Engineer's Daughter

946: the amazing story of adolphus tips

Katy Owen

Through January 15 - 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips at Berkeley Rep.  Depend on a Cornish theater company to present one of the more inventive productions I've seen recently.  Kneehigh brings Michael Morpurgo's young adult novel to glorious life in their play by blending in music, puppetry, and some trademark British quirkiness.  Set in the tiny seaside town of Slapton during World War II, 946 starts out as a story about young Lily Tregenza and her cat Tips but expands to include a tragic forgotten chapter of military history.  The stagecraft is just amazing throughout, with a magical array of props and puppets, and all of the actors seamlessly play multiple roles and take turns on various instruments besides.  It's intense going at times, especially in the second half, but it's well worth it.

agenda 12.21.16

The Madwoman in the Volvo at Berkeley Rep
Luzia by Cirque du Soleil
Saul's
SFMOMA

orotund

Patricia Fernández, Headlands.  October 7, 2015.

golden prisn

Scott Hewicker

Cliff Hengst

Through December 22 - Cliff Hengst and Scott Hewicker: Golden Prisn at Gallery 16.  I talk about this all the time but when I first moved to San Francisco 20 years ago the very first piece of "real" art I bought was by Cliff, at an auction at The Lab, and then a few years ago I proudly added a piece by Scott to my walls as well.  Suffice it to say that the pair are two of my favorite local artists (with talents that spill over into music and performance and writing and generally being fabulous), and it is always beyond divine to see an exhibition of their work.  Bay Area gentrification was a jumping-off point for this show, and there is certainly an undercurrent of discord, particularly in Cliff's text-based pieces/protest signs.  But I found much exuberance to revel in as well, with an emphasis on color that represents San Francisco's tenacious diversity.  In a simple, brilliant move Scott has chosen to tint certain windows of the gallery too, so that even on the greyest of the days some joy shines through.

See also:

• Gallery 16
• Cliff Hengst
• Scott Hewicker

matokie mix 12.18.16

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miss bennet: christmas at pemberley

Martha Brigham

Through December 23 - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at Marin Theatre Company.  It's been an excellent year for this Jane Austen enthusiast, first with Whit Stillman's sparkling film adaptation Love & Friendship and now with this world premiere Pride and Prejudice "sequel" by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon.  Set at Darcy's Pemberley estate two years after the machinations of Austen's novel, the play focuses on middle Bennet sister Mary and the awakening of her interest in one Arthur de Bourgh, distant cousin to Darcy.  Mary and Arthur are played by the fabulous Martha Brigham and Adam Magill, paired again here after their turn as a Chekhovian couple in SF Playhouse's Stupid Fucking Bird, and the entire cast brings Gunderson and Melcon's script to life with a heaping dose of wit and humor.  The playwrights clearly know Austen backwards forwards and sideways, and even include a clever self-aware moment here and there to keep the action from descending into cliche (or farce, as one character remarks).  It's the highest compliment to Gunderson and Melcon, and to the cast as well, that an Austen neophyte could easily think Miss Bennet is an adaptation and not a wholly original work.

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agenda 12.14.16

SFMOMA
Ages of the Moon at the Berkeley City Club

comminute

Oakland.  May 15, 2015.

maria guzmán capron, sahar khoury, francesco deiana

Maria Guzmán Capron

Sahar Khoury

Francesco Deiana

Through December 17 - Maria Guzmán Capron, Sahar Khoury, Francesco Deiana at Alter Space.  This triple whammy of a show features all-new work by three local artists, and I highly recommend it especially if you need some art therapy in your life right now.  Maria Guzmán Capron's fabric sculptures and wall hangings never fail to make me smile with their optimistic details (like hidden dolphins, or cats) even as she wows me with her technical mastery of form and material.  Utilizing similar exuberance, Sahar Khoury thoughtfully melds disparate materials such as shopping bags, bamboo, and clothing into collaged pieces that speak to the complexity of life itself.  Francesco Deiana's triptych of drawings here seem quiet in contrast, three faces obscured in different ways by pencil marks so heavily rendered they ripple under the gallery lights, inviting the viewer to look more closely and raising questions of identity and history — themes that run through all three artists' work.

See also:

• Alter Space
• Maria Guzmán Capron
• Sahar Khoury
• Francesco Deiana

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matokie mix 12.11.16

mix