I must have walked and wondered about this venue so often and never been until Elliot Page's Book talk. Great theater, with comfy seats that all seem to boast a great view of the stage. After this talk, I'll be getting a membership to ensure I get presale tickets to the great speakers they always bring in. ***my most favorite things to observe in all of the historic theaters are the ceilings and this one did not disappoint;) read more

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City Arts & Lectures has been a mainstay in the city for years now. They have an eclectic line-up of guests including award-winning novelists, musicians, activists, Supreme Court justices, actors, etc . Some events are later broadcast on podcasts, KQED, etc. Have seen legendary rockers here - Patti Smith is brilliant. Attended Springsteen on his book tour before his famous Springsteen on Broadway production, based on his biography. Diane Keaton was a delight. The caliber of interviewers is impressive. Michael Chabon did an amazing job interviewing Patti Smith on her newly-released BOOK OF DAYS. The Sydney Goldstein Theatre venue is perfect, a not-too-large auditorium. Masking still required in the theatre. As a member, advance tickets to events are available before the general public. read more

City Arts & Lectures - The classic "chairs" set-up before the start of each event. - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Season ticket holder, three years in a row. You must love NPR to love this. Have you perfected your Linda Hunt accent? Have you seen enough of Ira Glass live on stage? Do you like those special performances like Prairie Home Companion or a night with Anjelica Huston? What about Al Gore? The literary luminaries, the popular scientists , that secret crush you've been harboring for Lorrie Moore ever since someone you had a crush on introduced her books to you and now you whip out her quotes like nobody's business... Are you waiting for something grand to happen on a week night but that phone just never rings? Or that special date you've been waiting for that just got cancelled last minute because he has something else urgently happening (another girl?) on a Saturday evening? Don't let destiny control you, take charge and plan your own evenings. Be a member, grab that season ticket for two, make some new friends along the way, wear that fancy Italian glasses to go with your pigtails to look both intellectual and seductive in a librarian way, run into people on Hayes street you know, but tell them you are too busy to linger, for you've got the perfect evening ahead of you, and life is wasted no more. read more

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City Arts&Lectures is a fascinating, educational gift to the City by the Bay. While San Francisco never robbed Boston of its title "Athens of the West", City Arts&Lectures provides much food for thought... and not just when they're interviewing Mark Bittman, Mark Pollan, Jacques Pepin, or Ruth Reichl. They've been around for nearly 4 decades, and helped restore the Nourse Theater, which had been shuttered for 3 decades. Folks on the West Coast into historical restoration&renovation... it can be done. They've tackled issues like Zen neuroscience&bacteria, but this is high tech San Francisco with its Google buses, so it makes sense. They've interviewed compelling artists like Jonathan Safran Foer with his recent "Here I am" (after a long hiatus from writing fiction), performance artist Miranda July, playwright/screenwriter Tony Kushner, and actress Candice Bergen. City Arts&Lectures handle people's personal lives with respect&dignity, from Foer's recent divorce to the death of Bergen's famous first husband, French director Louis Malle. There's diversity too, with Amy Tan, Wyclef Jean, Isabel Allende, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with his daughter Mpho. Interestingly, City Arts&Lectures has interviewed Carrie Brownstein&Fred Armisen without backlash- http://www.oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2016/09/feminist_bookstore_vs_portland.html The Bay Area apparently has a sense of humor.... while IFC's Portlandia seems to have a *trigger warning* for Portlanders. Go figure. City Arts&Lectures is fun&educational. They have their radio broadcast archive at UC Berkeley that can be accessed online. So there IS gold in them thar hills! read more

City Arts & Lectures is a mixed bag; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. An Amy Sedaris doesn't need an interviewer per se, a blow up doll would be just fine sitting in the other chair.....just wind that girl up with some stage lights and a pretty dress and she'll take you on an exhilarating seat squirming ride you'll never forget. The two times I've seen her at CA&L, the interviewers have gotten in the way, including an exceedingly uncomfortable session with Ayelet Waldman who kept giving her gifts....which didn't work as a shtick, only serving to unsettle Amy and constantly turn the focus on Ayelet. I've seen authors, who, it turns out, just are kind of dull in person, like Bill Bryson, engaging on the page, and MAYBE matched with the "right" interviewer would be interesting, Anthony Bourdain and Stephen Colbert both excellent, they would know how to take control of the situation and turn it into something good if they were matched with a dullard (with Colbert, Tim Goodman was excellent tho). Last week I was bored out of my mind with Ruth Reichl and Mark Bittman being interviewed by Steve Winn. Steve was a good MC, but why they chose to focus almost entirely on the politics surrounding mass food production in the U.S. I'll never know. In San Francisco, you're not only preaching to the choir with the issues surrounding the bad food subsidized by our gov't, you're preaching to an audience pretty darn educated around this topic already. Yawn fest. It's cheap enough that it's worth a gamble though....if something on the schedule looks appealing, buy your $20 ticket early in the season, take a risk. read more

City Arts and Lectures is like having In the Actor's Studio combined with Fresh Air with Terry Gross, live and in person and at your local theater. Tonight I saw Jonathan Winters, who, at age 81, was nothing short of brilliant. His interview with Sydney Goldstein made my eyes tear with laughter and gave me some life lessons to think about. The format is a question and answer session, followed by questions from the audience. What I love about these interviews is that they let the guest talk freely (in Winters' case, launching into different voices and characters) and don't seem overly concerned with an agenda, rather the improvisation of where the answer may lead. On this night, we were treated to a question from an audience member who turned out to be Robin Williams paying homage to his idol and mentor. Great stuff. Other events that I have attended have been Zadie Smith and Anne Lamott, both wonderful, and included a book-signing afterwards. There is no intermission, and the evening lasts from 1 to 1 1/2 hours - so for not a huge commitment, you get a healthy dose of entertainment and inspiration. Great way to spend a night out and tickle your brain. read more

A mind-broadening experience each time I've been to one of these conversations. Thus far: Edward Jones (depressed writer kicks off the happy pills after being laid off from his job and writes a Pulitzer Prize winning novel) Justice Breyer (how to preserve the sanctity of the division of power in the government) Seymour Hoffman (he got into acting because of girls) Rick Moody interviewed by David Foster Wallace (two brainy guys talk nonstop about the craft of novels) Harvey Pekar (a cranky man can make an art out of complaining, if you think about it long and hard enough) E.O. Wilson (why we need to make peace with the fundamentalist conservatives for the larger goal of preserving environmental diversity) Keep yourself updated by signing up for their mailing list, or checking their website continuously. It's one of the best evenings to be had in town. read more

If you have gone to any book readings, you have probably discovered something that is true of many famous artists and academics; they are not great at lecturing. Cityarts overcomes this by adding a conversationalist to the mix who sets the topics and pace of the lecture through regular questions and comments. It is almost like an in person version of NPR. If fact, if you want to preview cityarts before shelling out 20 bucks, you can listen to previous lectures on KQED: http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-landing.jsp?progID=RD13 I'll be giving cityarts their last star as soon as they acknowledge that we are in a digital age and provide podcasts of the lectures from their website... read more

When I heard Khaled Hosseini was in town, I jumped at the chance to see him in person. I had just finished reading The Kite Runner, and was gunning to see this young hot shot U.N. rep in person. I hadn't been in a while, and was reminded that going to a City Arts & Lectures event is like going to good theatre. The Herbst is stunning, and the people that attend actually dress up, as if they have just come from a supremely satisfying 5 star dinner. Like other Yelpers, I've found the interviewers to be a little lacking, BUT their speakers are always stellar. All of the people I've seen (Amy Sedaris, Don Delillo, Editor of The Onion, etc.) can practically interview themselves. Just don't suggest this to Amy Sedaris -- she would probably do it. read more

I am Michael Chabon's biggest fan. His curly hair, his wry wit, scruffy face, his cheekbones.... ACK (*think clean thoughts*), what I mean to say is, because he is one of the best authors alive or dead!!! I first fell for him for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I cried more while reading that book than during the entire The Color Purple, serious. He's an inspired and inspiring genius, a mad researcher, a bit insane.... And a happily married father of four. I did not know this when I first saw him live at a Moveon.org author event at the Make Out Room two years ago where he was waiting to read an excerpt from his new novel, which has evolved into the Yiddish Policeman's Union that finally came out last week. I had snuck in some Herbivore and was angling for a place I could eat and wait for him to come on. A wildly handsome, medium-height, guy flashed me a winsome smile and offered me his spot at the bar. I distractedly said, "Thanks!" and sidled up to stuff my face. Then they announce, "Next up is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, to read from his new..." and up walks the chivalrous god who'd offered me his spot! Holy crap, I had no idea--you know how you get a picture in your head of authors? My copy of K&C was paperback, no picture, so I imagined that he was a stout, decidedly gay, Jewish guy. Don't ask me why, it's just what I assumed from his characters. And instead, he's a rawhide-type, jeans and blazer, (straight!), charming hottie who is among the best writers on two feet. I was transfixed. As for the first version of the Yiddish Policeman's Union that he read that night--he scrapped the whole thing and started over. So what he read and discussed last night at City Arts and Lectures (oh, yeah, that's what I'm writing about!!) was still in his rambling style and included his trademark mind-bending turns of phrases, but was tighter and more polished than his earlier iteration. Also an author and a personal friend of the Chabon family, Vendela Vida, interviewed Michael Chabon, at one point asking how is it he can be so present with his four children, including making pot holders on a plastic loom(!), and still get any writing done. I forget what he said, because my girlfriend and I were plotting to maim his wife, but his smile and hair were fabulous. I generally try not to buy books at author readings b/c I could spend half my paycheck doing so and this girl is still paying for her college textbooks. I chant to myself, "Wait til it's in paperback, wait til its on sale at Stacy's, go to the library for god's sake!" But last night, walking into the foyer with all of those pretty, first edition, hard cover books with Michael Chabon's name emblazoned on the cover, I could not resist, it had to be mine. If you buy me drinks at the next Yelp event, I'll probably let you borrow it. The Lecture Series itself is a long-standing, amazing resource that before last night, I have only been able to hear on the radio. It is not that expensive and it is probably on your way home from work and there was plenty of parking in the hood, so take your kids! Take your friends! The line up is stellar. And don't worry, Ms. Chabon, I am happily in a relationship with my own hottie, so no need to hide your pet rabbit! read more

Have you ever seen the expression on David Byrne's face when forced to listen to amateurs kareoke his own songs? Priceless! San Franciscans had this opportunity several years ago during the audience participation segment of an interview with Dave Eggers at the Herbst Theater. At $18 a pop (cheaper than a movie at the Metreon with drinks and popcorn) and you can go home feeling just a little bit smarter. Beth Lisick and Amy Sedaris let me down, but bar none, the amount of great, unusual events far outstrips the disappointments. Buy a subscription and support the arts in the Bay Area! Besides, a lot of the shows sell out before the day of the event (like Stephen Colbert and Joan Didion) read more

January 22, 2009, Amy Sedaris in conversation and a cocktail with Daniel Handler, mostly about her book: "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence". DIdn't know what to expect from Amy Sedaris at her "conversation and cocktails" or this program. I was hoping my $20 would buy me a cocktail at the Herbst, but really -- what was I thinking? The lecture is really sort of an open discussion with audience questions. Think James Lipton and the Actor's Workshop, without James Lipton and the dorky, famous questions. Although, on a tangent, I WOULD like to know Amy's most famous curse word and the sound she hates, who wouldn't? The interviewer, Daniel (who is a writer of the Lemony Snickett's books) was as fun as she was. She sort of got on a really vicious routine and kinda held onto like a terrier bite the rest of the night. That kinda didn't work for me either. The overall time was short. The audience was in rare form and once I FINALLY got up the nerve to ask Amy one of the 1000s of questions going around in my head about her book: I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence and the red lightbulb went out and we were all sent out. I wished I had nothing better than to cue up with the rest of the aging hipsters to buy one of Amy's potholders, decorated tin cans or whatever like chotkes she has made, but I don't do lines. I'd like to add my unsolicited suggestion for the City Arts & Lecture programs to experiment with: (1) Starting earlier after work, say 6:30 or 7pm on weeknights, or (2) having late night shows on the weekend. I don't know how theatre all go started at 8pm, but it's too late during the week and too early for a decent dinner on the weekends. ~ Ms. Ali read more

I had the great fortune of attending a lecture with Dave Eggers interviewing Art Spiegelman and Franoise Mouly. It was fabulous. My co-worker had an extra ticket and asked me if I wanted to accompany her. It was a work night and I didn't really feel like going but thought it would be a wonderful new experience and it was. My observations are not too dissimilar from what everyone else has said. The Art Nouveau inspired murals and the overall interior (i.e., lighting, crimson velvet lined seats, etc.) give an elegant feel to the theater. I highly encourage City Arts & Lectures for anyone interested in learning more about how the humanities and sciences are applied to the real world. read more

Great selection of talks on various subject matters. My passion happens to be in food and I've caught Jacque Pepin/Daniel Patterson and David Chang/Adam Savage in the past year. Great to be able to sit down and listen to chefs give insight on what drives them, their past, and their influences. Im sure there will be more talks ill be interested in seeing and will definitely continue to support this program read more

City Arts & Lectures is one of my top-five ways of enjoying life in San Francisco, despite the fact that I am often the only person under 50 in the audience. The pairings of interviewer-interviewee are terrific, and the content has never failed to fascinate or inform me. I've seen the likes of: Josh Kornbluth, Wole Soyinka, Paul Auster, Dave Eggers & Valentino Achek Deng, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and others who I'm forgetting right now. There are also many people I've missed by not buying tix in time--which is the one thing I hate about City Arts & Lectures. Too popular! You really do need to buy some tickets six months in advance, as by even three months prior to the event, it might be sold out. read more

So, it's Tuesday night and I am sitting a few feet away from legendary writer Paul Auster. I can literally feel his charisma, like an electro-magnetic pulse. It's like a powerful but invisible wave. The author of 'The New York Trilogy' and 'Music of Chance' and so many other novels that changed forever the way I look at reality is talking about the 'mechanics of life', on how chaos, unpredictability, and randomness rule our existence. For instance, prompted by the moderator, Michelle Richmond, Auster reveals how he met the love of his life, Siri Hustvedt. Short version of long, fascinating story: It's early 1981 and Auster feels completely disconnected from the world. He has recently divorced his wife Lydia and he's got the blues. One day, returning to New York after visiting San Francisco - city of karma - he receives a phone call by a friend. "Why don't you join us for poetry reading tonight, Paul?," asks the friend. He does really not feel like going, but he shows up anyway, "to pay respect" he says. At the after-party, a former graduate student of his from Columbia University, introduces him to a beautiful woman, Siri. Auster is mesmerized. The two click immediately and start talking, sharing, connecting. They have not stopped since, twenty seven years later. It's just one of the many stories that Auster tells an eager, attentive crowd. Other tidbits and gems: Auster has just finished a new book, the follow up to 'Man in the Dark' , which he wrote in 4 months (yeah!); Auster does not use email. he has a fax machine instead; He writes with his pen or with his Olympia typewriter that he bought in 1974; his 28-year old assistant types all of his novel on a computer; He directed four movies, but does not like plays, "Theatre does not suit my style", he says. I'll stop here. Point is. The City Arts & Lectures series offers innumerable moments like this. I feel so unbelievably privileged and lucky to be able to attend these intimate, profound conversations. On the surface, these talks are about literature, and fictional worlds made of paper. In truth, they are about life. This year's line-up includes Dave Eggers, Michel Chabon, Junot Diaz, Richard Prize just to name a few. La creme de la creme. I already feel nostalgic for events that I have yet to attend. read more

I recently attended Mark Bittman's discussion and was super jazzed afterwards. The talk was intellectually stimulating, informative, and fun. I particularly loved that the moderatior was well-prepared and asked thoughtful questions with insighitul followups.They also have their programming down to a science. The talk actually started exactly at 7:30pm. This was my second outing and I'm lookinf forward to more things this season. I lwant to give a shoutout to Liz S. I totally agree with her comment about the talks being like a live version of Inside the Actor's Studio, which I also love. read more

The variety of speakers and musicians that City Arts & Lectures hosts earns this program their five stars right there. I am amazed by the upcoming season's schedule...speakers run the gamut from Neko Case to Richard Price to Toni Morrison. Last year I caught John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry speaking about their book "This Moment on Earth" and the program was really thoughtful and poignant. Some of their shows benefit non-profits, like 826 Valencia, and their Special Events Series brings in some really big names. Be sure to check out their website. There have been a number of times where I missed out on a progam that I would have loved to see (Al Gore, Amy Sedaris) because I heard about it too late and tickets sold out. read more

I feel so lucky to have this wonderful resource ...free, at my fingertips. Saturday nights are more wonderful with City Arts and Lectures. read more

This organization does an amazing job of attracting accomplished artists and academics to San Francisco to speak. The roster of recent speakers is an impressive one that includes David Byrne, Steve Martin, Larry David, Terry Gross, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Amy Sedaris, Tom Wolfe, Tony Kushner, Gloria Steinem and Jonathan Franzen, along with many others. Sure, you can hear an edited version of the talks on KQED on Tuesdays and Sundays, but it's worth an $18 ticket to see the speaker live at the Herbst Theater. Contributions to the organization qualify as charitible giving -- don't let the "Inc." suffix throw you -- and events that are a part of the Literary Series benefit the 826 Valencia Scholarship Program. On occasion the on-stage conversations delve too far into the creative process without enough time spent discussing the creative product, but the talks are usually engaging, always entertaining and sometimes quite enlightening. http://www.cityarts.net/ read more

I've never physically been present at a City Arts & Lectures presentation, but I've listened on the radio many times, and I've usually found it edifying and worth my non-driving attention. read more

It is a rare treat to hear the people that City Arts attracts being interviewed at length in a relaxed setting rather than tossing out sound bites on radio or (rarely) on tv. The Q & A at the end allows the audience to address their intellectual and artistic heroes directly; again, a rare delight. The address listed here is for the office of CA&L, not the venue for the interviews. Most of the interviews take place at Herbst Hall, with an occasional one at the Palace of Fine Arts. A cultural bargain at $18-$20 a pop. read more

Great evening with Paul Simon. Recent new member at City arts & Lectures, will be going back. All went very smoothly on our first time. Nearby parking is great! read more

Snap judgement killed me. If you weren't there, I can only weep for your sad negligent soul.

What was supposed to be an evening of entertainment became a nightmare with the Lily Tomlin performance at CA&L. The full house at the Nourse proved the staff and the remodel of this classic old high school auditorium were not ready for primetime. While we have attended lectures in the Nourse all year, this was the first trip to the balcony where the heat was overwhelming and the sound nonexistent. Ms. Tomlin was performing with star quality but few if any in the balcony could enjoy the show. CA&L may praise their million dollar sound system, but I doubt if anyone from the staff or the audio engineers have ever been back of the first row of the balcony. While the performance issues made the performance disappointing, the real concern was the house management. Staff (?) members were everywhere doing nothing but blocking the aisles and stairways. They could give CalTrans lessons on how to snarl traffic flow. Placing the box office table where the ticket line, main stairway, and exit to the restroom all cross was sheer madness. Twenty minutes prior to curtain the lobby was gridlocked. However all of these problems could be resolved by better house management. I know CA&L does not own the building, but as the only tenant who spent over a million on the reopening, it is time to bring the facility up to standards. The exits from the balcony would not pass any fire marshall's inspection - Poor lighting, handrails that are untouchable, and trash covered stairs are not acceptable in any public hall. Perhaps CZ&L must realize that their house and staff are only capable of small groups, as last night's full house was a disaster. read more

City Arts and Lectures is a wonderful program (not just the radio program, the entire system) and I strongly endorse it. I've been able to attend 2 thus far, and have been immensely entertained and informed. If there is any flaw with the system, it's that the quality of the session really will vary depending upon who the interviewer was. I saw Anthony Bourdain once, and John Hodgman once. Both were wickedly funny in their own ways, and there is something special about being in the room. Bourdain talked about his travels, love of food, and the meaning of the experiences he's had. Hodgman talked through his meteoric rise in fame to a minor tv celebrity and kicked a persimmon off his interviewer's head. Having a full hour to talk about things, and not just read from the book gives a wonderful perspective into the creative process, or the life experiences of the person on stage, and despite it being completely staged, there is a wonderful sense of candor because it's an interview with 1 person, vs. being in a studio. I have tickets to see Bishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter as well as Sarah Vowell later in the year, and I'm excited for both for entirely different reasons. It's a great night out, without being too long and drawn out, and at the end of the night, you do have the option of having a book signed and meeting the people involved. read more

We saw a talk here by Amy Tan, and she was fantastic. As for City Arts, I'll say that the event was well organized and the staff seemed engaged. The lecture space is very nice. The building itself is a total dump, but it looks like they are working on making improvements. read more

A wonderful activity to keep tabs on! There's always a lecture of interest for anyone who likes to see people talk (artists, writers, scientists, actors, popular personalities....) The various lectures i've seen were all at Herbst Theater, which is a great location for a lecture - you can get great seats just about anywhere in the place. It's always tied in with a book the speaker just wrote and is trying to sell, but never has it been a lecture focused only on selling one book. It's a great one-on-one interview, usually spontaneous and always q&a open to the audience at the end. I've never been disappointed, and you always can meet the speaker at the end and get a face-to-face word in with him/her, even if it is just to say "thanks, please sign my ticket stub because I'm too cheap to buy your book." (p.s. some speakers are a little more into selling than others, apparently, ...Salman Rushdie wouldn't sign anything except his book, but the others I saw weren't so uptight about it...) read more

I've always considered Sydney Goldstein and her City Arts & Lectures to be one of the best things about San Francisco. I still love the programs Ms. G puts together, but after 3 unsuccessful attempts to bond with the remodeled (?!?) Nourse Theatre, we're going to pass on future performances I'm sorry to say. Paul P's review (below) took the words right out of my mouth. Such a shame -- Nourse is just not a fit venue for CA&L fabulous programs. 5 stars for CL&A and Ms. G and no stars for the Nourse = 3 stars. read more

I was an avid listener to City Arts & Lectures for years when I lived in Chicago. After moving to the peninsula, I suddenly realized I could be going in person. Though it is a bit hectic for me to get from my job in Mountain View up to SF for a quick dinner before the show, it is always worth it. I agree with other reviewers who comment that the quality varies. Some people are just better on the page or with a script than in person. I find that interesting and instructive. Some interviewers are better than others, either because of preparation or just personality. It is interesting to me to watch the interplay between the interviewer and the subject. Few interviewers are as exceptional as Terry Gross, so I try to have reasonable expectations. Some shows are just plain fantastic and some subjects surprisingly compelling, Live anything is always a crap shoot and CA&L does so much better than most. And with part of the proceeds going to 826 college scholarships (thank you Dave Eggars) the subscription is a win no matter what. Huge thanks to Sydney Goldstein for an excellent effort every single season. read more