This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof.
It’s lonely being one of the few people to acknowledge a still-ongoing pandemic. It’s bad enough missing out on performing, but the inability to socialize in person hurts even more. But that’s just on a personal level—what really gets to me is the seeming intentional reversal of all the strides (tangible and intangible) made during 2020-’21: the distribution of stimulus checks alongside the rapid creation and distribution of vaccines proved that universal healthcare and basic income could easily work in the US (especially if we tax lotsa oligarchs). And don’t even get me started on the DEI strides made in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
Then, there were the noticeable adaptations that made life a little better, especially here in SF. Although improving HVAC would be a long and slow (and expensive) prospect, the ability to move certain activities outside proved to be a lifeline for gyms, barbershops, and restaurants. Streetside parklets–mainly associated with European establishments–sprung up so fast around the city you’d think someone waved a magic wand and suddenly they appeared. And let’s be glad they did, ‘cause they kept people working whilst the open air lowered the risk to customers.
The DNA Lounge on Folsom was actually ahead of the curve on this one: they had the idea for a parklet back when they started construction on DNA Pizza. The SFMTA forced them to take it down in 2016 for street changes, but it went back up in 2017, where it’s stood ever since. When this very-not-over pandemic started, they made more adjustments to keep patrons safe, and even held socially-distant dance parties on a regular basis. If you can think of another independently-owned legacy business that safely pulled off outdoor burlesque shows and DJ sets, I’d love to hear it?
But since this wretched timeline is one that moves backwards in all the worst ways, City Hall and the SFMTA want the Lounge’s parklet destroyed. Again. Seemingly for no other reason than “just because.” The 41-year-old club has two weeks to take down the utterly harmless, wholly beneficial structure, or face a 500-dollar daily fine.
You know how this very column has illustrated that Lurie’s administration wants to turn SF into Manhattan? You know how we’ve said their idea of “a thriving San Francisco” is one that appeals not to artists, performers, or independent businesses, but soulless corporate interests? This is what we mean. The DNA Lounge is not only one of the few indie performance venues still around in SF (particularly, in the SoMA/Tenderloin area), it’s one of the few–if not the last–concert venues that hasn’t been assimilated into the TicketMaster/LiveNation mega-monster. It’s a genuine San Francisco original that constantly finds itself at war with the very SF politicians who should be defending it.
With two weeks left on their deadline, owner Jamie “jwz” Zawinski has made a public plea for the city to reconsider, complete with a full timeline of the parklet’s construction and previous approvals through official channels.
You may ask “What’s the Lounge gonna lose by tearin’ down something on the sidewalk?” A lot, actually. A unique personal parklet is just the sort of thing that gives a location its own identity to stand out amongst a sea of hegemony. If you’ve read this column for any amount of time, you’ve read the names of countless indie performance venues that have permanently closed their doors because this sort of bureaucracy eats away at them. SF City Hall should care that the club next door to the-former-Slim’s just celebrated the 20th anniversary of one of its trademark shows, Hubba Hubba Revue. City supes can’t say they support legacy businesses when they’re actively trying to destroy this one’s legacy.
Little Shop of Horrors at NCTC
Like a great many Gen-Xers, I have strong feelings about Little Shop of Horrors (through October 25 at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, SF). As a horror fan, I’ve frequently seen the original 1960 Roger Corman movie with a young Jack Nicholson. I love knowing that the stage adaptors of that obscure B-movie (Alan Menken and Howard Ashman) used the success of their own version to become key figures in the Disney Renaissance. Hell, I just love knowing that even die-hard “I hate musicals” folks are likely to know the lyrics to a show about being on the receiving end of the evils of capitalism.
One of my favorite reviews is by Nathan Rabin (one of my favorite pop culture writers). In his write-up of the director’s cut Blu-Ray, he notes that the 1986 film version of the stage adaptation was originally shot with the stage show’s downer ending, but audience feedback forced director Frank Oz to shoot a happy ending—which blatantly contradicts the Faustian themes of the story. Yet, both endings work. Menken and Ashman made us fall in love with character who’ve been shit on all their lives, so letting them finally catch a break is as cathartic as watching their tormentors get devoured by a flesh-eating alien plant.
Director and NCTC AD Ben Villegas Randle sticks to the original stage narrative for his company’s new production. (Which is a good idea, in light of one copyright-violating SF production from 2011—and that’s before that production’s director was outed as a sexual predator). But that doesn’t mean the show lacks unique flourishes. Quite the contrary: NCTC’s show moves the setting from an Eisenhower-era slum to a Reagan-era former metropolis visualized by designer Matt Owens. The doo-wop Greek Chorus (Kamilah Cole, Jas Cook, and Vanessa Mendy) are re-imagined as b-girls, and there’s a much-needed addition of queer identity (particularly in the casting of trans actress Bria Gaia Padilla Irizarry as Audrey).
Of course, the real stars of the show are the puppets by Shadow Circus Creature Theatre creator Dave Haaz-Baroque. The smallest, hand-operated version of Audrey II bears a striking resemblance to its cinematic counterpart, but as it evolves, it grows into a fanged monstrosity that envelops the wall like a fungus. That Haaz-Baroque was able to both indulge in this design and still make the mouth reasonably articulate is a testament to how budget is nowhere near as important as ingenuity.
Besides mine, there weren’t many other masks on opening night. My Aranet4 showed CO² levels peaking at 1,895ppm before the end of Act I, dropping slightly by the end of the show.
As well as the show benefits from a fun cast and excellent production design, opening night showed some pacing issues with the first half: too many times, the cast let the energy wither in a scene when it demanded more energy. Act II mostly corrected this problem, but there were still a few moments when lines could have been picked up quicker.
Aside from that, NCTC’s season-opener and Halloween show is still entertainingly creepy. The Republican-led era depicted may have changed, but the schadenfreude of watching of watching assholes get eaten remains.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS runs through October 25th at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, SF. Tickets and further info here.
