March 18 2003

stage

Stage listings are compiled by Cheryl Eddy. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, Lara Shalson, and Chloe Veltman. See 8 Days a Week for information on how to submit items to the listings.

theater

Opening

A-A-America Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor; 675-5995. $10-25. Previews Thurs/20, 8pm. Opens Sat/22, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through April 12. Crowded Fire Theater Company presents the American premiere of Edward Bonds's "nightmare burlesque" that takes on racism in America.

Red, Hot and Cole New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972, www.nctsf.org. $15-35. Previews Wed/19-Fri/21, 8pm. Opens Sat/22, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm; March 30, April 6 and 13, 2pm. Through April 13. See 8 Days a Week, page 46.

Strictly Convenience Second Stage Theatre, 533 Sutter; 970-2425. $10-12. Opens Fri/21, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through April 12. Fourfold Productions presents Conan Moats's play about the lives of a convenience store clerk and his bank teller girlfriend.

Ongoing

Animal Farm New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom; 262-0477. $15-20 (Mon/24, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat and Mon/24, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through March 30. The Custom Made Theatre Company performs Nelson Bond's adaptation of the George Orwell classic.

Are We Almost There? Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 345-7575. $15-18. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. Travel is the theme of this musical-comedy revue.

Boys' Life Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 533 Sutter; 436-9400, www.boyslifesf.com. $10-20. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through April 12. Baldyrock Productions presents Howard Korder's comedy about the follies and failures of three former college buddies.

*Chicken: A 1-Ho Show Marsh, 1062 Valencia; 826-5750. $10-15. Extended run: Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through March 29. A chicken is a common domestic fowl, often found roasted or deep-fried. A chicken is also a teenage rent boy. David Henry Sterry is familiar with both definitions. In Chicken: A 1-Ho Show, Sterry's refreshingly affectionate portrayal of a naive young man's first taste of Los Angeles street life in the mid 1970s, the actor and writer demonstrates how little effort it takes to go from dunking greasy lumps of chicken in rancid oil in a Hollywood fast food outlet to earning $200 a pop for fleshing out rich Beverly Hills widows' sexual fantasies. Sterry might look like a lost child bouncing around in sweatpants and red baseball boots, but he attacks his evocative prose like a grizzled beatnik poet hitting a home run. (Veltman)

The Chosen Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 399-1809. $25-35 (Thurs/20, pay what you can). Extended run: Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8:30pm (also Sat/22, 2:30pm); Sun/23, 2:30pm. Baseball and the Torah are unconventionally intertwined in A Traveling Jewish Theatre's sensitive staging of American-Jewish novelist Chaim Potok's breakthrough novel, The Chosen, which tells the story of a friendship between two Jewish teenagers from different backgrounds in Brooklyn at the end of World War II. Director Aaron Davidman's dark mise-en-scène imbues the turbulent relationship between a Hasidic Jew, Danny Saunders (Gabriel Carter), and the more liberal Jewish teenager Reuven Malter (Zac Jaffee) with longing and anger. (Veltman)

'Comedy on the Square' Shelton Theatre, 533 Sutter; 522-8900. $15. Performers include Fred Anderson, prop comic (Fri-Sat, 7pm; Sun, 5pm, through May 4); "The Carnival of Chaos Lives and Breathes" with "extreme vaudeville" acts (Sun/23 and March 30, 8:30pm); and "Pushing 40," a solo play about the male midlife crisis (Sun, 7pm, through May 4).

The Dance on Widow's Row Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 620 Sutter; 474-8800. $25-32. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through April 13. The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre presents Samm-Art Williams's comedy about four wealthy African American women on a quest to remarry.

A Delicate Balance Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason; 364-3037. $20. Thurs-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 5pm. Through March 29. In Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1966 play, a middle-aged couple, Agnes and Tobias, try to keep control of their suburban minds while the people around them are losing theirs. As if it weren't enough that Agnes's idiot-savant live-in sister, Claire, can't keep her nose out of the vodka bottle, the couple's spoiled 36-year-old daughter Julia has just walked out of her fourth marriage. When neighbors Edna and Harry turn up uninvited asking for a place to stay, Agnes and Tobias – who aren't the picture of sanity themselves – are pushed beyond their limits. In the hands of a skillful director and an accomplished cast, the soft-spoken cruelty and humor of Albee's slow-burning play might have a chance to rise above the dull domestic landscape. But despite some glimmers of inspiration, particularly in the performances of Hal Savage, as Harry, and Barbara Michelson, as Claire, Class Act Theatre's production rarely rises above banality. (Veltman)

*Hedwig and the Angry Inch Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St; 392-4400. $25-35. Wed-Fri, 8pm; Sat-Sun, 7pm (also Sat, 10pm). Open-ended. Kevin Cahoon assumes the title role originated by John Cameron Mitchell in his 1998 Obie-winning glam musical, later a celebrated film. And while die-hard fans show up prepared to sing along, the show is so instantly contagious that no homework is necessary on the part of the uninitiated. For all its value as camp, Hedwig is a cabaret act of subtle sophistication; the story, like the best glam rock, has a quiet force that is the undercurrent of its self-conscious banality and cutting humor. (Note: from Wed/19-Sun/23, Asa Somers takes over the role of Hedwig; Cahoon returns March 26). (Avila)

In the Garden New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness; 861-8972. $18-38. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through March 30. In Norman Allen's "erotic drama," the lives of four urban professionals are turned upside down by a homeless teen obsessed with the New Testament. This production wants to be a provocative meditation on the postmodern condition – on the inability of people to connect with each other or the world in a culture more concerned with surface than with substance – but no number of biblical quotes or references to Nietzsche can compensate for this play's one-dimensional characters or its vacuous platitudes. Ultimately, Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence," which serves as the play's theme song of sorts, has more depth. (Shalson)

Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon Next Stage Theater, 1620 Gough; 740-8287, www.tickets.com. $10-15. Fri/21-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 7pm. The Garage Door Players present a double bill of one-acts, both set in small-town Texas, by James McLure.

The Maiden's Prayer Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 979-9980. $15-18. Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 2pm. San Francisco StageWorks presents Nicky Silver's drama about five people, including a pair of newlyweds, struggling with the difference between loving and needing someone.

No Exit Theatre Rhinoceros, 2929 16th St; 861-5079. $15. Extended run: Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8:30pm; Sun/23, 7:30pm. Expression Theatre Ensemble performs Jean-Paul Sartre's existential classic about a man and two women locked in one room for eternity.

Opening to You A Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida; 399-1809, www.atjt.com. $12.50-25 (Thurs, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through April 6. A Traveling Jewish Theatre performs an original musical play based on Norman Fischer's Zen-inspired translation of the Psalms.

The Producers Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market; 551-2020. $39-81. Through April 20: runs Tues-Sat, 8pm (also Wed, Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. April 21-26: runs Mon-Sat, 8pm (also Wed, Sat, 2pm). Through April 26. Best of Broadway hosts the touring production of the Mel Brooks musical.

The Purity of Impact Spanganga, 3376 19th St; 508-1808. $10. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through March 29. RubberMatchSeriez#6 presents a workshop production of Rey Carolino's Paris-set play about an aging boxer's clash with his playwright brother.

R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe Project Artaud Theater, 450 Florida; 626-DOME, www.foghouse.com. $25-35. Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm); Sun, 2pm. Open-ended. Fuller was one of the great brainiacs of the 20th century, a philosopher, mathematician, inventor, and idealist who devoted his life to finding the best fit between nature and humanity. In D. W. Jacobs's fitful, two-hour monologue based on the life and writings of Fuller, actor Ron Campbell dexterously pings from one of the visionary's obsessions to another, inhabiting Fuller's eccentric soul with physical and verbal intensity. (Veltman)

Richard III Thick House, 1695 18th St; 401-8081. $15-25 (sliding scale). Thurs-Sun, 8pm. Through April 6. See "Nun Intended," page 39.

*Soul of a Whore Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia; 626-3311. $9-15 (Thurs, pay what you can). Extended run: Thurs-Sat, Sun/23, March 26, 8pm. Through March 29. As a portrait of American fundamentalism ascendant, Denis Johnson's Texas tale Soul of a Whore is startlingly of our Bible-thumping, bomb-dropping, cutthroat moment, mixing religion, politics, lust, and demonology into an irreducible American cocktail. Soul focuses on the career of Bill Jenks (Brian Keith Russell), hero-whore of the title, a TV evangelist and ex-con. The story line revolves around the mundanely Texan issue of capital punishment, in which politics and religion team up to mete out justice and retribution. Enjoying its world premiere at Intersection for the Arts in an inspired and muscular production, the play crackles with energy and humor, giddy poetry, an invigorating swirl of ideas, and richly complex characters that make it a taut, gripping three-hour ride. (Avila)

Strangers in Paradox: The True Story of Casey and the Kidd Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St; 861-5079. $15-25. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm (also Sun/23, March 30, and April 6, 7pm). Through April 12. The show's already started as you enter the theater for gender outlaw Kate Bornstein's latest play. Asylum guards check IDs, an inmate sells handmade wallets, and a prerecorded message reassures the audience that all blood spilled over the course of the 90 minute show will be fake and entirely washable. It's a good thing, because the blood certainly spurts and flows in this Grand Guignol-Japanese anime style piece about two lesbian serial killers (who kill only those who ask to die) and the mysterious woman who knows all of the details before they even happen. The setup is a bit slow as we fluctuate confusingly between the asylum and the set of a reality TV show, but as the layers come together, the play becomes a pleasurably provocative and personal, if at times awkward, exploration of desire and the death drive, the messy interplay between wanting and wanting to be, and the sometimes murderous tendencies that underlie our deepest sense of self. (Shalson)

*Ursula: Fear of the Estuary SomArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan; (510) 845-2687. $12-15. Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 7pm. See "Nun Intended," page 39.

Bay Area

Conjunto Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, 1700 Alum Rock, San Jose; (408) 272-9926. $14-17. Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 2pm. War, racism, and economic gain form the backdrop of this well-told love story about the competing claims on happiness that can make the American dream go awry. Teatro Visión presents the world premiere of Oliver Mayer's fictionalized look at relations between Mexican and Japanese Americans in Burbank during World War II. Min (Michael Cheng), a Japanese American farmer facing internment, sells his farm for a dollar to Genovevo (Paul Santiago), his Mexican foreman, rather than see it go to the whites swooping down on the property of internees. His Japanese bride, Shoko (Bonnie Akimoto), remains behind, disguised as a Mexican laborer. A pastiche of cultural icons and American fantasies, driven by a lively musical score (performed by Carlos and Tomás Montoya) and the dream incarnations of an American and a Mexican film star, surrounds the blossoming romance between Shoko and Genovevo, who, along with a cast of misfits, are called upon to reinvent themselves by life during wartime. Karen Amano directs a fine ensemble in this occasionally didactic but inventive and timely tale. (Avila)

*Fräulein Else Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2929. $20-42. Tues and Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Wed, 7pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through March 28. Francesca Faridany's artful translation and adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's 1924 novella has much going for it, most notably her outstanding performance in the title role. Directed with admirable precision by Faridany's husband, Stephen Wadsworth, her Else is a beautifully detailed study of a young woman in personality and predicament reminiscent of Freud's Dora. Indeed, the stream-of-consciousness narrative – here transformed into Else's nearly nonstop address to the audience – is revelatory, looking at the workings of the unconscious mind then being systematized by Freud, Schnitzler's friend and fellow Viennese. (Avila)

The Game of Sides Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Connie Barbour Rm, 1924 Cedar, Berk; (510) 524-6950. Donations accepted. Sat/22, 2pm. Many Rivers Theater Project presents Terry Lamb's physical comedy.

The Great Celestial Cow Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster, Oakl; (510) 436-5085. $16-19 (Thurs/20, pay what you can). Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through April 6. With The Great Celestial Cow, TheatreFIRST has come to deliver us from clunking and clichéd plays about cultural prejudice and prohibition. In 1975, Sita and her two children leave behind India and their cow to join their family in London. In the hands of playwright Sue Townsend (author of the Adrian Mole series of comic novels), the well-worn theme of culture clash is reshaped into a very clever and intelligent narrative spanning 10 years and brimming with observation. Ekow Daniels and Lauren Grace are boisterous and witty in at least five roles each, but our attention never wavers from the Indian family: Ruchira Shah gives as sharp a portrait of a rebellious teenage daughter as Rishi Shukla does of a spoiled and selfish son. With only two actors not playing more than three parts, the acting is understandably uneven, but in the end, the play is a classic of its kind. (Baghdachi)

The Importance of Being Oscar Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; (510) 841-7287 (information); (510) 558-1381 (reservations). $8-20. Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 5pm. Oscar Wilde once said that his life was a work of art. Micheál mac Liammóir's one-person play about Wilde takes this statement to its logical conclusion, interweaving excerpts from Wilde's writings in its recounting of the artist's life. Staring in this co-production of Wilde Irish Productions and Central Works, Arthur Scappaticci does an impressive job with a role that requires him to transition frequently between different accents, locations, and genders as he variously portrays the narrator, characters from Oscar Wilde's plays (oftentimes two at once in schizophrenic dialogue), and of course, Wilde himself. The shortcoming of this piece is that, by attempting to tell the story of Wilde's life through his writings, it neither provides a complete account of Wilde's biography nor takes us deeply enough into his work. In its fragmentary revealing, the play is thus a bit of a tease. But it's an enticing one. Slides designed by director Gemma Whelan and Adam Liberman add agreeably to this production's mystique. (Shalson)

The Legacy Codes Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield, Palo Alto; (650) 329-0891. $20-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Sat/22 and March 29, 2pm); Sun/23, 2 and 7pm; March 30, 7pm; April 6, 2pm; Tues/25, 7:30pm. Through April 6. Cherylene Lee's new drama, performed by TheatreWorks, is inspired by the tale of Wen Ho Lee, the Taiwanese scientist accused of spying.

Oedipus Rex 8th Street Studio Theatre, 2525 Eighth St, Berk; (510) 704-8210. $10-20. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through March 30. Shotgun Players try sportingly for the summit of Sophocles' high tragedy, having of late had considerable success with the Greek classics. Director Patrick Dooley, with help from Kimberly Wilday's choreography and Tim Barsky's persuasive sound design, achieves some dynamic effects in making the work vital to a modern audience, but the balance between more naturalistic performances and the sort of pageantry that successfully informed previous renderings of classic texts remains uncertain here. (Avila)

*The Rehearsal: A One Act Play in Three Acts Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby, Berk; (510) 883-0305. $20 (Sun, pay what you can). Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 7pm. Behind every dreary East-bloc play of meaningless pain, there lurks a far better comedy about staging it. Transparent Theater mercifully gives us the latter: in The Rehearsal, a troupe of actors struggles to rehearse The Ear, a play written by an imaginary Hungarian dissident in which people dance with beets and say lines like "this bread is as hard as life itself!" But while the play has hilarious moments in puncturing the pomposity of the megalomaniac director (a febrile David Sinaiko) and the Method actor (a Homeric Elijah Berlow), director Tom Clyde's production is really a love letter to the theater, a self-conscious passion reflected in designer Anne Goldschmidt's intricate and evolving set, and the massive foam ear which is the curse of characters in both plays. Even if it seems like there are numerous competing plays here, playwrights Mark Chappell and Alan Connor possess the real and rare talent for comic construction. (Baghdachi)

Scab La Val's Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid, Berk; (510) 464-4468. $10-15. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through April 5. In Sheila Callaghan's darkly comic grad school drama, Anima (the perfect combination of neurosis and deadpan humor played by Alyssa Bostwick) is falling in love with her roommate Christa (a naïve good girl with a lustful streak played by Emily Klein) who is herself secretly sleeping with Anima's ex-boyfriend (a mixture of false sensitivity and outright sliminess portrayed by Noah James Butler). As Anima struggles to understand her attraction to Christa and to come to terms with her father's recent death, she is haunted by dreams of her dysfunctional family and receives visits from one tough Virgin Mary (Eleanor Scott) and two giggling angels in bondage gear (Pete Caslavka and Butler). As the story unfolds, one can't help but feel it's a bit more "freshman year college" than grad school, but Impact Theatre's cast of actors, under the smart direction of Melissa Hillman, bring such fresh energy to the stage that we're easily drawn into their characters' overwrought dramas. (Shalson)

Suddenly Last Summer Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949. $10-54. Wed/19 and Sun/23, 7pm (also Sun/23, 2pm); Thurs/20-Sat/22, 8pm (also Thurs/20, 2pm). Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents Tennessee Williams's darkly poetical work. A New Orleans mansion's fierce but frail matriarch, Mrs. Venable (Randy Danson), calls upon a financially desperate psychiatric surgeon (Joey Collins) to help rescue the reputation of her late son Sebastian, a reclusive poet, by repressing the story of his troubling demise in the memory of its sole witness, anguished cousin Catharine (Michelle Duffy). Les Waters directs a fine cast, and an astonishing stage design by Annie Smart (set) and Chris Parry (lighting) brilliantly augments the play's complex cannibalistic theme. (Avila)

Syncopation Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; (415) 388-5208. $25-43 (Tues, pay what you can). Tues, Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Thurs/20, March 27, 1pm; April 5, 12, 2pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through April 13. The Marin Theatre Company performs Alan Kane's play about a pair of ballroom dancing partners in 1912 New York.

dance

Shinichi Momo Koga Noh Space, 2840 Mariposa; 621-7978. Thurs-Sun, 8pm. Through March 30. $15-20 (Thurs, pay what you can). InkBoat presents Butoh dancer Koga in a solo piece, Tasting an Ocean.

'The Mexican Folklorico Dance Festival' ODC Theater, 3153 17th St; 863-9834. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. $15-18. San Francisco's Ensambles Ballet Folklorico performs with Ballet Folklorico Comalcalco (from Tabasco, Mexico), Ballet Folklorico Jaliciense (San Ysidro), and Instituto Mazatlan Bellas Artes (Sacramento).

'ODC/San Francisco Dancing Downtown 2003: Program Two: Theatrical Journeys' Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard; 863-6606. Program One: Fri, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Program Two: Thurs and Sat, 8pm. $15-39. Program One: KT Nelson's Running into Open Doors and Brenda Way's Remnants of Song and Investigating Grace. Program Two: Nelson's Aurora and Way's Scissors Paper Stone, Raking Light, and Weird Weather.

'ODC/San Francisco Dancing Downtown 2003: Family Noon Matinees' Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard; 863-6606. Thurs, noon. $10-15. This performance includes KT Nelson's Bold Sally and Below the Rim, Brenda Way's Scissors Paper Stone, and Kimi Okada's In the Rough. See "Still Strong," page 40.

San Francisco Ballet War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness; www.sfballet.org. Program Four: Wed, 7:30pm; Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7:30pm. $8-120. The company presents the premiere of Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov's full-length Don Quixote.

Bay Area

Dance Theatre of Gospel Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College, Berk; (925) 798-1300. Sun, 7pm. $10-20. The company, which combines modern, jazz, hip-hop, Brazilian, West African, and other styles, performs to benefit the NAACP's El Cerrito Branch's scholarship program.

Gregory Hines Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael; (415) 499-6800. Sat, 8pm. $28-45. See Critic's Choice.

performance

'Anything Goes Open Burlesque Night' Odeon Bar, 3223 Mission; 550-6994, benevolentdictator@thegunstreetgirls.com. Fri, 10pm. Free. Miss Bella Beretta hosts an "open mic" for aspiring burlesque performers.

'The Ballad of Pancho and Lucy' Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia; 626-2787. Tues, 7:30pm. $5-15 (sliding scale). Campo Santo's "Open Readings" series presents an informal reading of playwright Octavio Solis's latest work.

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; www.batsimprov.com. Fri-Sat, 8pm. $14. This week's shows: "Improvised Shakespeare" (Fri); "Improv and a Movie" (Sat).

'In Bed with Fairy Butch for Women, Transfolks, and Their Pals' Club Galia, 2565 Mission; FEZ-8000, www.fairybutch.com. Sat, 9:30pm. $10-15. This "campy, queer erotic cabaret" is followed by a dance party.

La Colmenita Brava Theater, 2781 24th St; 575-5559, www.globalexchange.org. Wed-Thurs, 7pm. $20-35. The National Children's Theater Company of Cuba performs a bilingual version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Wed) and Caribbean folktale La cucarachita Martina (Thurs).

'EROShambo Surreal Robotic Cabaret' OmniCircus, 550 Natoma; 701-0686. Sat, 9:30pm. Ongoing. $10-15. A cast of musicians, performance artists, and robots appears in this original cabaret show.

'Forever Young: The Music of Bob Dylan' Zeum Theater, Yerba Buena Gardens, Fourth St at Mission; 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. Previews Fri/21, 7:30pm; Sat/22, 2pm. Opens Sat/22, 7:30pm. Runs Sun/23, March 25-30, 7:30pm (also Sun/23 and March 29-20, 2pm). $10-15. The ACT Young Conservatory Players perform an original theatrical piece constructed around more than 25 Dylan songs.

'I Swing like That' Jon Sims Center for the Arts, 1519 Mission; 554-0402. Fri, 8pm. $5-10 (sliding scale). Jon Sims artist in residence Cedric Brown performs a solo show that takes on traditional notions of jazz musicians.

'Ka Wa Hula: Hula Through Time' Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna; 345-7575, www.ticketweb.com. Sat-Sun, 2pm (also Sat, 7pm). $25. Hula Halau Pumehana 'o Polynesia performs traditional and contemporary music and dance from Hawaii.

'People Like Me 2003: Object Odyssey' University of San Francisco, Presentation Theater, 2350 Turk; 292-4639, www.ticketweb.com. Sat, 2pm. $8-12 (reservations recommended). Children and their families are invited to this world dance and music performance, featuring contributions from Lunatique Fantastique, AXIS Dance Company, and others.

'Porch Light: A Storytelling Series' Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market; aklatte@sbcglobal.net. Mon, 7pm. $10 (reservations recommended). This month's theme is "On the Road"; participants include Tamin Ansary, Marvin Gilbert, Noah Hawley, Cameron Tuttle, Carol Queen, and Noe Venable.

'Three Women and a Mirror' Shotwell Studios, 3252A 19th St; hardcore@thrushtv.com. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through March 29. $10. See 8 Days a Week, page 46.

'Wild Voices' Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission; 575-6175. Fri, 7pm. $20. Nina Wise and Corey Fischer perform their unique style of movement-based, improvised autobiographical storytelling.

'Women's Work' Venue 9, 252 Ninth St; 289-2000. Tues, 8pm. $8-10 (sliding scale). This week's performances: Heather Gold's solo comedy I Look like an Egg, but I Identify as a Cookie, Brittany Brown's dance duet Underneath "all these nothings," and Sheetal Gandhi's ensemble dance piece It's a Sign.

'Zero Point Field' Xenodrome, 1320 Potrero; 285-XENO, www.xenodrome.com. Fri-Sat, 9pm. Through March 22. $10-20. Xeno and Climate Theater present the final weeks of their ensemble show, a mix of dance, circus arts, original music, and more.

comedy

Davies Symphony Hall 201 Van Ness; 421-TIXS. Mon-Tues, 7:30pm: "Ellen Degeneres 'Here and Now,' " $32.50-45.50.

Double Play 2401 16th St; 821-3601. Fri, 8pm: "Hyena Comedy All-Stars," $7.

San Francisco LGBT Community Center 1800 Market; 865-5633. Mon, 8pm: "Monday Night Gay Comedy," with host Ray Ferrer, $8-15 (sliding scale).

Studio 210 3435 Cesar Chavez; 869-5384. Sat, 8pm: "The Short and Long of It," improv with the Un-Scripted Theater Company, $7-10. Through April 5.

Bay Area

Black Box 1928 Telegraph, Oakl; (510) 451-1932. Thurs, 8pm: The Oakland Playhouse improv troupe performs improv comedy, $5.

Scores 2200 Bridgepointe Pkwy, San Mateo; (650) 358-5951. Wed, 9pm: "Comedy Open Mic Night," with host Mickey Joseph, free. Ongoing.

spoken word

Open mics take place almost every night in cafés throughout the Bay Area. If you want to perform, show up about half an hour before start time to put your name on the list. A day-by-day guide to spoken word events and featured readers:

Wednesday: BrainWash Café 1122 Folsom; 440-5530. "Spoken Word Salon," with host Diamond Dave Whitaker, 8pm, free. Rosenberg Library City College of San Francisco, Ocean Avenue Campus, 50 Phelan; 239-3899. Poet Genny Lim reads, 7pm, free. Foothill Assembly Room UC Berkeley, Berk; (510) 642-2743. The UC Berkeley African-American Studies Department and Poetry for the People host a reading by Cherrie Moraga, 3pm, free.

Thursday: Coppa D'Oro Cafe 3166 24th St; 826-8003. "Poetry on the Patio," spoken word and acoustic music open mic with host Renaldo Ricketts, 6:30pm, free.

Friday: Cody's Books 2454 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 845-7852. "Poetry Flash," with David St. John, C.B. Follett, and Susan Terris, 7:30pm, $2. La Peña Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 849-2568. "Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam" semifinals, 7pm, $4-8. Fellowship Hall 1924 Cedar, Berk; (510) 540-0898. Floyd Salas reads his work, plus open mic, 7:30pm, $5-10 (requested donation). New College of California Cultural Center 766 Valencia; 933-6825. "Emerging Artists Series," with featured readers Leslie Scalapino, Judith Goldman, and Beth Lifson, 7:30pm, free. Small Press Traffic 1111 Eighth St; 551-9278. David Bromige and Robert Grenier read poetry, 7:30pm, $5-10.

Saturday: La Peña Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck, Berk; (510) 849-2568. "Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam" semifinals, 7pm, $4-8. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut, Berk; (510) 644-6893. "Rhythm and Muse," with featured reader Daniel Ari and open mic, 7pm, free.

Sunday: Cody's Books 2454 Telegraph, Berk; (510) 845-7852. "Poetry Flash," with Jeffrey McDaniel and Jan Richman, 3pm, $2.

Monday: Perry's Joint 1661 Fillmore; 931-5260. "Celebration of the Word," with featured readers Adam David Miller and Rita Flores Bogaert, and open mic, 7pm, free.