I chanced upon a flyer for a series of Sondheim shows at the Harvey Milk Recreation Center from…read moreyptmtc. I saw Assasins first and liked it a lot, but yesterday I saw their production of Into the Woods and I loved it! I've always loved the songs from Into the Woods, but I"ve never seen it live, so I was ecstatic to know that yptmtc was doing it. I'm so happy that for Into the Woods they hung microphones above the singers, as some of their voices aren't as strong as the primary cast members. The costumes and set was also beautiful and well executed. The kids were great, you can tell that they need a little more acting lessons before their ready for the great white way, but hey they're still kids. Good Luck to everyone!

HAIR opened last night and the audience LOVED IT! (Kind of amusing: half the audience was…read moreintrigued by the times it protrays; the other half was REMEMBERING the time it portrays!!) For nostalgia or to introduce younger folks to this era, check it out. (It's a PG-13 version -- no nudity.) Details in my earlier post.

We love musicals and have seen many on Broadway over the years…read more This musical is a wonderful production for a small theatre. We liked it so much more than some of the duds we've seen over the years. We didn't like "Matilda" - small, singing British voices rendered the entire musical practically non-discernible; "Spamalot", "Something Rotten" just to name a few. We both agreed that this musical deserves to go to Broadway and I hope it makes it. Amelie is played by Samantha Banks, who starred as Eponine in the movie musical, Les Miserables with Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman has demonstrated her vocal chops in other film credits and on stage. And Adam Chanler-Berat, also with TV and Broadway credits (Peter in Peter and the Starcatcher) had one scene where he held a singing note for so long it reminded me of when we saw Kenny G hold a note on his sax for multiple minutes (his record is over 45 minutes!). I remember seen Adam on the TV show, "The Good Wife". The show is adorably funny at times (If you like "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, you will like this too), great music and lyrics, contemporary, good singing and performances and the 9 yr. old NYC performer, Savvy Crawford is a much better singer and performer than the one who played "Matilda" in NYC, in my opinion. Her diction while singing is so much clearer and her voice carries enough that I didn't have to strain to hear the words or ask, "Does anyone have hearing aids I can borrow?" The show is extended to 10/18. I hope it extends further as I told my niece to go get tickets to see it if she can. I'd see this show again and if it makes it to Broadway where more money will be dumped into costumes and stage props, I'd like to see it again. Unfortunately, there are no CDs for this production, yet. We plan on getting that (the music/lyrics are that good) when a CD becomes available when it gets to Broadway. After the show, we started watching the 2001 Amelie movie. We saw it years ago but couldn't remember it. I would recommend you NOT watch the movie if you're going to see the musical. See it AFTER you see the musical. You will enjoy the musical much more.

Yesterday, my three year old daughter and I joined my mom, my best friend, and her mother for what…read morewe consider an annual holiday tradition: the Dance Along Nutcracker! Yesterday marked the 4th time I have put on a tutu to the sounds of SF's LGFB. This year's theme was 60s so we all enjoyed hearing hits from The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Nancy Sinatra, Tom Jones, and Motown, as well as the classic ballet excerpts. And you can't top an all-audience finale to the Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In from "Hair." This is an all-ages local gem!

The Dance-Along Nutcracker is one of the greatest holiday events San Francisco has to offer. Only…read morehere can something as conventional and traditional as the Nutcracker Ballet be given a decidedly San Franciscan twist, thanks to the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band. They've been putting on this show for over 20 years. Like the typical Nutcracker performances, at Dance-Along Nutcracker you will be dazzled by the music, the dancing, and the costumes. But unlike the typical Nutcracker performances, at Dance-Along Nutcracker you will be encouraged not vilified for boogey-ing and pirouetting in the aisles. And of course, you are expected to break out your tutus and tiaras for the occasion. Don't have one? No worries, you can get them there. Kiddies LOVE it so take your nieces and nephews here, put a lock on the title for "Favorite Auntie" and have lots of fun in the process!

In a town that drag acts are a dime a dozen, this diva has staying power and a voice to back it up…read more I first saw Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy at her regular Martuni's show (third Sunday of the month), and was instantly impressed and thoroughly entertained. Her NCTC show, "From Russia with Love" and the delightful follow-up, "A Red Christmas" were divine. Aside from doing her own skillful singing, what sets the countess apart from other drag performers is the elegance she brings to a stage. Her gowns are well-crafted and the personality developed beyond a simple kitsch. Classical music lovers will enjoy the operatic repertoire (even if it is transposed), club kids will enjoy the "poperatic" versions of songs that the countess hears while working the Chanel counter at Macy's. The Countess delivers a tasteful performance as well, avoiding trash and maintaining a sense of true style and humility when she's had one too many vodka & tonics. What I like the most about Countess Smirnoff-Skyy is the format of her performances, which include clever parodies and timeless send-ups to ladies like Streisand, Liza, and yes, Ms. Tina turner. I enjoy the stories that the Countess has accumulated over her twenty--er, many, many years-- on the stage. She can at once leave you in stitches with "Proud Mary" and touch your heart with a tender "What are you doing New Years Eve." The Countess excites me as a performer and delivers a rare performance each time she dons her wig and gives her loving audience a hearty "Wilkommen."

I did not enjoy it. I did not enjoy the singing of the Christmas songs with the fake voice. I did…read morenot find the lyrics funny. To me, it's more of a goofy comedy than a cabaret. I am disappointed. The seating was tight and uncomfortable.

I love this show…read more Brings together many of the original LGBT music groups - and because this is San Francisco and ground zero for many gay pride traditions, I do mean "The Original" - and gives them space to strut their stuff, as individual ensembles and together. It's like the Greatest Hits concert of the SF LGBT community music scene. Every year, it's been funny, moving, inspiring, and for me, a welcome change from the incessant thumping recorded music you hear everywhere else over Pride weekend. The 2011 performers are Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco, Golden Gate Men's Chorus, SF Gay Men's Chorus Ambassadors and SF Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band. They're also paying special tribute to Zoe Dunning this year to celebrate the lifting of DADT. Check it out!

On a Tuesday night, the last thing I want to do is surround myself with high art and pretentious…read morepeople. I want to unwind. Last night, Carrie Fisher's show was a little like reading Entertainment Weekly on heavy doses of codeine (which happens to be her drug of choice). There was this warm relaxing glow to the whole evening, complete with complimentary wine after the show. Oh, and George Lucas was sitting three rows in front of me. As in, THE George Lucas. As in, "these are not the droids you are looking for" George Lucas. Debbie Reynolds was in the audience once again (she came for the first preview), and Fisher even "outed" her at one point, yelling "Right, mom?? RIGHT??". Perfection. The production is not a play as much as a loosely organized string of silly anecdotes about Hollywood and testimonials to addiction and its aftermath. You won't be able to discuss the actress's "layered performance" and the "subtle nuances" of the character's rites of passage. This show is not for culture snobs but for Americans hooked on reality tv and Flavor Flav. The next production at Berkeley Rep, Les Waters' TRAGEDY, will bring back your exploration of the futility of man's existence in a postmodern world. I'm sure it will be brilliant. But for now, I'll pour myself a drink and keep laughing.

I should have known what type of evening I was headed for when I saw four old women dressed in the…read moreRed Hat Society uniform - scarlet red sequent berets with head too toe matching ensembles probably purchased from QVC - enjoying the roast turkey special in the window at Cosmic diner. As I walked by thinking "that will be me one day" little did I know I was already one of them. I would run into this gaggle of elderly girl power again in the first mezzanine of Studio 54 for a preview performance of Carrie Fisher's one woman show Wishful Drinking. Now, you may ask, "why did you get a ticket to that, Kristen?" Good question, a one-woman show created and performed by the woman most famous for being chained to a blob while wearing a metal bikini normally would not be on my theatre to-see list, but I love solo performances. To carry an entire show solo, in my opinion, is the boldest act of theatrical courage I can witness and when one pops up I like to support the person who takes on the challenge. Highlights of this style have been Vanessa Redgrave in Year of Magical Thinking and the most memorable of them all Christopher Plummer in Barrymore. So where does a bipolar Princess Leia fit into the mix? I have to say she doesn't. If I was in Branson, MO with my fellow silver fox bus tour members I think I would have loved this show, or at least would have been giggly shocked by some of the references to drugs, gay men and the love life of Eddie Fisher. But I'm a New Yorker, please - we are sitting in Studio 54 the walls have more shocking stories. And as for opening the show with a charming - and odd - antidote about waking up next to a gay guy dead in your bed - hello I live in Chelsea I can hear more hard core gay stories during Musical Monday at Splash. Ms. Fisher is a snappy lady. I would love to have her as a guest at a dinner party because I bet she is magnificent with her spontaneous one-liners and jokes around a table, but she is not much of an actress - or she was having a manic episode on stage - I'm not sure which. I felt bad for the director because I can't imagine his instruction was pace, use your hands a lot and talk fast. Plus, did she choose the costumes? She kept making jokes about her weight and her looks - she looks like her Mother (Debbie Reynolds) with a hint of her Step-Mother (Connie Stevens) added on via plastic surgery - but she came out wearing silk pajamas and kicked off her shoes. You wear pajamas for comfort not for attractiveness, so don't make fun of yourself for not looking great. The delivery of the stories felt very stale and she forgot her accounts more then once blaming her early morning trip to the Today show as the reason (I would also blame whatever medication she obviously is on). There was some predictable interaction with the audience and a very predictable bit about a Princess Leia sex doll that looked more like an anime character to me, but I guess the point was made. The Red Hats loved the show laughing at all the bits and blushing at the mere mention of "gay". I suspect they stayed after to get pictures and autographs that I know Ms. Fisher happily obliged. I left vowing to never move to Florida, keep my plastic surgery to a minimum and if I ever end up marrying a man who leaves me for another man I will do the sensible thing and act like it never happened.

This is a performing art group that are simply fantastic.... I have seen them in a number of…read moredifferent arenas, I think... but for sure last week at the Academy opening. Amidst the chaotic energy of a huge meet and greet and tour party a 9 ft tree paper thin is walking in and out of the crowd with barely a whisper... she would freeze against a post or wall and look like a tree, or vines. That is simply one of the performing artists that were there. I assume some of this came from talent discovered at the burn, because it is very much that crowd, stilts in tow. It might just be a carnivale crew doing some moonlighting, but whoever they are, I was quite impressed.

Jan is highly professional and skilled at what she does. They have a toy soldier on stilts that's…read morejust to die for. Skilled performers and elegant costuming makes these guys a hot at every event I've seen them at.

Lee Waterman heads this troup. Shake specializes in weddings, corporate celebrations, and special…read moreevents. We hired them for our wedding after listening to their cd, and it was by far the best choice we could have made! The songs were excellent, the delivery was perfect, the energy was all there, as well as the experience and skill we were looking for. Lee was also able to provide a duo for the ceremony (flute & guitar), a duo for the cocktail hour (sax & guitar), and a 5pc. band for the reception. There are up to 8 band members that you can hire. The guy on the sax was stunning! They played all our favorites, mambo, samba, jazz, funk, disco... the band offers many songs and artists to choose your 'playlist' from. I couldn't recommend Lee's band more; they were perfect and our wedding was a magnificent event as a result. With ultra competitive pricing, too!

Shake (aka Silver Moon) Band made our wedding! My husband and I considered several musical acts for…read moreour big day but we are really pleased that we ended up with Shake/Silver Moon. The first part of our wedding they played the classic big band/swing music that we love. Then, just as the party was heating up they switched over to rock and got the crowd moving. The dance floor was packed nearly all night and the General Manager of our wedding venue commented that this was the most people he had ever seen on the dance floor. Thanks Silver Moon for making our wedding memorable and incredibly fun!