Zaccho Dance Theatre's long-delayed site-specific performance installation brings an aerial, ethereal new breath to the spiritual haven of Grace Cathedral.

After reading 'Unprotected,' Porter's frank, blunt, raw memoir, no one can ever accuse him of dissembling on a 30-year rocky circuitous journey to reach his current level of fame.

There are sparkling bits of beauty bobbing on the surface, and treasures that one hopes will eventually be salvaged, in 'Swept Away,' an earnest, engrossing new musical with songs by the Avett Brothers now in its world premiere at Berkeley Rep.

'I Still Think About You,' a dark film noir-styled podcast done as a dramatic reading, is the new work of 'Boys in the Band' actor Brian Hutchison, with several of his actor friends in supporting roles.

If you've ever listened to a Karen Mason album or been fortunate enough to attend one of her concerts, (or saw her on Broadway), you will be blown away by her interpretive skills, and the ease with which she makes even the best-known songs all her own.

Dancer Joshua Thake's life journey has brought him from rural Massachusetts to some of the world's most revered stages as a member of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the celebrated all-male drag ballet troupe.

San Francisco stages are now hosting two of the more unorthodox musicals to hit big on Broadway in recent years, one subtle and poetic ('The Band's Visit'), the other boisterous and participatory ('Freestyle Love Supreme').

It's one step forward and two steps back in the local arts scene as theater companies close their doors yet again, a comedy festival is postponed, and the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus gets funding from Amazon.

James Magruder is a funny guy. His wonderfully wicked sense of humor comes through in his plays, and in his new novel, 'Vamp Until Ready.'

In Robert Sokol's May 14, 2009 interview with the late Joan Rivers, the celebrated comedian talked of her career and threw in plenty of timely jokes, which were very much of that age.

This year's Kung Pao Kosher Comedy show is producer/comic Lisa Geduldidg's 29th edition, and offers an all-female line-up. In addition to hosting, Geduldig will perform, as will her mom, 90-year-old Arline Geduldig.

'The Woman In Black,' a ghost story, is now on stage at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater. Thousands of goosebump-loving audience members who have made this play a huge hit in London.

SF Ballet's new production of Helgi Tomasson's 'Nutcracker' shines, with principal dancers and soloists even in minor roles acting on a par with the dancing. Also, advance coverage of Mark Morris Dance Group this weekend at Zellerbach Hall.

Playwright Martin Sherman's intergenerational 'Gently Down The Stream,' now at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, brings a simultaneous valedictory for the gay past and benediction of queer generations to come.