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Over 650 performances are presented each year at the EXIT's four venues: EXIT Theatre, EXIT Stage Left, EXIT Cafe, and EXIT on Taylor.
The following were performed during 2003.
 
UNCLE DICKIE'S WICKED LITTLE CHRISTMAS -- an evening of alternative holiday comedy one-acts. "Irreverence is the only way to handle the Holidays!" - Uncle Dickie. Uncle Dickie's program will include Holding, by local playwright Margery Kreitman, directed by John Dixon, with P. A. Cooley as the hapless character who makes a call to Suicide Prevention on Christmas eve. Dickens it ain't. You don't want to miss the American Premiere of British playwright Anthony Neilson's bold and hilarious, The Night Before Christmas. a blue-collar comedy about Christmas and what it becomes for a couple of blokes, the local strumpet and a character who may-or may not-be an Elf. Directed by Ryan Montgomery, the talented cast includes Alexia Burland, Elan Freydenson, Jon Wolanske and Brian Perkins. Mr. Neilson who writes in the style of Joe Orton, is an outrageously talented new playwright whose work has not be staged in this country-yet. Uncle Dickie's Wicked Little Christmas will feature yet a third one-act comedy to be announced soon!!! REVIEWS. EXIT Theatre THUR/FRI/SAT DEC 4 - 20, 2003 @ 8PM Added performance Wed. Dec 17, 8pm. Special Actors Benefit Wed, Dec 10-all seats $15 Comedy to warm the cockles of your heart!
STRETCH MARKS: GROWING INTO MOTHERHOOD presented by the Drama Mamas. This funny, poignant play follows the experience of three women in their transformation into mothers. Written by four Bay Area mothers--Christine Armand DiBiasi, Christine Garofoli, Sarah Cluff and Jody Schiller. Directed by Alice Shikina and starring Christine Armand DiBiasi, Christine Garofoli, Anna Melillo and Deborah Banks.REVIEWS. EXIT on Taylor THUR/FRI/SAT NOV 13 - DEC 13, 2003 @ 8PM.
TRUCKER RHAPSODY by Toni Press-Coffman directed by Katherine Murphy. 1992 Los Angeles: Four white police officers are acquitted for the beating of an African American man named Rodney King. Moments later, the city reacts in what many call the L.A. Uprising. Trucker Rhapsody, Toni Press-Coffman’s original drama about the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising and the lingering effect on the lives of Reginald Denny, the trucker whose bloody assault at the corner of Florence and Normandie became an iconic representation of the events, and Damian Williams, one of the men imprisoned for attacking Denny. Trucker Rhapsody delves into the interlocking perceptions of three black men, one black woman and one white man -- a community who lived through the aftermath of Denny’s beating and the King verdict. First Seen presents the West Coast premiere of Trucker Rhapsody at EXIT Theatre THUR/FRI/SAT NOV 14 - DEC 13, 2003 @ 8PM For more information about First Seen, go to www.firstseen.org. The Cast: Marjorie Crump-Shears, D. Anthony Harper, T. Tyrie Ivory, Nkechi, Ahmad White, and Don Wood. The Crew: Director: Katherine Murphy, Sets, Lights, & Projections: Michael S. Burg, Graffiti Artist: Ricardo Richey, Sound designer/composer: Will Hammond, Stage Manager: Corinne Kane, Dramaturgy: Rhonnie Washington and Imani Harrington.
THE CREATURE: REMIXED, Join us for a deconstructed stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Combining an "experimental" theatre aesthetic, ensemble driven collaborations, S.I.T.I. company inspired movement techniques, modern dance choreography and fugal spoken word structures. Featuring direction by Ben Yalom, text by Trevor Allen, and the irrepressible lighting mojo of Jason Ries. NOV 21 & 22, 2003 ONLY! FRI/SAT @ 8pm EXIT Theatre. For more information: www.foolsfury.org.
WORKING FOR THE MOUSE, A behind-the-ears look at the Happiest Place on Earth as told by an ex-character. The return of last year's sold-out, smash-hit for two performances only! If you missed the "Best of Fringe" production or last year's standing-room-only performances, then this is your last chance to see it! The kid had a dream: "To never grow up and to play all day at Disneyland." It even came true...well, kind of. Follow Trevor as he falls in love with Alice in Wonderland, breaks nearly every rule in the employee handbook and partakes of "backstage" shenanigans. A fundraiser for Black Box Theatre Company. Directed by Kent Nicholson. Written and performed by Trevor Allen. EXIT Theatre FRI/SAT NOV 14 & 15, 2003 ONLY! For more information: www.blackboxtheatre.com.
A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY by Tony Kushner is set in Berlin during the rise of Hitler’s fascist party, where a group of friends, artists and political activists find their moral and intellectual courage tested, ultimately forcing compromise, flight, or bitter resignation. Their responsibilities to themselves, to each other, and their commitment to changing their world is challenged and strained, revealing both bravery and painful weaknesses. A cautionary and insightful play, Kushner uses humor, poetry, contemporary political references and an appearance by the devil himself to make a case for the absolute necessity of committed political involvement.REVIEWS FRI/SAT 8pm OCT 3-NOV 8, 2003 and Monday, October 27 EXIT on Taylor Tickets:$20
BLUE WINDOW by Craig Lucas presented by Chameleon Theatre Company. Breezily written and divinely funny, Blue Window is Lucas's trenchant observation of the nature of love, commitment and relationship. Directed by Donna Stone and starring Brett Arnott, Heather Barberie, Kirk Crist, Beth Kellermann, Lee Kiszonas, Desiree Matthews, Heidi Wolff. October 3- November 8, 2003. Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm in the EXIT Stage Left. REVIEWS. Tickets $16 to $20. Opening night gala $25. For further information
www.chameleontheatre.com.

   IN OUR NAMES, a two-act drama, provocatively and playfully features seven covetous socialites, six demonstrating skateboarders, two rambling spirits, one celebrated scientist, and one shipping tycoon who must decide whether or not he'll run for World Governor. Written and produced by Vanessa Clark and directed by Kun Shin, IN OUR NAMES takes place in the near future and explores the allure of political and economic power and the impact of physical and romantic attraction on human endeavor. October 3- November 8, 2003. Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm in the EXIT Theater. Tickets: $12-18 sliding scale. Information: www.twoplustwoequalsix.com .
ANOTHER OPENING is a backstage musical without the music. Collaging together lyrics from classic broadway musicals, this experimental one act is part All About Eve, part medieval mystery play, as iconic characters like The Star, The Ingenue, and The Fan battle it out for fame and glory. A dark, yet comic, deconstruction of the Broadway musical. One performance only! Tuesday, October 21, 2003, 8pm, EXIT Cafe.

THE VOMIT TALK OF GHOSTS by Kevin Oakes, directed by Rob Melrose. "One of The Best Scripts Not Yet Mounted on a New York Stage" -- The Village Voice. Ever since she was a little girl, Amber Morrow has been able to communicate with The Deadman, a spirit she channels and around whom a small cult of believers has developed. Amber is The Deadman's mouth, an intermediary who speaks His Words to the faithful. Recently, The Deadman's possession of Amber's body has grown increasingly sexual and a romantic relationship has developed between the two. As her parents eagerly prepare her to re-establish contact with their prophet, Amber thinks it might be time to call it quits. But how do you say goodbye to your lover when he's already dead? "Very funny and ribald and scary" -- Mac Wellman MEDIA

EXIT on Taylor, FRI/SAT JUL 11 ­ AUG 16, 2003, 8PM. Information www.cuttingball.com
SUMMER SHORTS : CROSSED WIRES conceived, collected & connected by Mike Ward. Uncovered and discovered by three archaeologists from Anna Budd's ODD SCRAPS FROM AN EXTINGUISHED AMERICA, the evening exhumes remnants of language (speeches from Bush), vestiges of relationships and cultural & political ruins from a Lost Civilization: Ours. Featured is HAROLD PINTER'S MOUNTAIN LANGUAGE. Additional works by Tom W. Kelly, Dawson Moore, Aoise Stratford, Ward, Daniel Weiss and G. William Zorn. Directed by Ward, Robert A. Zick, Jr. & Shaun Landry. Featuring the acting talent of Travis Bedard, Brad Cooreman, Micaelee Ellswythe, Kevin Johnson, Ann Kuchins, Shaun Landry, Leo Lawhorn, Sarah Mitchell, W. Jay Moore, Chris Symonds & Daniel Weiss. Directed by Mike Ward, Robert A. Zick, Jr. & Shaun Landry. TICKETS: $20 general, $15 students/seniors/TBA members (w/ID). Opening Night Gala, July 12: $25 (includes reception with the artists). Preview July 11: $10 - $18, sliding-scale pay-what-you can.REVIEWS. EXIT Theatre, FRI/SAT JUL 11 - AUG 16, 8PM, THU AUG 7, 14, 8PM, SUN AUG 3, 2003, 5PM. email IsisArtsCo@aol.com.
'MAID by Erik Ehn, directed by Rebecca Novick. This re-imagining of Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale, The Little Mermaid is a stirring, heart-wrenching exploration of what we're willing to sacrifice on the altar of our dreams. The familiar story of a young mermaid who longs to be human is entangled with that of a young girl who longs to be a mermaid as the inevitable consequences of their parallel actions take the tale in unexpected directions. A dream-like combination of everyday people and mythical creatures, 'maid reworks age-old truths with post-modern abandon to create a brilliant synthesis of worlds and stories. REVIEWS. EXIT Theatre, FRI/SAT JUL 11 -- AUG 16, 2003 THU AUG 7, 14, 8PM, SUN AUG 3, 5PM. www.crowdedfire.org.
CRAZY QUILTS. Nine World premiere one acts about the trials and tribulations of the Twenty First Century Family. Dynamic Theatre Company presents nine San Francisco playwrights to watch. Come experience the joys, pains, fears and irrational behaviors of the multi-ethnic, dysfunctional family. An ensemble of talented actors, directed by Aaron Schmookler, perform a mixture of serious drama and pee your pants comedy. No live animals were harmed. WARNING! There is a strong possibility that you will see your family and friends on stage! EXIT Cafe FRI/SAT JUL 11 - JUL 26, 2003 @ 8:30pm. (156 Eddy St.) Sliding Scale: $12-20.
THE VOWEL MOVEMENT - A monthly salon for beatbox and vocal percussion. Hosted by Tim Barsky and Process. Beatbox is the art of vocal percussion. Using only their mouths and a microphone, beatboxers are able to imitate a drum machine, DJ, or drumset. The Vowel Movement is a evening for beatboxers, and for theatre that is connected to the art of beatboxing. Special guests include Radio (Spearhead), Infinite (Felonious) & Andrew Chaikin (ex- House Jacks). “Both Barsky and Neuberg outpace any electronic drum set or sampler with the amazingly precise and varied beatbox sounds created between their mouths and the microphone.”-The Oakland Tribune. EXIT Cafe, TUE JUL 1, AUG 5, 2003, 7:30PM. TICKETS: $3-15 sliding scale (no-one turned away).
SILENT MOVIE - a mimed play on silent films conceived and directed by Stephanie Abrams. Developed and performed by The Kinetic Theory ensemble, music by Steven Forker. Kinetic Theory Experiemental Theatre, winner of 2001 "Best of Fringe" and "Best Mime Ensemble" awards, returns to EXIT with their latest mime experiment Silent Movie. This unique mimed play recreates the charm of the silent era through stylized movement and hilarious physical comedy with an original musical score. A young couple's love (as well as the fate of the world!) is threatened by the personification of evil, Dr. Baron von Malfaiteur. Don't miss this classic tale of love, terror, seduction, and revenge tangled in a web of satire and wit! REVIEW. EXIT Stage Left, THU/FRI/SAT JUN 5 - 28, 2003, 2003, 8PM.
OVER NINE WAVES (and other stories) performed by Tim Barsky with Jess Ivry, Process and Shree Shyam. In Over Nine Waves,Tim Barsky and Everyday set fairy tales about love and resistance against the backdrop of an urban sprawl illuminated by darkness, in a show that combines street performing, hip-hop, and traditional folklore. " A unique blend of 18th century shtetl folklore and east-oakland physical theatre." - East Bay Express. "Passionately Poignant." - The Stage, London. Opening Acts and Special Guests: 6/19, 6/27-28: b-boxers Soulati & Infinite (Beatbox:Rapperetta); 6/20-21: DJ SOULSALAAM (Future Julu, Divination); TBA: b-girls/b-boys Fillmore Rocks Crew (B-style Therapy) REVIEW. Visit www.timbarsky.com. EXIT on Taylor, THU/FRI/SAT JUN 19 - 28, 2003, 8PM. TICKETS: $12 - $20 Sliding Scale;
WHITE BIRD ON A STICK by Sha Sha Higby. International performance/sculptural artist, Sha Sha Higby is known for her evocative and haunting performances, using the exquisite and ephemeral body sculpture she meticulously creates and moves within. Sculptural costume,dance, and puppetry explore the atmospheric world within the magical borders between death and life. Elements of Asian and Western traditions influence Higby's unique work. She has performed & taught extensively throughout the United States, Asia, Australia, and Europe. She creates a fantastical world where her rich costumes, meticulously formed from wood, paper, silk, lacquer, ceramics and gold leaf, come to life unexpectedly. Parts of heads and arms of dolls and multiple masks are revealed on all sides as the character rotates. This next costume will be almost totally white utilizing big flapping gauze wings protruding from the body on which to project visual images. It will unfold, fold, and unfold again.Whimsical detailed props are found on the dancer's path, unfolding a voyage through an imaginary sea. Supported by CASH Theater Bay Area.
Mask & Movement Workshops 11:30-3 Saturdays June 21st & 28th, 2003. www.shashahigby.com
EXIT Theatre, THU/FRI/SAT JUN 19 - 28, 2003, 8PM. TICKETS: $15-$25 sliding scale,
THE HOLLYWOOD CHRONICLES: STORIES, SONGS AND GOSSIP - a one-man musical show starring Stephen Clay. Book & lyrics by Stephen Clay, music by Alex Varden. The Hollywood Chronicles is a living, breathing, singing, theatrical experience of memories involving life, health, several close brushes with death, romance, spirituality, loneliness and loss with each memory serving as a different episode he talks and sings about. Produced by Aquarius Productions, the show centers around several comical and often moving occurrences in the life of several people known by the performer over the last few years. The original music is by Alex Varden, perhaps best known for providing the music for LA's cult-theatre hit, Strip Barely Legal. Among Clay's credits are Naked Boys Singing and the off Broadway company of Ronnie Larson's hit, Making Porn, which he also later toured with. Hollywood Chronicles is presented by Aquarius Productions and was work-shopped at Hollywood's Complex and Tamarind Theatres.EXIT Cafe, Previews THUR JUNE 12th then FRI/SAT JUN 13-28, 2003, 8:30 PM. TICKETS: $15; ftpwc@ yahoo.com
Tim Coyne's AN AMERICAN PUBERTY, Red, White and Blue Balls. Directed by Julian Starks. MON JUN 23, 2003 8PM
SINNER'S PARADISE, readings by Scott Lettieri, from his new novel - part of the continuing series of North Beach Nights readings in the EXIT Cafe. In SINNER'S PARADISE, when Martin Fante walks into a lesbian bar in the seediest part of San Francisco desperately looking for his aloof yet alluring girlfriend, we know all is not well. But something much deeper drives Martin, a secret that begins to surface as he cares for his dying mother. Martin's torment-for years buried beneath a string of sexual liaisons, an irreverent lifestyle, and his career as a radio news reporter can no longer be ignored. As his mother's health and his relationship with his girlfriend degenerate, that dark secret threatens to bury Martin instead. "A defiant, brutal debut novel that rips through one man's image of life and family where redemption and forgiveness wait on the other side." -Anne N. Marino, author of The Collapsible World. For more info on Scott or to purchase SINNER'S PARADISE CLICK HERE. EXIT Cafe, TUE JUN 24, 2003 8PM. FREE;
ARE YA WORKING? The Rants of a Post-Industrial Hybrid - written and performed by Steven Karwoski. Presented by OTHER FISH TO FRY PRODUCTIONS. This Polish/Irish American distills twenty years of schlepping in the trenches of the working world into one hilarious hour of stories, poems and rants. “Karwoski’s sincerity and charm wins us over…” San Francisco Bay Guardian. Inspired by his Polish grandmother's chronic question and mantra “ Are ya working?” Karwoski celebrates the rich tapestry of his Catholic, working-class upbringing and reveals how it forged his reality as The Uber Schlepper. EXIT Cafe, TUE JUN 10 & 17, 2003. TICKETS: $15.

TINCTURE by Sean Owens. Extended After DIVAfest!!! A diaphanous set of exchanges between six women, whose individual views on color and causality influence the group's trajectory and the Collective Unconscious. TINCTURE is a foxtrot between two vanguards of libidinous feminism. A visual feast for the minds eye. REVIEW.

EXIT Theatre, THUR/FRI/SAT JUN 5 - 14, 2003

PHOTO: LAURIE GALLANT

  

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 written and performed by Lunatique Fantastique. Extended After DIVAfest!!! Performance alchemist Liebe Wetzel and her award-winning puppetry ensemble tell the story of a family caught in the national hysteria that led to the internment of Japanese Americans during WW II.
"It's rare enough to find a company dedicated to serious puppet theater for adults, but Wetzel and her collaborators already seem poised to tackle even more complex and detailed narratives. Don't miss this exceptional, intelligent, singular work." -- SF BAY GUARDIAN REVIEW.

EXIT on Taylor, THU/FRI/SAT JUN 5 - 14, 2003,

PHOTO: LAURIE GALLANT

  
GOD COMPLEX written and performed by Gabriel Diani. Who are we? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? These are just a few of the questions that won't be answered in this thought-provoking jaunt through recorded history. During a series of comedic vignettes, writer/performer Gabriel Diani alternately plays, among others, an over-zealous civic planner in ancient Egypt, the Greek god Prometheus on a bad day, Jesus at the Last Supper, a sportscaster at a Roman Gladitorial match, and even a certain Judeo-Christian deity who goes by the name of "Iam." At times funny, poignant, and disarming, God Complex was the winner of the San Francisco Fringe Festival's "Best of the Fringe" and "Best Solo Male Comedy Performer" awards in 2001. "Theater at its very best . . . a brilliant exploration of humankind's relationship to God--and vice versa." --San Francisco Examiner.
"Exquisite." -- SF Bay Guardian. EXIT Cafe, TWO SHOWS ONLY! FRI/SAT JUN 6-7, 2003 , 8:30PM. TICKETS: $10;
 

 THE VOWEL MOVEMENT - A monthly salon for beatbox and vocal percussion. Hosted by Tim Barsky and Process. Beatbox is the art of vocal percussion. Using only their mouths and a microphone, beatboxers are able to imitate a drum machine, DJ, or drumset. The Vowel Movement is a evening for beatboxers, and for theatre that is connected to the art of beatboxing. Special guests for this first show include Radio (Spearhead), Infinite (Felonious) & Andrew Chaikin (ex- House Jacks). “Both Barsky and Neuberg outpace any electronic drum set or sampler with the amazingly precise and varied beatbox sounds created between their mouths and the microphone.”-The Oakland Tribune. EXIT Cafe 7:30pm TUE JUN 3, 2003. Tickets $3-15 sliding scale (no-one turned away).

DIVAfest - A Theatre Festival with a "Female Persuasion." Celebrate womanhood from minx to matriarch, virgin to vamp at DIVAfest, emblazoning EXIT Theatre's four stages for two weeks of plays, solos, cabarets and comedy, featuring a bevy of the very finest post modern prima donnas.

All EXIT stages of the EXIT Theatreplex! THU/FRI/SAT, MAY 22 - 31, 2003.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DIVAfest!

PHOTO: LAURIE GALLANT

  

LIBIDOFF by Dawson Moore. Three Wise Monkeys Theatre Company & Unidentified Theatre Company present Dawson Moore's Libidoff, directed by Christopher Jenkins. When Dave gives up on the frustration of chasing women and invents a patch that suppresses the male sex drive, a power-hungry misogynist named Bile steps in with a megalomaniacal plot to make the desire for women obsolete. All that stands between him and his nefarious goal are his sentimental male assistant and femme fatale secretary who what to preserve the sanctity and practice of old-fashioned love. REVIEW. EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor) THU/FRI/SAT, APR 17 - MAY 17, 2003, 8pm. [Previews starting April 17 before official press opening on April 24]. Tickets $20, $15 for students/seniors/TBA members and all previews.

QUEER THEORY written and directed by John Fisher and presented by Impact Theatre. World Premiere by John Fisher, the multiple-award-winning playwright whose previous work includes Medea: The Musical, The Joy of Gay Sex, Combat, and many other Bay Area favorites, and new Artistic Director of Theatre Rhino. Jeff Webster, Ph.D., is the hottest queer theory professor in the nation. Harvard wants him. Students want him. (Actually students have him. Regularly. During office hours.) But Jeff has a particular quirk about Elizabethan sexuality: he's staked out the controversial position that men and women of the 16th century were prone to slip from one gender to another. Every professor has to have an arcane niche, you know. Jeff's problem is that his brash theories are about to collide with his genitals. In a big way. Queer Theory stars David Ballog, Pete Caslavka, Victoria Cuatero, Andrew Harkins, Matthew Martin, Ross Pasquale, Valerie Weak, and Matt Weimer. REVIEW. EXIT Theatre THU/FRI/SAT, APR 18 - MAY 17, 2003, 8pm [Thursday 4/17 is a pay-what-you-can preview]. Tickets $15 general and $10 students/seniors.

 

 LAST OF THE RED-HOT DADAS by Kerry Reid, starring Christina Augello as the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Follow the outrageous exploits of Dada's unsung heroine, as she reflects on the nature of art, gender relationships and the price to be paid for telling the truth about both. Pre-punk by 60 years and perhaps our first feminist performance artist... "The Baroness is not a futurist. She is the future." -- Marcel Duchamp. "The first American Dada ... she is the only one living anywhere who dresses Dada, loves Dada, lives Dada." --Little Review 1922. CLICK FOR MORE INFO

EXIT Stage Left THU/FRI/SAT, APR 24 - MAY 3, 2003 8:00pm. Tickets: $12 - $20 sliding scale ($25 Benefit performance SAT., MAY 3)

 

 

PHOTO: LAURIE GALLANT

  

 IN THE SUMMER HOUSE by Jane Bowles. Paducah Mining Co.'s 2002-2003 Staged Reading Series continues with "In the Summer House," a lyrical, surrealistic drama exploring the tenderness and savagery of parental bonds, by poet, author, and playwright Jane Bowles. Mostly known as the wife of author Paul Bowles, her experience of living in Morocco was captured in his book "The Sheltering Sky." Few knew of her writing talents and yet, despite struggling throughout her life with poor health and mental illness, she wrote novels, poems, and several short stories. First presented in 1953, "In the Summer House" is the only full-length play Ms. Bowles ever completed. Upon reading the play, Tennessee Williams declared that it was "not only the most original play I have ever read, I think it also the oddest and funniest and one of the most touching." Directed by Susannah Martin. With: Lisa Jenai Hernandez, Karen Marek, Erica McIntire, Ben Ortega, E. Hunter Spreen, Jeff Taub. MEDIA

EXIT Cafe TUE, April 22, 2003, 8pm. Tickets: $5-10. info@paducahminingco.org.

  
 

 IN3 instigated by j. ries, under the direction of Meredith Eldred. Bringing together a gaggle of favorite artists and performers from past Absurdist Series and Best of Fringe shows, EXIT Theatre presents an original performance avalance of music movement and mayhem careening through the dark forests of our free will and heading straight for the little mountain town of your soul. MEDIA.

With: Jason Craig, Parnell Klug, Sara Kraft, Maria Mastroyannis and Michelle Talgarow. Music composed and performed by David Malloy, Costumes by Cynthia Quiroga, set by Kim Ehlers, and illuminated by Jason Ries.

EXIT Stage Left THU/FRI/SAT, MAR 27 - APR 19, 2003, 8pm. Tickets $12-$20.

TICKETS ONLINE: www.ticketweb.com

 

PHOTO: LAURIE GALLANT

  

 

   

A-A-AMERICA! by Edward Bond, directed by Christine Young. The American premiere of a nightmare burlesque of the past, present, and future of America's race issues. Composed of two short plays (GRANDMA FAUST and THE SWING) and based on true stories from the dark history of lynching, A-A-America! offers up an alarming and disturbing hilarious cast of characters from southern belle cannibals to the wheelchair-bound Grandma who demands the soul of a black man. A play that's so shocking because it's true, and so funny because it hurts us so much still, A-A-America! will be the audience talking about race in new ways, and facing up to the deep divides that still plague our society. Crowded Fire Theatre Company. REVIEWS.

EXIT on Taylor THU/FRI/SAT, MAR 20 - APR 12, 2003, 8pm. Tickets $10 - $25. www.crowdedfire.org

PHOTO: JEFF PRUCHER

 

NEVER FAR FROM THE TREE by Dave Garrett, directed by Laura Ellen Smith. A new play produced by Pass The Hat Presents..., Never Far From The Tree follows a family as it jumps through time as it tries to come to terms with its past, present and future. The actions of the parents echo through the lives of the children. Like peas in a pod, like birds of a feather, or like the House of Atreus – no nuclear family reacts the same.

Written by SF resident Dave Garrett. Featuring Heather Butts, Jonathan Kolyer, Ross Pasquale, and Leslie Waggoner. REVIEW EXIT Theatre THU/FRI/SAT, MAR 20 – APR 12, 2003 8pm. Tickets $12 - $20. For more info go to www.pass-the-hat.com

  
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN by Emma Donoghue. The Shee Theatre Company proudly presents the West Coast Premiere of Ladies and Gentlemen, a play with songs by Irish novelist and playwright Emma Donoghue, author of New York Times notable books Kissing the Witch and Slammerkin. Ladies and Gentlemen tells the story of Annie Hindle, vaudeville’s first male-impersonator, who eloped with her stage-dresser, Annie Ryan. Inspired by an account of Hindle’s life in the New York Sun of 1891, Donoghue's play captures a host of colorful theatrical characters and explores a triumphant love story which challenged the sexual boundaries of its time. ‘LADIES AND GENTLEMEN plays wonderful theatrical games, gently blurring the sexual boundaries... a deeply satisfying and moving meditation on life in love and theatre’ – SUNDAY TRIBUNE, Dublin MEDIA. Ladies and Gentlemen will be directed by Virginia Reed and features original music composed by Yvette Janine Jackson.
EXIT Theatre THU/FRI/SAT, FEB 20 - MAR 15, 2003 (and MON MAR 10), 8pm. 2/20 and 2/21(Previews), 2/22 (Opening Night Gala with Emma Donoghue $25). Tickets are $20, $15 for students, seniors and TBA members, and Pay-what-you-will for the shows 2/20, 2/21 and 3/10. www.theshee.org
 
PHYSICALITIES by Stephen O'Donoghue. Aggro Theater Co. presents a Comedy/Love Story/Drama centered around online dating. Physicalities is a new play, written by SF resident Stephen O'Donoghue and directed by John McNally (Deep Space, Lament for Arthur O'Leary, It came from Beneath the Kilt). It traces the exploits of two Irish lads living in San Francisco who take to the Internet to spice up romantic possibilities. Curious encounters, culture clashes, lots of laughs and a modicum of sex. Physicalities.
EXIT on Taylor THU/FRI/SAT, FEB 20 - MAR 15, 2003, 8pm..
 
NORTH BEACH NIGHTS, part of Stage Time, an ongoing reading series. Featuring: JACK HIRSCHMAN ("America's most important living poet." -- Luke Breit.) Jack Hirshman has published more than 100 books of poems, half of which have been translated from 9 languages. Come and here this poetic warrior read from his new book FRONT LINES: selected poems. RON HACKER ("The back door men and two timing women who populate much of Ron Hacker's music reflect the intensity of his real life experiences." -- Lee Hildebrand). Ron will read 6 short pieces from WHITE TRASH BLUESMAN, his autobiography. SCOTT PALMER, photographer, essayist & novelist. Scott's emotionally powerfull pictures are stories in themselves. CHRISTINA AUGELLO, actress, artistic director & 18 year veteran behind the bar at THE SALOON. Christina will read from BAR STORIES: Memories & Anecdotes.
EXIT Cafe TUE, FEB 25, 2003, 7:30PM. FREE.
 
Paducah Mining Co. presents the third reading in our 2002-2003 Staged Reading Series:
SAFE, CLIMBING JACOB'S LADDER, and THE FORFEIT
From the turn of the century through the 1930's, hundreds of plays by scores of playwrights -- men and women, black and white -- were written on the subject of lynching. The plays were written as testimony, as homage to the dead, as documentation. But primarily, plays were written as protest -- as a plea against the horrible hate crime of lynching -- which had a devastating resurgence in the 1930's due to the economic hardships of the Depression. In honor of Black History Month, Paducah is proud to present three short plays from a controversial period in American history by three playwrights central to the anti-lynching tradition and prominent figures in the Harlem Renaissance. Safe by Georgia Douglas Johnson, Climbing Jacob's Ladder by Regina M. Anderson Andrews, and The Forfeit by Corrie Crandall Howell are three hallmark anti-lynching dramas. Produced by Paducah Mining Co., Directed by Kathryn Seabron, Performed by, Shaun Landry, David Westley Skillman, Carvell Wallace, and Mollena Williams, among others. Tickets: a suggested donation of $5-10. info@paducahminingco.org for more information. EXIT Café, TUES, FEB 1, 2003 at 7:30 PM.
 
FoolsFURY presents the World Premiere of THE DREAMSTEALERS by Stephen Jacob, directed by Ben Yalom. Deep inside a successful Dream Syndicate, an egomaniacal entrepreneur has hatched an illicit immortality project ­ an artificial child whose existence threatens the very foundations of the universe. Pinnochio meets City of Lost Children in this fantastical verse play by foolsFURY Associate Artistic Director Stephen Jacob. REVIEWS. EXIT TheaterJAN 16 - FEB 15, 2003, THUR - SAT 8pm, .$15-$20 sliding scale, Previews Thursday - Friday, January 16-17 are pay-what-you-can.
 
THE BLUE ROOM (David Hare). The Actor's Collective presents a San Francisco premiere. A cast of 2 actors play a succession of characters whose sexual lives enmesh like a daisy chain. The Blue Room is a brilliant meditation on intimacy between men and women, sex and social class, actors and the theatre. It takes the treacherous Freudian subject of projection and desire, and reinvents it in today's London. Plays at EXIT on Taylor. RUNS: January 24-February 15, 2003, Thursday-Saturday nights at 8 p.m. (excluding January 23 & 30th ). There will be one Monday evening performance at 8 p.m. on January 27. Ticket Prices: Mondays and Thursdays are 2-for-1; Friday and Saturday night ticket prices are on an affordability-based sliding scale of $15-25. All seats are the same price.
 
NEVER IN MY LIFETIME by Shirley Gee. Can love survive between a British soldier and a young Irish woman amid the politics and shrapnel of war torn Belfast? Come find out---La Luna Theatre Collective presents playwright Shirley Gee's moving and harrowing tale. See this unique and unusual play at the EXIT Cafe for four weeks only! JAN 16 - FEB 8, 2003, THU/FRI/SAT 8:30pm; Tix: $15.
 
EYE by Jay Levin directed by Carl Thelin. Photojournalist George Brownie is caught between two worlds: domestic tranquility in the Painted Desert and the war-ravaged regions he documents. Can he love his wife and daughter, or will he always chase after the unforgettable girl with the haunted jade eyes? EXIT Stage Left JAN 16 - FEB 1, 2003, THUR - SAT 8pm. $12-$20, sliding scale.
PLAYS AT THE EXIT DURING 2002
PLAYS PRESENTED AT THE EXIT DURING 2001 AND BEFORE
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