Bookwaves/Artwaves

Bookwaves/Artwaves – September 16, 2021: Mick LaSalle – Stephen Greenblatt

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Bookwaves

Mick LaSalle, author of Dream State: California in the Movies, and film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Recorded as a Zoom event for KPFA, edited for audio. Link to complete 81-minute video.

A wide-ranging discussion that includes a look at the work of French director Eric Rohmer, movie viewing during the pandemic, the rise of long-form television, and the real reason why Dorothy should never have gone back to Kansas.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Mick LaSalle is the film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he has worked since 1985. He is the author of two books on pre-censorship Hollywood, “Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood” and “Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man.” Both were books of the month on Turner Classic Movies and “Complicated Women” formed the basis of a TCM documentary in 2003, narrated by Jane Fonda. He has written introductions for a number of books, including Peter Cowie’s “Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star” (2009). He was a panelist at the Berlin Film Festival and has served as a panelist for eight of the last ten years at the Venice Film Festival.

Complete 63-minute edited audio podcast

 

Review: The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, at Cal Shakes

 

Bookwaves

Stephen Greenblatt in 2004.

Stephen Greenblatt, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky about his book Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, recorded in 2005.

Stephen Greenblatt is a literary historian and an expert on Shakespeare. Among his other books on Shakespeare are  Shakespearean Negotiations: The Circulation of Social Energy in Renaissance England, Hamlet in Purgatory, Shakespeare’s Freedom, and most recently Tyrant: Shakespeare in Politics, set in motion by his feelings about the Trump presidency.

Host Richard Wolinsky interviewed Stephen Greenblatt twice afterward, for his award-winning best-seller, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, and in 2016 for The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve.

Will in the World focuses on William Shakespeare’s life, and how that life and the events in his world affected his work. The interview looks at, among other plays, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth and Richard III and gives a brief overview of London in the waning days of the 1500s.

:Complete 40-minute podcast

 

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Several theatre companies are postponing their September shows due to the Delta variant. Please be aware that these changes are being made day-to-day. Most in-person events require vaccination proof or recent negative Covid test, and masks. Check the venue before arrival.

Bay Area Book Festival   Festival events streaming on-demand.
Book Passage.  Calendar for September. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith   Calendar for September. On-line events.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. Check website for archived events.
Kepler’s Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings.

Alter Theatre. Brer Peach, an audio play by Andrew Saito, on-line October 21-December 12.
American Conservatory Theatre Freestyle Love Supreme opens January 21, 2022 at the Geary Theater.
Aurora Theatre Stoop Stories by Dael Orlandersmith, September 3 – October 3, 2021 as a filmed production.
Berkeley Rep Wintertime by Charles L. Mee, opens November 12, 2021, Roda Theater. The Ripple, That Wave That Carried Me Home by Christina Anderson, has been postponed until 2022.
Brava Theatre Center: See website for live and streaming events.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes)  The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, adapted by Eric Ting & Philippa Kelly, on stage September 1 – 26, 2021.
Central Works Audio plays: Bystanders by Patricia Milton, streaming now. The Human Ounce by Nicole Parizeau, streaming now.  2022 season to be announced in October.
Cinnabar Theatre. Cry It Out by Molly Smith Metzler, on stage weekends in September starting September 10, 2021. Streaming on demand September 24-26.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre Our Town by Thornton Wilder, on stage October 1-31, 2021.
Curran Theater: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child set to resume January 11, 2022 as a single evening play. Taylor Mac videos available on-line.
Custom Made Theatre Season schedule to be announced.
42nd Street Moon. Chess In Concert, September 24-26, Alcazar Theater. A Little Night Music, November 4-13, Alcazar Theater.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Upcoming season to be announced.
Magic Theatre. In-theater performances to resume 2022. Joy and Pandemic by Taylor Mac, postponed to a later date.
Marin Theatre Company On stage: Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, November 2021. The Sound Inside postponed.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center Streaming: Hold Me The Forgotten Way, through December, 31, 2021. In Theater: Interlude by Harrison David Rivers, October 8 – November 7, 2021.
Oakland Theater Project. In Theater: Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan, October 8 – 31.
Pear Theater. In Theater: Mothers of the Bride by Megan Maugeri, directed by Katie Hipol Garcia, on stage and streaming August 20- September 12, 2021. Somewhere by Marisela Trevino Orta and The Tempest by William Shakespeare, in repertory, October 1 – October 24, 2021.
Ray of Light: The Rocky Horror Show, October 7-31, at the Oasis.
San Francisco Playhouse. In Theatre/Streaming On Demand, Starting Here, Starting Now, the songs of Maltby and Shire. August 31 – October 2.
SFBATCO See website for upcoming streaming and in theatre shows.
Shotgun Players. In person with streaming options: The Claim by Tim Cowbury, October 14-30.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: MarshStream updated calendar. In theater performances to be announced.
Theatre Rhino Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available.  Streaming: Hold Me the Forgotten Way, episodes 1-4. On stage: At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen by Terry Guest, Oct. 28 – Nov. 14.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.  On stage: Lizard Boy, a new musical by Justin Huertas, October 6 – October, 31, 2021.
Word for Word. Wordcast: A Pair of Eyeglasses by by Anna Maria Ortese, posts September 2; Home by George Saunders, October 7; two by Toni Cade Bambara, November 4. Each will be streamed for a year.

National, Misc:
Chamber Music San Francisco: Live concerts return February, 2022.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Live on stage: Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer by Cheryl L. West. July 1 – October 9.

Playbill List of Streaming Theatre: Updated weekly, this is probably the best list you’ll find of national and international streaming plays and musicals. Each week has its own webpage, so scroll down.
National Theatrical Streaming: Upcoming plays from around the country.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]