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.
As I write these words, my fellow Californians are taking to the polls. Or not? I dropped off my ballot days ago at City Hall. No one knows what to make of the thus-far low turnout, but if people are waiting ‘til the last minute, guess what time it is?
I know midterms are often dismissed as “don’t matter” elections, but the importance of this one can been seen by the sheer amount of mudslinging and skullduggery. San Franciscans, in particular, have a chance to show Danny Denim what they think about him after a year-and-a-half. He’s spent that time sweet-talking the oligarchs who’ve poured billions of dollars into this election as he flat out says he won’t expand rent-control.
Since we won’t have the chance to vote him out for another few years, here’s hoping that by the time this piece is published that enough votes have been counted to give hope to give him a clear message. People like him haven’t been personally affected by tarifflation or having to choose between paying a bill or buying a meal. I hope that by the time this article is read, the proletariat have moved one step closer to taking back what’s ours.
The Lunchbox world premiere at Berkeley Rep
It’s been nine years since I last attended the opening night at the Berkeley Rep for the world premiere of a musical based on a beloved Indian film—one I liked, no less. This time, I wasn’t familiar with the 2013 film on which it was based, but that gave me the benefit of seeing the adaptation clean.
Much the same way Mira Nair personally adapted Monsoon Wedding for the Rep, so too does film-maker Ritesh Batra the one to adapt his film The Lunchbox (through July 5). Long before DoorDash and UberEats began robbing customers and (non-)employees of their money and dignity, India had consumer food delivery down pat. Couriers picked up steel tiffins from housewives to deliver to their husbands at work.
This was housewife and mother Ila’s (Kuhoo Verma) intention when she sent off a lunch that she hoped would rekindling the spark of her marriage. Unfortunately, her tiffin winds up at the desk of Mr. Fernandes (Manu Narayan), a widower hoping to retire soon. The lunch he gets isn’t what he ordered, but it winds up being the highlight of his day. Once Ila realizes her mistake, she begins regularly sending lunches to Mr. Fernandes, kicking off a correspondence that brightens both of their lives.
I definitely want to seek out Batra’s film now. The story has healthy balance of both optimism and melancholy that make it both entertaining, yet grounded. It’s the sort of narrative in which we can’t stand to look away from our two leads, yet are entertained enough by the ensemble that we could easily follow them, too. It’s a classic tale about how the simplest break from routine can send one’s life into a spiral in many unexpected ways. Watching them spiral on Mimi Lien’s detailed apartment-complex set makes it all the more compelling.
Also comforting was seeing CO² levels not rise too high during the 90-or-so-minute play. My Aranet4 saw levels peak around 1,248ppm before dropping down to 996ppm by the final bow.
Batra’s story is a funny and sad fable about how life only provides us with a limited number of opportunities. The added songs by The Lazours, fortunately, illuminate the themes without distracting from the narrative. The Rep has a bad habit of originating musical simply to shill them to Broadway, but The Lunchbox is one of the few that felt like a genuine privilege to watch.
THE LUNCHBOX’s world premiere runs through July 5 at the Berkeley Rep. Tickets and further info here.
Phantom of the Opera at The Orpheum
When a lifelong San Franciscan hears that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s goth-musical blockbuster is returning to the city, they have one question: “Why isn’t it at the Curran?” The Geary staple hosted the show for five straight years in the ‘90s. [It sure seemed like way longer!—Ed.] Sure, the Orpheum’s great, but this show and The Curran have history.
Nevertheless, BroadwaySF brings us Phantom of the Opera (through June 21), Lord Andy’s mega-hit about the upstart diva (Jordan Lee Gilbert), her disfigured mentor (Isaiah Bailey), and the violent love triangle in which they find themselves. It’s the version of Leroux’s novel that lifted it to the level of, well, opera. Musical purists hate it, but there’s a reason the plush Phantom bears quickly sold out at the merch booth.
CO² levels remained low, averaging around 668ppm during the entire show. (Though they briefly spiked to 2,408ppm during a sequence with dry ice smoke.) This production won’t change anyone’s minds about Webber’s show, but it doesn’t have to. Phantom remains the theatrical equivalent to “A Fifth of Beethoven”: same classical origin with enough pop remixing to broaden its appeal.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA runs through June 21 at the Orpheum Theatre, SF. Tickets and further info here.
Becoming a Man West Coast premiere at Z Space
The strongest parts of P. Carl’s Becoming a Man (West Coast premiere through June 14 at Z Space) aren’t when author stand-in Carl (Petey Gibson) gives long-winded monologues about his journey of transition. No, it’s when that narration trusts the audience enough to show rather than tell. As insightful as the monologues are—the play is, after all, based on Carl’s memoir—they often come off like TED Talks rather than confessionals.
The real heart lies in letting scenes play out between our lead, his midwestern parents, and his put-upon lesbian wife Lynette (the indomitable Laura Domingo). Though Carl found his truth, his decision to transition has repercussions for those around him, which is interesting to watch. It’s less interesting to hear about Carl easily slipping into misogyny, but far more interesting to watch a scene where he visits his first sports bar.
It’s why his late-play panic attack has an uncomfortably visceral feel, showing that not even he was prepared for what would happen to him after surgery. These scenes are leaps and bounds better than the dry lectures.
Z Space being what it is, its large auditorium made sure CO² levels never got any higher than 687ppm during the intermission-free show. It was a safe space in more ways than one.
Becoming a Man is a touching story that, like its lead, needs to exist on its own terms. When the play trusts its audience and allows the story to naturally blossom on Randy Wong-Westbrooke’s detailed swimming pool set, then that’s when the truth of character and story become crystal clear.
BECOMING A MAN’s West Coast premiere runs through June 14 at Z Space. Tickets and further info here.
