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If you were to write a love letter to San Francisco, what would you say? Let the extremely agile international cast of Dear San Francisco give you a few ideas.
This circus-type revue hosted at Club Fugazi—a legendary North Beach venue that’s presented stars such as Thelonious Monk and the Grateful Dead, and was the longtime home of the now shuttered Beach Blanket Babylon—is the brainchild of Berkeley-born circus choreographer and trapeze artist Shana Carroll and Pickle Family Circus royalty Gypsy Snider and produced by their circus collective, The 7 Fingers (now based in Montreal).
Carroll and Snider direct a rotating cast of professional acrobat-performers in this inspired 90-minute
production full of athleticism, humor, and San Francisco nostalgia. Perennial references abound—from earthquakes to Sam Spade, Beat poetry to the Summer of Love—as the ensemble dash about the small space and spill out into the aisles with exuberance.
The specialty acts might change as each performer comes with their own, but you can expect to see some combination of aerial work, gymnastics, juggling, balancing, and live music at any given performance. Further blessed with shrewd production design courtesy of Alexander V. Nichols, rollicking sound from Jake Rodriguez, original score by Colin Gagné, and versatile costumes by Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, Dear San Francisco is built
to thrill, and best of all, to last.
Of course it would be impossible to include every historical detail from San Francisco’s tumultuous
and politically-charged past in a 90-minute circus show, and for the most part Dear San Francisco
keeps the tone light. But real love for the place is built into every number, most notably in the letters
they read from the stage penned by patrons of the show. Listen for the one sent in by former SF Giant
Hunter Pence, and don’t forget to add your own thoughts to the mix.
A city this iconic deserves all the love it can get.
DEAR SAN FRANCISCO plays at Club Fugazi, SF. More info here.
