Arts & Culture :: Culture

Matt Rogers brings Christmas to the Castro

Matt Rogers brings Christmas to the Castro

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 5, 2023

Comedian Matt Rogers, who headlines the Castro Theatre on December 20, is known for his comic skills. Now he's gone full pop star mode, recording a slickly produced yet dryly witty album, "Have You Heard of Christmas?"

'Guys and Dolls' at SF Playhouse

'Guys and Dolls' at SF Playhouse

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 5, 2023

San Francisco Playhouse's amiably diverting production of "Guys and Dolls" may well succeed at bringing a warm, fuzzy feeling to fans of the Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows chestnut. A reinvention includes some deft gender-switching casting.

'The Bars Are Ours' — Celebrating the spirit of bars and community spaces

'The Bars Are Ours' — Celebrating the spirit of bars and community spaces

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Dec 5, 2023

Lucas Hilderbrand seeks to redress the notion that in the early days, queer culture only happened at places like The Black Cat in North Beach and the Stonewall Bar in New York by introducing us to bars throughout the country.

Robert Glück's 'About Ed'

Robert Glück's 'About Ed'

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Dec 5, 2023

Captivating and bittersweet, local San Francisco poet and author Robert Glück has written a poignant and multifaceted tribute to his friend and distinguished painter Ed Aulerich-Sugai, whom he first met in 1970 as they became lovers and life partners.

Fariha Róisín's 'Survival Takes a Wild Imagination' — on being Queer and Muslim

Fariha Róisín's 'Survival Takes a Wild Imagination' — on being Queer and Muslim

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Dec 4, 2023

Poet, cultural critic and multidisciplinary artist Fariha Róisín (pronounced 'roh-zhin') has written a powerful collection of poems in "Survival Takes a Wild Imagination," her second book of poetry.

Going Out, Nov. 30-Dec. 8, 2023

Going Out, Nov. 30-Dec. 8, 2023

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Nov 30, 2023

From holiday choral concerts to fierce drag queens, we've got another diverse batch of arts and nightlife events, this week and every week.

The unscripted self: Billy Crudup in Berkeley Rep's 'Harry Clarke'

The unscripted self: Billy Crudup in Berkeley Rep's 'Harry Clarke'

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 28, 2023

"Why would anyone read reviews?!" asks the brash title character of David Cale's funny, brainy one-actor play "Harry Clarke," now at the Berkeley Rep. "Surprise me!"

Nancy Spada's biography of musician Thomas Schippers

Nancy Spada's biography of musician Thomas Schippers

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Nov 28, 2023

Nancy Spada's new "Beyond the Handsomeness: A Biography of Thomas Schippers" hits a sour note. Spada breezes past one thing people who know little else about Schippers know: his versatile sexuality.

Q-Music: Oy to the world! Cher, George Perris and others release holiday albums

Q-Music: Oy to the world! Cher, George Perris and others release holiday albums

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Nov 28, 2023

Our prolific music writer has some holiday albums to share, including Cher! Also, songs by George Perris, Scout Durwood and Stephanie J. Block should get you into the spirit of the time.

Wolfgang Tillmans' 'To look without fear' retrospective at SFMOMA

Wolfgang Tillmans' 'To look without fear' retrospective at SFMOMA

  • by Robert Brokl
  • Nov 21, 2023

Photographer Wolfgang Tillmans likes to shake up cavernous white cube museum spaces. With his retrospective exhibition, "To look without fear," he does so at the SFMOMA, personally revising an exhibition that debuted in 2022 in New York City.

Gay Pride on Pride Rock — 'The Lion King' cast member & manager share tales from the road

Gay Pride on Pride Rock — 'The Lion King' cast member & manager share tales from the road

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 21, 2023

"Sometimes you get surprised," said Eric Bean of the 50-odd cities he's visited as one of the 134 members of "The Lion King" touring company that opens at the Orpheum Theatre this week. "In Tulsa, Oklahoma, there are four different drag brunches!"

Doubleplus '1984' — Aurora Theatre's stage adaptation of Orwell's classic

Doubleplus '1984' — Aurora Theatre's stage adaptation of Orwell's classic

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 21, 2023

If you're more interested in holding tight to the things you're thankful for than in cranking up the amperage of your holiday cheer, the Aurora Theatre's production of "1984" may be just the ticket for you.

Book 'em: page-turning gifts

Book 'em: page-turning gifts

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Nov 21, 2023

Books really and truly are the gifts that keep on giving. From the reissue of classics to highly anticipated memoir, and even a nostalgic nightclub ephemera picture book, we've got a few fun selections for your gifting that are sweet.

The Pope of Trash enshrined — John Waters exhibit at LA's Academy of Motion Picture Arts Museum

The Pope of Trash enshrined — John Waters exhibit at LA's Academy of Motion Picture Arts Museum

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 14, 2023

Renzo Piano's elegantly flowing Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, a new Los Angeles must-see, now features a fourth-floor gallery that hosts a sprawling multimedia tribute to the movie-making career of "John Waters: The Pope of Trash."