Hamilton. It’s also a story about Aaron Burr and in a certain way Eliza, which you don’t really get from the soundtrack. It’s written by storytellers, so of course it makes sense that the storytellers are the ones who are most important in the end. So, would you want to see it again?

S: Oh yeah, absolutely! Not tonight though, I’m exhausted from just watching it.

The Verdict: This show is a phenomenon. Yes, tickets are expensive (unless you’re lucky and get them via rush) but it’s totally worth it to be part of this unique theatrical experience.

The Drama Talk: So much has been written about Hamilton already, how about we just share some tips? This show is fast. If you don’t know the music, it’s probably worth giving the soundtrack a listen before you go, so you’re not having your mind blown with the lyrics while trying to keep up with the action. Even if you know the lyrics well, there’s so much happening on stage it’s hard to take it all in at once. Just breathe and enjoy, you’re finally seeing Hamilton. It’s rare to go to a show where there’s nearly a standing ovation at the beginning and end of each and every song, but this show manages that feat. Embrace the experience and enthusiasm of your fellow audience members as part of the fun. Not only is this show groundbreaking, the experience of seeing it feels groundbreaking. Maybe it’s the moment, or perhaps it’s movement, but either way it’s a great night at the theater.

The Drinks: A new bar/restaurant called Fermentation Lab recently opened up down the street from the Orpheum on Market, so we went there for drinks. The kitchen is closed by the time the show gets out  (if you go before, get dinner – such good food), but they feature a rotating selection of CA craft beers which is a pretty awesome SF way to raise a glass to a fun night of drama talk and drinks.

Hamilton runs until the beginning of August, and SHN recently released a new block of tickets, so there are still seats you can purchase through the SHN website. Tickets prices range from $100 to $868, with a 6 ticket limit per person. If you’re feeling lucky try the nightly digital lottery where $10 tickets are available to each performance.

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William Hartfield and Nican Robinson open Crowded Fire’s THE SHIPMENT.
Photo by Pak Han

Brittany: I thought it was good. The opening was so energetic. From a theater-history standpoint the script was fun too. All the different vignettes were nods to different types of performance, from minstrel shows, to stand-up comedy, to Brecht, to a modern tv show. When viewed together they critiqued the way African Americans have been and are portrayed, but it did so without forcing the audience to sit through a history lesson.

Katie: I liked the different pieces individually, but despite some strong performances, I don’t think it flowed very well between them.

B: You’re right. It took me a minute to get into each piece. Once I got into it, it was great, but those transitions felt abrupt.

K: I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up when a new section began, because you had to get used to a totally different style of theater and different characters. An impressive feat for the actors. There were a lot of layers in there, which made it interesting, but I felt like I was missing a lot. I wish I had read the script first.

B: I do too, it was definitely a smart play. It left me more contemplative than emotionally impacted though. I appreciate that the final piece made the audience confront implicit biases, but I wish there had been a call to action. Laughter is a place to start, but I don’t think it pushed the audience far enough given our current news cycle.

K: Crowded Fire is doing cool new works though, and I appreciate that. It’s important that they’re supporting writers of color, actors of color, directors of color, and bringing in more diverse audiences. This play hit all those marks, and I enjoyed it.

The Verdict: Go see it! It’s an interesting play, with strong performances, and an important message.

The Drama Talk: While some of the messages in this 2009 play may not feel as revolutionary as they did when it originally premiered, it’s still a smart play which reminds us of the long history of racial bias in the media and thereby in our culture. It was an interesting and thought provoking night at the theater.

The Drinks: Crowded Fire’s theater tends to get pretty warm. Warm enough that the night we went they had fans on everyone’s seats.  After the show we needed a refreshing drink to cool us down so we headed up the hill to Bloom’s Saloon for great views and cheap gin and tonics.

The Shipment runs through October 15th at The Thick House theater. Tickets range from $15-30 and can be purchased on the Crowded Fire website.

Katie: It wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting it to be more innovative, with more spoken word and poetry.

Brittany: Yeah, it felt more like it was going for an Anna Deavere Smith vibe, lots of monologues around a theme. Some of the characters that were created were super compelling. I loved the immigrant mother with her daughter finding the old microwave on the street. Or the old women selling books. I wanted to know their stories. But despite some bright-spots, the pacing was off, and the show dragged for me.

K: The pacing was definitely a problem for me too. The transitions between the different characters took too long, and some of the staging was just wonky, like when he played all 3 characters at the same time. I don’t envy Flores, it’s not an easy show.

B: There were some technical problems with the TVs that were distracting too. This is a one man show, shit needs to be tight, and it wasn’t.

K: I appreciate what they are trying to do though, It’s important to have this dialogue. I also really appreciate that they had the post-show discussion with an activist. You want theater to inspire action, and it’s great they’re helping to direct people’s frustration about gentrification in positive ways.

The Verdict: The show needs some tightening, but the message is on-point. Making yourself a more empathetic and informed San Franciscan while supporting local theater is not a bad way to spend a night. Go and stay for the discussion at the end.

The Drama Talk: A play about gentrification in the Mission couldn’t even take place in the Mission because of gentrification. That’s pretty intense. The production itself could have been tighter. Slow transitions and some tech mishaps meant it lost some of its momentum and therefore emotional impact. MadCap’s website encourages audiences to “Come for the play. Stay for the discussion.” and we really appreciated the dialogue that happened after the show. Each night has a different local artists or activist who leads the post-show talk, so check the list below since discussion will vary dependent on who’s leading:

May 14th – Amy Farah Weiss – Homeless advocate.

May 15th – Norman will talk about wages and the struggle for gente to teach gente in the Mission.

May 20th – Adriana Camarena – Local Mission activist and author.

May 21st – Edwin Lindo – District 9 Supervisor candidate.

May 27th – Luna Malbroux – Comedienne/Community activist.

The Drinks: Afterwards we went to Benjamin Cooper, which was literally right next to the theater entrance. Exit the building, make a left, then an immediate second left into an unmarked door, up the stairs to a small cocktail bar. When you enter go right and head to the back, there are usually a place to sit. And after a discussion about SF’s housing crisis you will need a strong drink.

You’re Gonna Cry runs through May 28th at The Phoenix Theater. Tickets are available through the MadCap website and are $20.

With only a two day run of Moments From The Bubble, Or: How The [Google] Bus Stops Here, a playwright-driven community action project created in collaboration with Z Space and the 1 Minute Play Festival, there’s no way we’d be able to review show before the run is over. Given what is currently happening in San Francisco (and even more rapidly the Mission), we thought you might want to see it anyway without our official endorsement.  To help inform your decision here are more details from the event description:

The drastic changes happening to the neighborhoods and communities in the Bay Area is quite staggering. I don’t think the national zeitgeist quite understands what’s happening here. San Francisco is becoming the most expensive city in the world, and it’s at the expense of everyone and everything that makes is special”, says 1MPF Producing Artistic Director, Dominic D’Andrea. Stressing that the work is designed a social “barometer” project to unearth connections in the zeitgeist via themes, ideas, and trends, D’Andrea says, “When we did our annual festival in partnership with playwrights foundation over the past two years, the topic of gentrification was so charged, so present, so immense, that we decided to come back to make an entire other project dedicated to digging into these topics, and what it means for the community. This is our artistic response to what’s happening. It’s part play festival, and part community action.

If that sounds as interesting to you as it did to us, you can check out Moments From The Bubble, Or: How The [Google] Bus Stops Here, this Saturday June 27^th at 8PM and Sunday June 28^th at 3PM and 7:30PM at Z Below (470 Florida Ave).  Tickets are $20 and available for purchase at http://zspace.org/new-work

We’re going Saturday night, so if you see us, say “hi!” Or if that’s too weird, just let us know what you thought of the show in the comments. Hope to see you at the theatre!

When it’s rainy in SF it’s a challenge just getting out of the house. But when presented with the opportunity for drag queens, fabulous boots, and a night out at The Orpheum, it’s hard to say no. So we braved the monsoon to go see SHN’s latest tour, Kinky Boots.

Katie: I hate to say it, but I’m a little disappointed. Going into this show all I knew was that Cyndi Lauper wrote the music, it won the Tony, and there were drag queens and boots involved. But given Cyndi Lauper’s LGBTQ advocacy, I thought it was going to have more substance and innovation. I guess I was expecting something more like Rent, but with fancier shoes and a few more drag queens. I came in hoping for cutting edge musical theater that would entertain you and make you think. All that kind of bullshit I love. This was just a little forced.

Brittany: That’s so funny. I had the exactly opposite reaction. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I didn’t think I was going to like this show because I had a feeling it was going to be way too fluffy, but it was actually a bit deeper than I thought it might be. I mean it’s a show about shoes, but there were moments.

K: I really loved Cyndi Lauper’s score. That’s the sort of music I like in a musical. But the lyrics were hit and miss. There were a few songs that really moved me, and the actors were super fucking talented, but the story as a whole didn’t do it for me. I thought it was a little too gimmicky. What saved it for me is that the actor who played Lola (Kyle Taylor Parker) was AMAZING, so I cared about what happened to that character.

B: You could tell Cyndi Lauper wrote this. The score was upbeat and fun, but some of the lyrics were just so corny. It felt like the songs were written by someone who writes pop songs, as opposed to someone who knows how to write songs to advance a plot and develop a character. There were definitely some exceptions though,“The History of Wrong Guys” and “Not My Father’s Son” were great, but sometimes it felt like she was just searching for another word to rhyme with shoe.

K: It’s definitely not ever going to be my favorite musical. It’s not my least favorite though, I had fun, but I just didn’t care enough. There were elements of this production that were amazing, but I just wasn’t that moved.

B: Everything was going so fast at the beginning, it was definitely hard to get into the story. It was set change after set change, new characters left and right, we were in the past, then in the present, and lots of glitter and lights. In a way it was crazy impressive. The way the set moved, and was so many different things so quickly, but it was also a bit of a sensory overload.

K: Seriously, the first half hour I had no idea what was going on.

B: It was a whirlwind, but it was fun. Really creative staging and design. Also, full disclosure, my friend (Cassie Dorland, Associate Props Coordinator) worked on the props for this show, so I may be biased, but I thought the props were pretty awesome.

K: Yeah they were! The drag queen costumes were LEGIT too! Really beautiful. Also it’s great have more representation of LGBTQ people on stage, so you can’t argue with the value of that.

The Verdict: Like Cyndi Lauper? Like drag queens? Like a fun cotton candy musical with impressive design and beautiful costumes? You’ll love Kinky Boots! Looking for something deep that may change the way people look at the world, you may be better off staying home and re-watching Philadelphia.

The Drama Talk: It makes sense that Kinky Boots won the Tony. It’s a very box-office friendly musical. Catchy tunes, fun characters, flashy costumes, nice and light. You leave this show humming a song. If you’re a Cyndi Lauper fan you’ll love that you can hear her in the music. It’s got the sound of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, and there’re lots of beautiful drag queens, glittery boots, and a sweet (although predictable) love story too. It’s definitely not groundbreaking but it’s fun, really well designed, and the cast is all very talented.

The Drinks: We went to Soluna Cafe for dinner and drinks before the show. Damn their burger is GOOD! Great spot to hit up before going to the Orpheum.

Kinky Boots runs through December 28th at SHN’s Orpheum Theater. All the Goldstar deals on tickets for Kinky Boots have expired, but a limited number of $40 rush tickets are available beginning 2 hours prior to curtain at the SHN Orpheum Theatre Box Office. Cash only. 2 per person, subject to availability. Otherwise, as always you can get tickets directly on SHN’s website.

A few days after Brittany attended a Jazzy-Hip-Hop dance class at City Dance, a review request came across the DT&D desk (aka email) for a new musical, Mr. Irresistible, by D’Arcy Drollinger & Christopher Winslow. Still sore from all the booty-popping, Brittany recognized D’Arcy’s name as her fabulous dance instructor. We decided this would be the perfect opportunity to do a pre-show chat and get our groove on. So we donned our spandex and leg warmers, and went to D’Arcy’s Sunday Skool Sexitude dance class. After an hour and a half of sexitudeiness, we sat down with D’Arcy to get the scoop on his new show Mr. Irresistible that opens tonight!

Brittany: How did Mr. Irresistible come to be?

D’Arcy Drollinger: When I first moved to New York, I had a dare going with my friend. She was going to write a novel in 45 days, and I was going to write a full musical in 45 days, and so that’s actually when I started writing Mr. Irresistible, early in ’98. Flash forward to about a year ago, I had been talking with the artistic director at ODC, and I told her about this show I had never completed, and she liked the idea, so I began an artist residency at ODC. At the time I was also working on a different piece with Christopher Winslow, the composer of this show, a musical parody of Flowers in the Attic. So I asked him if he wanted to take a break from that and work on Mr. Irresistible. We spent six months tearing apart the old show, rewriting the songs and putting it back together. After readings at ODC, La Mama offered us a two week workshop in New York, which sold out, then we got a letter from SFAC that we got a seed grant to produce the show here and add in a lot more of the video elements, so we started looking for a theater.

Katie: Tell us a little about the show.

D’Arcy: This show starts as a real traditional musical, and then about ⅓ the way through it, it turns into a horror musical, when Mr. Irresistible starts killing everyone because he doesn’t understand metaphor. At the end, it turns into The Terminator, an action thriller with laser fights. It gets a little dark and heavy, but it’s still a happy ending.

K: I hate to be the person who asks this, but are there “concessions”?

D’Arcy: There are drinks, people can can buy booze before the show, and during intermission. Unfortunately it can’t come into the theater.

B: You’ve worked and lived in NY and SF, but made SF your homebase, how’s it working out for you?  Is this a viable place to make a career as an actor or artist?

D’Arcy: I was born in San Francisco, and then in junior high we moved to Nevada City, so I grew up there. I came back to SF for college at SF State, then a few years after college I was transferred to New York for work. New York is such an industry. I was missing the lifestyle here. The food, the mellow pace. I love New York, especially for the theater and the dance, but it has been better for me to be a Bay Area local artist. I have a community here that rallies around what I do. I think that’s the great thing about San Francisco audiences, they really rally around things. I’ve been making a decent living here making theater, which is CRAZY. If I didn’t know anybody here, I don’t think this would be the first place I would come to do theater. As I’m sure you know, in the last couple years this place has become so expensive and so many small venues have had to close. But there’s a lot of community support that’s hard to get like somewhere in New York.

K: What do you think about the future of theater and arts in San Francisco?

D’Arcy: I wish places like Google and Twitter would invest in more nightlife experiences for people that work for them that aren’t just bars. To keep this as a first class city we can’t destroy the downtown underground arts scene, and only have the big touring shows and a bunch of bars and nothing in between. People want hip stuff to do. I did a lot to make Rebel into a cabaret space, because there wasn’t anything like that, and now someone bought the building and is turning it into condos. I’m working very hard with some partners to create a cabaret space within a bar, where we can have a little more security knowing the building won’t be sold out from under us. But we need more viable nightlife, and a place for smaller productions.

B: What is your hope for Mr. Irresistible next?

D’Arcy: I’ve done nine musicals, and in a way this feels like my most commercial venture. It’s wacky, it has the love story, the thriller aspect, you’ve got your gay characters, you’ve got your drag queens, you’ve got Joey the Exterminator who the straight guys can identify with, it’s got the Sci-Fi aspect so all the Sci-Fi nerds can geek out on that. I could see this being a fun regional show. Start with a bigger production here, and then tour it, but with San Francisco roots. I can’t wait to show it to everyone. I feel so fortunate.

Mr. Irresistible runs June 4 – 8, 2014, Wednesday – Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 7:00 pm at the Alcazar Theatre (650 Geary St. in SF). Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased on the Mr. Irresistible eventbrite page. There are also half priced tickets available on Goldstar. Even if you can’t make it out to this show, make sure to check out one of D’Arcy’s incredibly fun sex-positive dance classes, or another one of his many upcoming shows.

Show love for your Bay Area actors, and do your part to keep SF a first-class arts city.

From the Fayes blog:

I was an extra on the set of The Master.  If you’ve see the show Extras or done extra work or known someone who has, then you already know that extra work is not glamorous, it is depressing and is never a career move for aspiring actors or filmmakers, and it’s rarely fun.  I was almost gone, moving away for what I thought would be forever, and had no interest in the gig.  Also, I had no transportation and the shoot was up north.  When you get a call for one of these gigs you have to ask what the film is about and who is making it.  Out of curiosity I asked.  When I was told that it was P.T. Anderson’s new film, staring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Dern, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and that I had been selected for my “classic look,” the compliment went to my head and I became full of fantastic ideas about my all but sure discovery by my favorite American director as his protégé.

Read on.

We love supporting local theater. Invite us to the latest theater thing opening up, and we’ll be there with bells on, if we can find our bells. We may not always like what we see, but we write this blog because we think theater is important, and everyone should see more of it. We just hope to direct you to the more of it that’s worth seeing, so you don’t have a bad experience and then never want to go again.

We’ve been super excited to hear about the development of PianoFight’s new theater venue opening up in the TL (hopefully) in March. “An 8,000 square foot creative playground containing two theaters, a full restaurant and bar plus cabaret stage, rehearsal space, office space, and a film studio. PianoFight will be a landmark entertainment venue, a creative meeting place, somewhere to have a drink, see a show, or create art at the spur of the moment…”

On Tuesday night they hosted their first party in the nearly-complete venue, to launch their final Kickstarter. Free booze, fun sketch comedy and a new SF theater venue? Of course we went.

Our First Reactions:

Brittany: It looks like it’s going to be really awesome, and it’s a lot more space than I expected. It will be really neat to see what ends up getting created here.

Katie: It looks like they still have a lot to build, but I think it’s going to be a cool space once it’s finished. I don’t know how they’re going to manage acoustically with the bar/restaurant right next the theater. Let’s hope it means there are going to be some rowdy fun shows.

The Drama Talk & Drinks: There was PBR on tap, and the wine flowed freely. Once this space is completed it seems like it has a lot of potential, not just as a place to see theater, but as a place to create. The PianoFight crew has a little over 30 days to raise the last $120k they need to finish construction. Check out their Kickstarter if you’re interested in supporting them. Afterall, who doesn’t want Californicorn swag, and another cool theater and art space in the city.

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.

But they love our gentrification!

Andy Blue sends in the press release, describing the next steps to keep the shop out of the Mission. Full text after the jump:

JACK SPADE OPPONENTS RETURN FIGHT TO CITY HALL
WITH EXPANDING SUPPORT FROM POLS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS

Author of formula retail ballot measure, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano:
“Jack Spade has operated in bad faith”


Matt Gonzalez, Aaron Peskin; Supes Campos, Avalos,
and Mar support the appeal.

SAN FRANCISCO –– Backed by the original drafters of San Francisco’s formula retail ordinance, the coalition fighting to stop designer menswear line, Jack Spade, from opening a new store in the Mission District, heads to City Hall this Wednesday, October 9 (City Hall, Room 416, 5:00pm) to request a rehearing before the Board of Appeals.

Authors of San Francisco formula retail ordinances, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and former president of the Board of Supervisors, Matt Gonzalez, expressed unequivocal support for the appeal, writing that to allow Jack Spade to move in without first holding a public hearing would subvert the intent of the formula retail ordinance. “Measure G was intended to protect the community voice from being overshadowed by large corporate interests,” Ammiano writes in a letter of support. “Jack Spade has operated in bad faith by using store count technicalities to evade fair and transparent public processes.” (Read full letter, here: bit.ly/ammiano-letter)

The Valencia Corridor Merchants’ Association, the appellant in the case, argues that the Board of Appeals has a duty to adopt a holistic reading of the Planning Code, which would lead to Jack Spade being classified as formula retail. The result would be to subject Jack Spade to a public conditional use hearing before being granted building permits. (Read the VCMA’s brief, here: bit.ly/vcmabrief)

Jack Spade claims that because it is an “independent business” with only 10 stores, it should not have to seek approval from the community. The Planning Code defines formula retail as a business with 11 or more locations in the United States.

The Coalition maintains that Jack Spade is the same company as Kate Spade LLC, both of which share headquarters in New York; distribution software and distribution center in Ohio; IT, HR and legal departments; staff and payroll; and parent company, 5th & Pacific (formerly “Liz Claiborne”). According to 5th & Pacific’s public filings, Jack Spade is considered a sub-brand of Kate Spade, which itself has 94 locations in the U.S., clearly qualifying as formula retail. (Read more backstory, here: bit.ly/jackspadesf)

The appeal has received wide support from elected officials and community groups. In addition to Ammiano and Gonzalez, Former Board of Supervisors president, Aaron Peskin, and current Supervisors David Campos, John Avalos, and Eric Mar each added their own letter of support. Several community groups including Causa Justa :: Just Cause, PODER, the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), and Calle 24 SF have also backed the appeal.

“Allowing Jack Spade to locate into the Mission District would damage the economic and social conditions in the neighborhood by . . . damaging the local small business community who would have to compete with a highly capitalized large-scale ‘national retailer,’” wrote Luis Granados, MEDA’s Executive Director. (Read full letter, here: bit.ly/meda-letter)

The appeal comes as the debate around displacement in the Mission is coming to a head. Next Saturday, Calle 24 SF and some 40 other community organizations are holding an anti-displacement rally and march with hundreds of participants expected. The event is titled Our Mission: No Eviction, with the slogan, “Stop urban deportation. Stop Jack Spade!” (http://tinyurl.com/calle24). According to the San Francisco Rent Board’s annual eviction report, city-wide evictions have risen by 26 percent compared to last year, while the number of Ellis Act evictions increased by 81 percent.

In late September, a standing-room only crowd discussed these trends in an event titled “Jack Spade, Gentrification, and the Mission: A Community Discussion for Action.” In coverage of the event, SFist referred to Jack Spade as “a galvanizing symbol of the latest phase in the Mission’s gentrification and potential loss of character.”

When we heard that there was a festival going on that brings together local artists and many different theater companies we were really excited to check it out. So, this past Sunday night we headed to the Tides Theater in Nob Hill for the 12th Annual Bay One Acts Festival to see 6 different short form plays. Since there are so many pieces we decided to break it down a little differently than usual, just giving you our first thoughts on each of the plays. Jump to the verdict if you don’t care about our initial reactions to the specific plays.

#1: Modernizing the Afterlife – A dead Google developer gets recruited by St. Peter’s nephew to optimize their afterlife processing.

Katie: It made me think of the time I went on an online date with a guy that developed apps for a living . . . and just like this piece I left that date slightly intrigued, slightly confused and wanting more.

#2: Desiree – A woman copes with the aftermath of ten years in captivity.

K: One word – Awkward. All I could do was compare it to the Cleveland woman tragedy. It was the one piece that no one knew when it ended.

Brittany: There were a number of pieces that fell short because of the acting, this one fell short because of the writing more than anything else.

#3: Write Dirty to Me – Dead writers operate literary phone sex lines.

B: This show is what an english major, who is crazy nerdy, thinks is funny. But if you are not deep into english major land you have no fucking clue was is going on.

K: Which was me.

B: This show also reminds me of the time I saw the Vagina monologues during high school and afterwards we said “cunt” over and over again because we thought it was funny. Dirty words just aren’t that funny when you’re an adult.

Intermission

#4: Love Song of Aflred J. Prufrock – A T.S. Eliot poem set to movement.

B: This show made me think of the time I was at a bar when I was 21 and a 50 year old hit on me.

K: Awkward.

B: Yeah.

#5: Red All Over – In the wake of a school shooting tragedy, new relationships begin.

B: Remember that thing we said last time about story arcs . . . there wasn’t one.

K: There wasn’t even a story . . . to be arced.

B: Also, why does a lesbian romance have to happen at a child murder scene…I don’t get that.

#6: Last Couples Therapy Session on Earth – The Zombie Apocalypse has happened, but that doesn’t mean that this couple is done working through their problems.

B: Well written, cute, vignette. It was the best piece in the series.

K: It would have been hilariously bizarre, Modern Familyish, if not for The Walking Dead.

[pic of The Royal Tug Yacht Club by Rose Garrett for Eater SF]

The Verdict: We really, really, really wanted to love this festival. It’s a great idea executed in a really cool space. We wanted to walk away feeling like we saw some fresh, innovative, well developed, entertaining theater, unfortunately we did not. We did only see Program One, so we can’t speak to the festival as a whole, but if Program One was any indication of what Program Two will be like, this festival is best left for an audience of friends of the artists and/or other artists that want to learn from watching artists, the general public might be disappointed.

The Drama Talk: Bay One Acts is a great platform for local directors, writers, and actors to collaborate, but when it comes down to it people are paying $15 to be entertained and moved and we just really weren’t. We want to bring new audiences to the theatre, not just support art just for the sake of supporting art. We don’t think a new audience would be that impressed by what should be some of the best new works in the SF theatre scene. At least for Program One, the writing itself is really what fell short for us.

The Drinks: We heard of a new bar that opened a couple months back just a few blocks from the theatre. The Royal Tug Yacht Club was the perfect place to discuss the evening, a small, almost empty, interestingly decorated (there’s a huge octopus on the ceiling, what is better than that) dive bar with great, strong cocktails. Brittany had the “Seek and Destroy”, which was what she was hoping this festival was going to do (you know, just “kill it”) and Katie got the “Washed Up”, which was what she felt she was after seeing this show.

Bay One Acts Festival

Serial killers, family drama, and demon sex, oh my! Last Thursday we climbed the stairs to The Magic Theatre to see their latest and last show of the season, Terminus by Mark O’Rowe, directed by Jon Tracy. Entering into the haze filled theatre, little did we know we were going to be taken on a lyrical journey from heaven to hell and back again (although Magic’s description should have clued us in). This play has so much drama, we sure needed the drinks.

Katie: I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but I struggled a bit. I don’t know if it’s just that I wasn’t in the mindset for this sort of a play, or maybe I was just too tired. That much time without much physical interaction between the characters, who are just reciting monologues, isn’t my favorite sort of play. It felt like I was watching a book being read out loud at me.

Brittany: See, I enjoyed it, but I can see where you’re coming from. I really loved the script and the language of the play, but about an hour in I was hoping for an intermission too. Also, the accents got to me.

K: Yes! I am always a big believer that if you can’t do the accent really well, and can’t keep it throughout the play, please don’t do it at all!

B: Despite the accents though, I really loved the actress who played the mother (Stacy Ross). She was so engaging, every one of her monologues drew me in, she made me care about her story. The guy (Carl Lumby) was great too, although towards the end he got a little yelly for me, which is also when his accent disappeared. Overall, I thought it was well done.

K: The sound design was great. That rumble at the beginning . . . really the best way to start a show I think I’ve ever experienced. It totally set the tone for the dark things that were to come. The set was impressive too, that gravel void with the stark lighting made for some really dramatic stage pictures. Something that Jon Tracy has always been really amazing at creating.

B: This is a great show for someone who is into theatre and poetry. There’s a lot of beautiful language, the play has great theatricality, and has an interesting form. I don’t think I would take one of my friends who isn’t into theater to see this, though. An hour-forty-five of monologues without an intermission can be rough.

The Verdict: Take your artsy friends! Don’t take your kids (the content is mature, to say the least) or your friends who prefer kids movies. This play is a dark, but beautiful, piece of theatre.

The Drama Talk: Put on your artsy pants, wear black, don’t go tired, and be prepared to hear some pretty disturbing things described beautifully. This play is not for the faint of heart, but just get in the mood for something dark and different and you’ll have a great time. There are $20 tickets for those under 30 available on the Magic Theatre website. Also at the moment, there are some tickets for sale on Goldstar, but don’t be surprised if they sell out fast, this play is going to generate some serious buzz.

The Drinks: We decided to hit up a place that we could sit in a chill, low lit, dramatic setting to discuss this intense play, so we chose the Noir Lounge in Hayes Valley. Brittany had a Deschutes Black Butte Porter (to match the darkness of the show) and Katie had a glass of Rose (the color of demon blood!).

Terminus runs through June 16th, at The Magic Theatre in Fort Mason.

You probably know Tim Heidecker as one-half of the comedy duo Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Well, if you’re expecting that kind of thing with his new movie, “The Comedy“, be prepared for a lot of brutal darkness.

The film is about Swanson, an aging, Williamsburg-living, PBR-swigging hipster-type on the cusp of inheriting his wealthy father’s estate. In his boredom, disconnection with the real world, and subliminal grief, he and his buddies engage in some truly awful behavior at the expense of a world presenting him with endless options. Hmm entitled, trust-funded, society leeches hiding behind a cloud of irony? We wouldn’t know anything about that around these parts, now would we?

I recently got an opportunity to chat with writer/director Rick Alverson and actor Tim Heidecker about the film’s mixed reception, how scripted dialogue is so passé, experiencing the end of comedy (9/11-unrelated), and about PBR as a cost-cutting production technique.

Read on:

Mission Mission: I understand some other SF publications declined the interview after seeing the film and that it had the most walk-outs at Sundance. Were you expecting such a polarized reaction?

Rick Alverson: I suppose we knew it was possible. It’s sort of designed in some way and we kind of embraced it. It’s a little confusing from the get-go and maybe provocative because of some of that confusion. But you know, it’s definitely uh… hell, I don’t know.

Tim Heidecker: Yeah, first of all I think the notion of “the most walk outs in Sundance” is a bit of an exaggeration. I don’t know if anyone was standing out the door with a clicker. We had tremendous screenings at Sundance and SXSW and the reaction for the film certainly isn’t unanimously positive, but amongst a certain demographic it’s very positive. It’s a film that appeals to a generation that can dial in to not only the humor that’s in the film, but the underlying subliminal quality that the film has. And frankly, there’s an older establishment out there that’s incapable of embracing some of the themes in the film. But I’ve had plenty of conversations with people that I respect and come to watching films from an open-minded place and nobody that I know has a problem with it and considers it a successful film. So if you’re somehow angered by this film or offended or anything… you’re probably gonna be a person that I don’t want to know.

MM: Yeah, I think it’s very similar to the Tim and Eric show in that there’s a sort of person that will get this and someone who would probably walk out after getting the eyeful on the opening scene. It certainly wasn’t what I expected. I think I was expecting something more Tim and Eric-y but instead I got something that was funny but also incredibly dark.

RA: Yeah.

TH: Yeah, it’s dark.

MM: So are you concerned with that dismissal from that “older crowd” that you speak of?

RA: No, I think there’s a new generation of potential movie-goers that are tired of some of the hard, fast lines that have been drawn on genres and the way we watch movies. For an older generation and for some critics, they desire that things are palatable to some degree and that they are fully aware of what they’re taking in and the context is hard and fast and clearly delineated. This movie intentionally confuses some of those things and questions the way we watch movies. I hope it would raise some of those questions.

MM: I noticed that Tim has been cast the opposite way as you might expect in recent movies. Like in Bridesmaids he played the straight man without a speaking role and in this he’s cast in a more dramatic role. I was wondering if you had Tim Heidecker in mind when you wrote the character.

RA: Well when the idea was originally conceived [I didn't], but when I started thinking of the implementation of the thing and turning it into a film then I fairly quickly realized that Tim and Eric Wareheim’s work would be compatible and I was pleasantly surprised that they had in an interest in working with me.

MM: How did that introduction happen?

RA: E-mail

MM: So how much of the writing was collaborative? It definitely seemed like the scenes with Eric Wareheim and Tim had their touch.

RA: Well when we hit the production initially, there was a 20-page script without scripted dialogue. Very concrete scenes and what was to be conveyed and the text, the tone, and the narratives necessary. And then when it moved into production, it does become more collaborative. As a filmmaker, I have an interest in narrative being driven by dialogue and even in this film I’m more interested in Tim’s voice and his cadence and delivery and not what particularly is said. So I casted people that are interested in being a little more experimental with the way movies are made. It does become collaborative. Then the writing becomes extensions of the edit where things are sometimes formed and other times butchered and re-thought and re-contextualized.

MM: So I guess I wasn’t mistaken in thinking most of it was improvised.

RA: There’s no scripted dialogue, yeah.

MM: I feel like I’ve heard that “Hitler was a good public speaker” conversation during the party scene more than a few times at college parties. Were many of the scenes based on specific incidents?

RA: That scene reads in the script that there would be conversation about politics that diverges into this reckless justification of awfulness. “Feudalism” is written in there. There were touchstones, whether it was “McVeigh”, “Manson” or “Hitler”, throughout the movie that were supposed to be in a particular scene and the rest is something that comes very natural to Tim and I’ll let him talk about that.

TH: Yeah, I recall certain phrases and words being in the script, like “prolapsed anus” was something that I think was always there. So there were keywords that we knew Rick wanted to hit that would start something. But it was as simple as giving the direction to go and then letting me try to be as natural with it as possible. But letting it come through my own head.

RA: And I should mention his interaction with Alexia [Rasmussen] and her contribution to the scene. I think we shot that twice, once from each angle. So part of the reason it seems so natural is because there’s an actual exchange taking place. We don’t do rehearsals. We know what we want to achieve and it’s casted properly and people are in the right space. It has all the chemistry and potential and also uncertainty and awkwardness and potential for the failure of communication. It’s all possible there and that’s what we’re trying to capture.

MM: Rick, I recently heard you describe your experience of watching Tim and Eric Awesome Show as witnessing “the end of comedy” and I think you meant that in a good way.

RA: I did.

MM: Can you talk more about that and how it made you feel like you’d want to work with them?

RA: I mean, what they do is incredibly relevant and it’s a very modern sensibility. There’s a way of speaking and a way of addressing and flirting with discomfort and irony and sarcasm. There’s a real craft in what they do and how they approach it. Particularly their interest in awkwardness and discomfort. I appreciate that so much and I also have an interest in it.

MM: Tim, how do you feel about that characterization?

TH: That’s absurd. <laughs>

MM: I noticed that the characters themselves seem almost emotionally detatched from comedy and humor. Even when they joke around it’s really deadpan and they don’t really laugh at each other. Can you talk about their relationship to humor?

TH: Well, I think that’s certainly a style or a personality trait that we recognize in a lot of people that we know. We played it up quite a bit in the movie and made it way more aggressive and nasty, but originally the idea that Rick came to me with was about that and how guys kinda use humor to communicate and to shield themselves from revealing any kind of feeling or emotion. Also it’s recreational and time-killing. So that was on everyone’s mind as we were making it and we wanted to convey that. And again going back to that generational thing, the younger kids and people under 40 recognize that immediately when they see the movie. They relate to it and in some ways empathize with it and realize that they’re often caught in that irony trap as well, occasionally.

MM: I really enjoyed the character of… Bobby I think it was? The slower guy who’s trying to keep up with his more-funny friends. He didn’t really have a specific sense of humor but he just sorta threw stuff out into the world hoping it would hit and I thought that was really funny. Was that a written character or was that improvised?

RA: Who, [Jeffrey] Jensen? Are you talking about the mustached fella?

MM: Yeah, the mustached fella.

RA: Yeah, I think I talked to Jeff before I talked to anybody.

TH: I think Jeff’s personality is kinda close to that in the movie and we all recognized that in a group situation he’s like kinda naturally become the punch line or the punching bag and the most vulnerable one.

RA: Yeah he kinda has a talent for that, it’s sorta like a role he likes to flirt with and fuck with in conversation and characterization. So we exploited that.

MM: How did you get more unlikely actors like LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy involved? He seemed very natural in the role.

RA: He was just kind enough to come on board and he gave us a couple of days of his time. He lives in the neighborhood and he’s familiar with the demographic that we were exploring from the music business. It was pretty straight forward.

MM: Tim’s character makes a lot of attempts to have some genuine experiences like connecting with the black folks in a bar, helping out some immigrant yard workers, and going to church. But they all seem to devolve into pranking. Why do you think that is? It seems like his need to be funny goes beyond just impressing his friends.

RA: For me, there are a lot of interactions that don’t necessary involve humor. They are flirtations with behavior, you know. There’s a relation to the irony and sarcasm and the humor in the thing, but a lot of the humor ends up being situational because of the audacity of this individual for pushing these lines of social acceptability. I didn’t answer your question. I can’t remember what it was.

MM: I think you answered it pretty well. (Debunked it, actually.)

RA: Oh, great. <laughs>

MM: The film felt pretty damning of the aging hipster culture and it’s screening in the Mission which is probably filled with aging hipsters. Do you think hipster-types are receptive to the film?

RA: Uh-huh.

MM: Actually, I think I already knew the answer to that. But why do you think they are able to laugh at that sort of thing?

TH: I think that generally-speaking hipsters that I know or observe hate hipsters more than anybody. So it’s like, “at least I’m not like THAT guy.” So I don’t know, there might be the hardcore, humorless contingent of hipsters that don’t appreciate this movie but everybody that I would identify as coming from this world really loves this movie and it’s not as damning of a satire as it maybe could be in my opinion. The movie has to be set somewhere and it has to be about some kind of person, so it was convenient that this sort of demographic exists, but I don’t think it’s an indictment of that culture or style necessarily.

RA: Nor is it a celebration. It allowed us to examine a particular kind of urban white culture. And not even that particular culture, characteristics of a broader culture.

TH: And in some cases we’ve gotten people saying to us, “you know that movie really hit home and I felt like it created some self-examination within me and it made think about the way I’m leading my life.” So it’s become almost an inspirational movie for some people in a way that it allows some self-analysis to occur.

MM: I also noticed that PBR was featured prominently throughout the film. Did you guys work out an endorsement deal there?

RA: PBR, is like, you know you’ll see it in a lot of lower-budget pictures because they seem like they’re cool about having their product in things. It’s more of a producer-ial thing, you know what I mean? There was a lot of drinking that was scripted and necessary in the movie so they need to be drinking something that you can afford. And also, PBR is a beer that the demographic that we’re utilizing drinks.

MM: Was drinking part of the acting formula? Did we see some genuine moments of inebriation?

RA: I encourage people to drink if they drink and the scene calls for it. I think that the fabrication of that thing is silly. Particularly if you work like Tim and I do and have. It’s all done utilizing what’s available to us, whether that’s environment or the shortest route between two distances, I don’t think it’s just convenient but it’s a way of working and a sort common-sense approach to it.

MM: I was wondering if there was any significance the plastic shopping bag that Tim’s character is always carrying around.

RA: <laughs> Oh that was the bane of our existence, the most difficult part of the production wasn’t it Tim?

TH: Yeah, it was a continuity nightmare.

RA: It was in more scenes. If there’s one thing that I regret, it’s that plastic bag disappears on like three occasions. But thanks for reminding us, we’ll talk to the art department at the premiere tonight.

TH: Yeah, but they did a pretty good job. It was hard. It was a lot of people’s first movie. You know, a little bit of a tangent here, but one of the incredible things about the movie to me is how professional the whole movie looks and feels and there’s a consistency throughout in the camera work and the costumes and everything. It’s amazing that a movie with such a small budget shot in such a small amount of time can look like it came out of any studio, in my opinion. People are mischaracterizing this film as being like “mumblecore” or “low-fi”. It doesn’t feel that way to me at all. It feels very clean and crisp and well made and well produced. That’s just my opinion, though.

MM: So what was in the bag?

TH: Toothbrush…

RA: There was a cup. And there was a book. Wasn’t it a copy of “The Sorrows of Young Werther”?

TH: Yeah the idea was this guy is kinda a minimalist and he lives on a boat and probably ends up sleeping over at a friends house on some nights. He’s kind of a troubadour. He doesn’t have much to call his own so that bag does just fine to carry the essentials.

RA: Yeah and it sorta contradicts some of the emphasis on hipsterism. It’s patently obvious that he doesn’t give a shit about the how he dresses or the way he looks. He almost luxuriates and embraces a slovenly sort of…

TH: Yeah, he’s like two steps removed from having a bindle over his shoulder. <laughs>

MM: Well being from the Mission I just always thought it was a burrito in there.

RA: <laughs> Oh that would have been nice.

MM: Well that was fun, do you guys wanna talk about anything else?

RA: No.

TH: No.

Thanks to Mike Keegan from the Roxie for setting this interview up!

[photo by Doc Pop]

Here in the Bay Area many of us are probably feeling good about last night’s main election result. Obama won. (Spoiler?)

I think it was an exciting night for our country. Especially that it was decided and not dragged out and brought through various legal möbius strips. Personally though, I’m feeling dismayed by the overall results of the state propositions. We really want to keep the death penalty? We don’t think that consumers should be able to have questions about what’s in their food answered? Well, at least 30 passed and it’s not all on George Lucas’s shoulders to save education.

Yet I’m excited overall that our country generally seems energized to head in a direction that I think is best. It was a good night for LGBT rights, people overcame voter suppression and intimidation to get their voice heard, and we re-elected a president who best represents the majority of the people in this country, not just the most privileged. If this sounds like very careful, faint praise, it is. In last night’s acceptance speech, President Obama once again set the standards perhaps impossibly high for what we’d like to expect from his presidency. He mentioned really taking care of our returning veterans, LGBT equality, a lot of feel good things that I really wanted to hear. Does he believe in those ideals? I think he does. But how much will he actually do? How much can he do?

[November 3rd, 2008]

Four years ago our neighborhood exploded with joy and celebration when Barack Obama won the first time. This time around, not as much. While I think most of us are grateful that we didn’t see the chaos that followed the recent World Series win, maybe we were still a little underwhelmed by the relative quiet. The Castro partied. And why not. But the HOPE and CHANGE that we felt four years ago feels a bit more like PERSIST and SUSTAIN at this point.

And keep hoping.

Anyway, the rest of the internet has much better election breakdowns than you should expect to find here. I’m just rambling. Elections are big and broad and complicated and it’s all still sinking in for me. Feel free to ramble on in the comments. If you haven’t yet, check out Mission Local’s great coverage of our neighborhood’s experience of voting day.

For now I’m hanging on to the little things, the things immediately around me. Things like the picture at the top of this post, taken this morning. Doc explains:

It was an extra gloomy walk down Market Street this morning until I reached this Muni stop full of schoolkids cheering along every cyclist that came their way. Perfectly lined up along the bike path, the kids started reaching out their palms for some extreme high five action. Even the most serious bikers popped a smile at the scene. Perhaps in a post election world, this is a sign of pedestrians and bicyclists finally coming together .

Delightful.