Bay Area Reporter :: Arts

Great Britten from the jump — Violin Concerto, 'Spring Symphony,' shorter works in new recordings

May 13, 2024 | by Tim Pfaff

Harmonia Mundi has released a new live recording of Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto, with Isabelle Faust as soloist. As in the case of "Spring Symphony," the recording is rounded out with shorter pieces that demonstrate how fine a composer Britten was.

LZ Love's 'From The Rooter to The Tooter' - a transgender life of love & music

by Cornelius Washington
May 13, 2024

"From The Rooter to The Tooter" explores the amazing life of LZ Love, her trials, tribulations, toils and snares of being a Black child raised in the 1960s and '70s in The Bay Area.

'I Saw the TV Glow' — Surreal, mind-blowing nightmare or just mad TV?

by Brian Bromberger
May 12, 2024

The new film "I Saw the TV Glow" both revels in this compulsive escapism but critiques our culture's fixation with nostalgia as a kind of cocoon and the ways we find and identify ourselves in the shows we watch.

Q-Music: country Pride playlist

by Gregg Shapiro
May 12, 2024

The genres of Country and Americana continue to expand in styles with queer musicians Jaime Wyatt, Amelia White, Creekbed Carter Hogan, Stephanie Sammons, Zoe Boekbinder, and The Western Civilization.

Music for mortals: The Lavender Tube on Lady Gaga, 'Dead Boy Detectives' & more

by Victoria A. Brownworth
May 11, 2024

Get ready, Little Monsters, Mother Monster is back to remind Taylor Swift and Beyoncé they aren't the only queens. Also, "Dead Boy Detectives," "Black Twitter: A People's History," "Hacks" and more are on our TV columnist's watchful eye.

Going Out, May 9-17, 2024

by Jim Provenzano
May 9, 2024

Classic and new stage plays, intriguing artwork, comedy cleverness, stellar music performances and festive nightlife; it's all in Going Out.

'Torch Song' at Marin Theatre Company — Harvey Fierstein's breakthrough classic revised and revived

by Jim Gladstone
May 7, 2024

More than four decades after its New York premiere, Harvey Fierstein's streamlined 2017 revision of "Torch Song Trilogy," retitled simply "Torch Song," makes its Bay Area debut at the Marin Theatre Company beginning May 9.

Glam-rock folk-singer Aaron Lee Tasjan's 'Stellar' achievement

by Gregg Shapiro
May 7, 2024

An early contender for one of the best albums of 2024, "Stellar Evolution" (Blue Élan) by queer singer/songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan is modern pop perfection.

Tchaikovsky's 'The Enchantress' - New rarely heard opera and other works

by Tim Pfaff
May 7, 2024

One of the peskier questions in the classical music world: Does lesser-known mean lesser? New recordings of seldom-heard music by one Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as familiar a composer as could be, say, no.

A.E. Hines' 'Adam in the Garden' - poetic fluidity

by Mark William Norby
May 7, 2024

A.E. Hines' poetry is the opposite of labeling himself or others. His work is a true breath of fresh air in our universality. Not just our sameness but our kinship with human life, our beingness, our essence. In this, we share authentic power.

Caitlin Breedlove's 'All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life'

by Laura Moreno
May 7, 2024

Author Caitlin Breedlove's debut book, "All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life" is the fascinating queer feminist memoir of a cancer survivor and single parent of a small child. But it is equally a memoir of grief, addiction, and spirituality.

'Martyr!' - Kaveh Akbar's poetic meltdown saga

by Brian Bromberger
May 6, 2024

Perhaps the only way one can find purpose in life and avoid meaninglessness is to author one's own story, or so asserts Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar in his wondrous, incandescent new novel "Martyr!"

'Queen of Knives' — Kooky comedy sequel almost works

by Gregg Shapiro
May 5, 2024

Although it isn't being promoted as such, "Queen of Knives" is a sequel to 2020's "King of Knives," and continues the story of Frank and his various family members, some gay and lesbian.

'A Strange Loop' Pride night

by photo by Steven Underhill
May 5, 2024

Cast members of Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer and Tony-winning musical "A Strange Loop" schmoozed with patrons at a special LGBTQ Pride night on May 1. The unique must-see play, about a Black queer playwright, wowed audiences, and runs through May 12.

Going Out, May 2-10, 2024

by Jim Provenzano, Arts Editor
May 2, 2024

From delicate dances to robust theatrics, Bay Area arts and nightlife events spring forth, including the queer rock cover band GayC/DC, who perform at The Ivy Room in Albany on May 3. Rock on with plenty more events in Going Out.

Events :: Arts Events

Great Britten from the jump — Violin Concerto, 'Spring Symphony,' shorter works in new recordings

LZ Love's 'From The Rooter to The Tooter' - a transgender life of love & music

'I Saw the TV Glow' — Surreal, mind-blowing nightmare or just mad TV?

Q-Music: country Pride playlist

Music for mortals: The Lavender Tube on Lady Gaga, 'Dead Boy Detectives' & more

Going Out, May 9-17, 2024

'Torch Song' at Marin Theatre Company — Harvey Fierstein's breakthrough classic revised and revived

Glam-rock folk-singer Aaron Lee Tasjan's 'Stellar' achievement

Tchaikovsky's 'The Enchantress' - New rarely heard opera and other works

A.E. Hines' 'Adam in the Garden' - poetic fluidity

Caitlin Breedlove's 'All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life'

'Martyr!' - Kaveh Akbar's poetic meltdown saga

'Queen of Knives' — Kooky comedy sequel almost works

'A Strange Loop' Pride night

Going Out, May 2-10, 2024

Popular Stories in Events

Going Out, May 9-17, 2024

Subscribe