Wendy vanden Heuvel
Through February 24 - Selkie at Z Space. The selkie myth has been close to my heart since I was a wee lass, and Sarah Shaefer does it artful justice in her new play that expands the story while remaining true to its roots. I do have to attach a trigger warning for a scene depicting graphic selkie coercion, but the actors are mesmerizing in their roles and the wooden pier of a set beyond extraordinary. Mix in exuberant movement and a splash of Florence + the Machine and stir.
Ruibo Qian
Through March 5 - The Nether at SF Playhouse. The virtual and the physical, online and off blur together in Jennifer Haley's gripping detective story set in a near future where the internet has become a fully immersive (and barely regulated) experience called The Nether. Haley's script tackles complex questions of morality and identity with impressive clarity, and while the subject matter is disturbing as heck the play never descends into cheap sensationalism thanks to incredible performances from the small cast. Days later I'm still turning the play over and over in my head.
Anastacia McCleskey, Anthony Wayne, Jacqueline B. Arnold
Through March 13 - Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical at Brava. A true disco queen and San Francisco icon, Sylvester is the kind of fiercer-than-fierce individual that inspires characters in other musicals (ahem Kinky Boots) so it's about time he got one of his own. The supremely gifted Anthony Wayne brings him back to glorious life, and Anastacia McCleskey and Jacqueline B. Arnold as Sylvester's long-time back-up singers Izora Amstead and Martha Wash almost steal the spotlight too. Read the excellent biography by Joshua Gamson, and see this show here before it heads to Broadway in 2017.