Bay Area Reporter :: Culture News

'The Tutor' - passion play's penetrating perspectives at NCTC

April 16, 2024 | by Jim Gladstone

"The Tutor," Torange Yeghiazarian's hardly mellow drama, commissioned by New Conservatory Theater Center, plays with a love triangle as sharp and spiky as the dagger-like points on a backgammon board.

'Japanese Prints in Transition' - classics and contemporaries at the Legion of Honor

by Robert Brokl
Apr 16, 2024

The lavish new exhibit, "Japanese Prints in Transition," at the Legion of Honor, is as welcome as spring. The exhibit spans the earliest prints to works by artists competing with photography in the early 20th century, plus contemporary works.

'Forever Plaid' - pitch-perfect melodies from beyond the grave

by David-Elijah Nahmod
Apr 16, 2024

A show that begins with the deaths of its lead characters might not seem like a fun evening at the theater, but that's exactly how "Forever Plaid" begins. 42nd Street Moon will stage a revival of the 1989 play at the Gateway Theater.

National Poetry Month LGBTQ reading list

by Gregg Shapiro
Apr 16, 2024

To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, April (aka National Poetry Month), is the queerest month. There are so many books from which to choose before April's end, here are nine selections, including books by Richard Blanco, Kim Roberts and Emanuel Xavier.

'Kristina Wong: Sweatshop Overlord' — an inspiring agit-pop monologue at the Strand

by Jim Gladstone
Apr 9, 2024

In "Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord," the titular, jocular, Inner Sunset-raised performance artist's latest solo show, now playing at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater, that short hop back to the pandemic years feels shockingly epochal.

Preserving queer history with Kickass Queers and The Queercore Podcast

by David-Elijah Nahmod
Apr 9, 2024

More often than not, queer history is either forgotten or rewritten until it bears little resemblance to what really happened. Now, two podcasts seek to set the record straight, so to speak, by telling our stories accurately.

Garrard Conley's remarkable debut novel, 'All the World Beside'

by Tim Pfaff
Apr 9, 2024

Garrard Conley's debut novel, "All the World Beside," set in Puritan 18th-century America, involves a covert male love story as linear as human life, with its twists and turns, flash-forwards and flashbacks, that make it compelling.

Armen Davoudian's 'The Palace of Forty Pillars' — gay Iranian poet's collection emits new light

by Mark William Norby
Apr 9, 2024

With "Forty Pillars," Tin House introduces the arrival of a future star in modern poetry and a gay Iranian who emigrated from Iran to America in 2018 when he was 17.

Rumi Missabu: original Cockettes member and performing artist, Nov. 14, 1947-April 2, 2024

by Jim Provenzano
Apr 7, 2024

Rumi Missabu, one of the last original Cockettes, and a film, music and theater artist, died in his Oakland home on April 2. He was 76. Missabu performed in several of the shows, but later went on to many other artistic accomplishments.

Going Out, April 4-12, 2024

by Jim Provenzano
Apr 4, 2024

We've sprung into spring action with a blossoming array of arts and nightlife events in Going Out.

John-Andrew Morrison returns to 'A Strange Loop' at A.C.T.

by Jim Gladstone
Apr 2, 2024

John-Andrew Morrison returns in "A Strange Loop," the Tony and Pulitzer-winning musical being remounted by American Conservatory Theater with its original Broadway creative team, beginning later this month.

Funny stuff: author James Pauley Jr. on learning to laugh in life

by Michele Karlsberg
Mar 31, 2024

James Pauley Jr. is a humor writer with a knack for storytelling, focusing on personal experiences that are both entertaining and heartwarming. His two books contain a collection of laugh-out-loud anecdotes and messages of love and acceptance.

Lambda Literary Awards 2024 finalists announced

by Jim Provenzano
Mar 27, 2024

The Lambda Literary Foundation announced the finalists for this year's annual awards in numerous LGBTQ categories. Finalists were selected by judges comprised of 70 avid readers, critics, and literary professionals.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Chalvar Monteiro on living dance history

by Jim Provenzano
Mar 26, 2024

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley for its 55th annual residency, and dancer Chalvar Monteiro shared his experiences in performing and teaching new and repertory works.

Shotgun Players' 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' - fairies, romance, and a memorable Bottom

by Jim Gladstone
Mar 26, 2024

You can call it a romance. You can call it a comedy. But there's probably no better way to describe Shotgun Players' new production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" than to just call it a Play.

Arts & Culture :: Culture