Theater News

San Francisco Spotlight: November 2007

A Face in the Crowd

T. Edward Webster and Kevin Rolston
in The Crowd You're in With
(© Evren Odcikin)
T. Edward Webster and Kevin Rolston
in The Crowd You’re in With
(© Evren Odcikin)

In a context reminiscent of an episode of Seinfeld, an ordinary setting serves as the catalyst for pondering life’s most important questions in Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Rebecca Gilman’s new play, The Crowd You’re in With. A typical backyard barbecue cooks up questions such as when is the right time to get pregnant, or can love between two people continue to conquer all? Amy Glazer will direct this world premiere at Magic Theatre, November 10-December 9.


Over at the New Conservatory Theatre, playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Based on a Totally True Story (November 2-December 16), seems to be just that — even if it’s not! The play centers around a comic book writer/playwright, trying to squeeze in romance and family, without ever stepping off the path he is carefully navigating that will lead to amazing commercial success. Aguirre-Sacasa makes his living writing for Marvel comics, chronicling the adventures of heroes such as Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four. He also writes for HBO’s acclaimed series, Big Love and has made other inroads into Hollywood.


Bay Area darlings Killing My Lobster do something different this month with KML For the Very First Time, a brand spankin’ new sketch comedy production that features the venerable troupe’s female members. That’s right, no boys allowed here, except in the audience of course. The world premiere show focuses on first-time experiences, such as the first female president of the U.S., to a child’s first interaction with the boogie man, to the first time a cowboy kills a man, and more. Directed by Shaye Troha, the show plays November 8-December 8 at the ODC Theatre.

Meanwhile, Ian Shoales and Joshua Raoul Brody, who’ve garnered the fondest of followings at The Marsh, present Slouching Towards Disneyland (November 8-December 8). Directed by Bill Allard, the work takes folks on a lightning fast ride through the history of the world, packing in a bevy of odd facts and music, all in little more than an hour.

Mae West was a bombshell that electrified audiences with a signature walk that broke hearts and blew minds. But she was also an incredibly clever dame who got herself in a bunch of hot water (and we don’t mean the good kind) when she staged Sex, a play she penned that quickly got her in gobs of trouble with the censors and eventually landed her in jail for a brief stint. Delia MacDougall plays the role West originally wrote for herself; an upwardly mobile woman looking for love in a world dominated by bawdy songs, sexy shimmy, and pimps, prostitutes, sailors, and socialites. Directed by Tom Ross, the Bay Area premiere of this notorious production plays November 2-December 9 at the Aurora Theatre.


The Marin Theater Company presents the Bay Area premiere of Lovers & Executioners (Boyer Theatre, November 15-December 9), directed by John Costello. The rather unusual holiday adventure from playwright John Strand is the story of Julie, whose husband leaves her high and dry when he suspects she is carrying on adventures of her own with another man. Abandoned and outraged, Julie is a wife done wrong who takes an unusual course to exact her revenge. After learning her ex-hubby is now actively courting the hand of a new, young bride, she does what every woman in her shoes would do: dress up as a handsome young man and try to woo the bride-to-be away.