Arts & Culture :: Culture

Out of the mists of the past

Out of the mists of the past

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Sep 26, 2018

Sometimes a novel feels so true to your lived experience it feels pulled from your own life. That was our sensation reading "That Was Something," a new novel by Dan Callahan (Squares & Rebels).

Identity & the language of attire

Identity & the language of attire

  • by Sura Wood
  • Sep 19, 2018

"You are what you wear" might be a colloquial, less scholarly way to frame the premise of "Veiled Meanings: Fashioning Jewish Dress," a new touring show at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Turn these beats around

Turn these beats around

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Sep 19, 2018

Last week Out There was in the house when "On Your Feet!," the touring Emilio & Gloria Estefan Broadway musical, opened at the newly remodeled SHN Golden Gate Theatre.

Enjoying the hell out of opening week

Enjoying the hell out of opening week

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Sep 12, 2018

Yes, San Francisco Bay Area socialites have long called the week after Labor Day "Hell Week," but really it's a type of cultural heaven.

Bring on the fall arts

Bring on the fall arts

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Aug 31, 2018

For the next two issues, we'll be bringing you B.A.R. arts writers' brief previews of what to look out for in the Fall 2018 season.

Sierra Nevada, mon amour

Sierra Nevada, mon amour

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Aug 8, 2018

The atmosphere over the Sierra Nevada was brown and smoky last month, a result of the many horrific wildfires raging all over the region. It felt apocalyptic and thus very much of the historical moment.

Lew the Jew & his rebel friends

Lew the Jew & his rebel friends

  • by Sura Wood
  • Aug 8, 2018

Any show that has the balls to call itself "Lew the Jew" has a leg up on the competition in my book.

House on the hill

House on the hill

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Aug 1, 2018

Madrona Manor is a lovely grand old house surrounded by eight acres of wooded and well-tended landscape and gardens in the hills above Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County.

Avant-garde work set in historic house

Avant-garde work set in historic house

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Jul 18, 2018

Joe Goode's new world premiere "Still Standing" led us through San Francisco's historic Haas-Lilienthal House during the course of the performance. It runs through Aug. 5 there.

Appreciating the late great Peter Hujar

Appreciating the late great Peter Hujar

  • by Sura Wood
  • Jul 18, 2018

Peter Hujar, now considered one of the greatest American photographers of the late 20th century, was living in poverty at the time of his death in 1987 from complications of AIDS.

For those about to rock

For those about to rock

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Jul 4, 2018

The touring production of "School of Rock" now playing the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco through July 22 is the perfect opportunity to bring your secret air-guitar moves out of the closet.

88 keys spread over 14 CDs

88 keys spread over 14 CDs

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Jun 27, 2018

It's not often that one can take full measure of a wide swath of a concert artist's career, but Deutsche Grammophon affords just that opportunity with its release "Pogorelich - Complete Recordings."

Trans fans at Frameline 42

Trans fans at Frameline 42

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Jun 20, 2018

Opening night at Frameline 42 was a rousing good kick-off to the film fest. Co-directors Fiona Dawson and Gabriel Silverman were in the house for the screening of their documentary "TransMilitary."

Size matters in Golden Gate Park!

Size matters in Golden Gate Park!

  • by Sura Wood
  • Jun 20, 2018

Here comes "Giants of Land and Sea," a new, semi-permanent show at the California Academy of Sciences.