Tonight there are two performances no one should miss, but you can’t be in two places at once, so we are going to go see Patti Lupone in To Hell and Back, the new one act opera from Jake Heggie at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. (This is one of those once in a lifetime kind of things – Patti LuPone in a world premiere of a new Jake Heggie opera in San Francisco?!) Also appearing in this unique new opera from the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is the rising soprano, Isabel Bayrakdarian. The opera’s libretto is by Gene Scheer, who wrote the libretto for Tobias Picker’s opera An American Tragedy and collaborated with Heggie on two song cycles.
The other performance that no one should miss is the wonderful jazz singing that Judy Wexler will be doing tonight at Cafe Trieste in Berkeley. Judy will be singing with Murray Low, piano; John Wiitala, bass; and, Anton Schwartz, tenor sax. Judy is a dear friend and a great singer. (I hope she’ll forgive me for missing this gig). If you haven’t yet bought Judy’s cd, visit her website and buy the cd, you’ll be glad you did.
Having just read some more periodicals, I find that there’s yet another singer appearing tonight who is not to be missed. (Try being in three places at once!) Janis Ian is playing a one night only concert at Brava Theatre Center! "Celebrating her first all-original album in 25 years, veteran American folk-pop singer-songwriter Janis Ian's Folk Is The New Black is a bona fide jaw-dropper, a stunning achievement that embraces the zeitgeist of the age, rocks at an assured pace, oozes with satiric wit, edgy humor and barely concealed rage. [It] is all rendered in a sweet, quiet voice that urges the listener ever nearer. Both intensely personal and robustly inclusive, Ian's new songs are among the very best she has written - indeed, among the finest in the entire American folk songbook." - Greg Quill, Toronto Star -- should be a wonderful concert.
And there are even more limited engagement events this weekend. Charles Busch’s Red Scare On Sunset completes its run Friday and Saturday at Zeum. John Fisher of Theatre Rhino directs A.C.T.’s MFA acting program students in this production of Busch’s zany parody of 1950s Hollywood and the red scare.
To top that off, Gregg Coffin’s musical Convenience starts previews at The New Conservatory Theatre Center tonight.
While there’s still another week to catch Brad Erickson’s The War At Home also at NCTC. 
Playwright Brad Erickson is also the executive director at Theatre Bay Area and in his recent column in the November issue of Theatre Bay Area, Erickson asks “Is it too much to foresee the Bay Area as renowned for its theatre as Napa is for its wine?” and I must say no, I do not think it is too much to ask. [By the way, The New Conservatory Theatre Center is celebrating its Silver Anniversary Gala Celebration (that’s 25 years) & Silent Auction at the San Francisco Presidio Officer's Club next weekend, November 12, while Theatre Bay Area is being feted by none other than Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon this weekend (Sunday) for its 30th birthday!] Happy Birthday NCTC and TBA!So go to a concert, go to the theatre. Life’s a banquet… (thank you, Auntie Mame). I’ll keep you posted on I’m seeing out there and you let me know what you think of what you see. We’ll all work to make San Francisco a renowned performance capital in the way Brad Erickson has envisioned it. I agree with Brad -- this vision is not too big or hairy or audacious for us to embrace. The San Francisco Bay Area’s thriving cultural scene - not only theatre and music but dance, art spoken word, and everything else you can think of, doesn’t come as a surprise. As Janice Ian said in a recent interview in the Bay Area Reporter, “When the government lies, when your family lies, when the world lies, artists are the ones still clinging to the truth no matter what it costs… An artist’s job is to question, first and foremost, everything.” Couldn’t have said it better myself, Janice.
All of this, combined with directing a new musical keeps me quite happy and excited about teaching voice and acting here in San Francisco. My work with my students combined with our experiences as performers and audience make the expression of our art that much richer.
Check back here after the weekend to discuss the various performances we’ve experienced and see if we can’t keep the buzz going about San Francisco -- the great performance capital!
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