Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
Links to assorted local theater & book venues
Artwaves
Kathy Geritz, film curator at Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, discusses the films of Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambety with host Richard Wolinsky. A series of films by and about the director run from Friday, January 21st through Sunday February 6th.
Djibril Diop Mambety (1945-1998) directed two features, Touki Bouki and Hyenas, and a handful of short subjects, but despite his limited output, his singular style and bold looks at Senegalese life and the divisions between wealthy and poor, and the legacy of colonialism make him a major figure in world cinema and, of course, African cinema.
These films, plus documentaries about the life and work of Mambety, are being shown on different nights at BAM/PFA.
Touki Bouki and his first short, Contras City, can be found on the Criterion app. Hyenas, two of his shorts, Le Franc and The Little Girl Who Sold The Sun, along with a documentary, A Thousand Suns, are on the free Kanopy app from local libraries. A look at the making of Touki Bouki, The Prince of Colobane, is available on YouTube.
Bookwaves
Joan Didion (1934-2021), noted essayist, novelist, screenwriter social critic and journalist, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on October 21, 2003.
Joan Didion died on December 23, 2021 at the age of 87. A chornicler of of the American zeitgeist, she was the author of several novels, including Play It As It Lays and The Last Thing He Wanted, the brilliant book-length essay on grief, The Year of Magical Thinking, and several collections of essays including Slouching Toward Bethlehem. Her screenplays include The Panic In Needle Park, True Confessions, and the 1976 A Star Is Born, most of them co-written with her husband, John Gregory Dunne.
This interview was conducted while she was on tour for her collection of essays, Where I Was From. Sadly, due to technical difficulties, only the first part of the interview was recorded before both the computer and back-up failed.
Cover photo: Joan Didion at the Brooklyn Film Festival, 2008. Creative Commons.
Scroll down for links.
Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links
Note: Most in-person events require proof of full vaccination for all audience members over 12 and masks; San Francisco Symphony and BroadwaySF will require proof of boosters starting February 1, 2022. Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Other shows have already been cancelled (see below). Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination status requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. All times Pacific Standard Time.
Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival Bay Area Book Festival, May 7-8, 2022,
Book Passage. Calendar for January. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith Calendar for January. On-line events only.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. Check website for archived events.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.
Live Theater Companies
Alter Theatre. Upcoming: Snag by Tara Moses.
American Conservatory Theatre Freestyle Love Supreme opens January 21, 2022 at the Geary Theater.
Aurora Theatre This Much I Know postponed until September, 2022. Please contact the box office for refunds.
Awesome Theatre Company. On-line now: The Jersey Devil Play, on Vimeo.
Berkeley Rep Swept Away, January 9 – March 22, 2022. Mike Birbiglia, Jan. 4-23. 2022. Fran Lebowitz, Jan. 22-26, 2022.
Brava Theatre Center: See page for updated listings.
BroadwaySF: Touring companies: The Band’s Visit, January 11 – February 6, 2022, Golden Gate.
Broadway San Jose: Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, January 18-23. Riverdance 25th Anniversary cancelled.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes) Streaming: Br’er Peach, through January 11, 2022. Romeo y Juliet May 25 – June 19, 2022.
Central Works Audio plays: Bystanders by Patricia Milton, streaming now. The Human Ounce by Nicole Parizeau, streaming now. 2022 season to be announced.
Cinnabar Theatre. Cyrano by Edmond Rostand, streaming January 21-23. Amy and the Orphans begins February February 11.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre See website for listings.
Curran Theater: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playing now. Taylor Mac videos available on-line.
Custom Made Theatre Zac & Siah, or Jesus in a Body Bag postponed.
42nd Street Moon. Fun Home, February 3-22. 2022, Gateway Theater. Full Moon Friday cabaret, live & streaming, January 28, 8 pm: featuring Moon veterans, and local Bay Area artists Martín Rojas Dietrich and Noel Anthony Escobar,
Landmark Musical Theater. Upcoming schedule to be announced.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Upcoming schedule to be announced.
Magic Theatre. The Kind Ones by Miranda Rose Hall, February 2-20.
Marin Theatre Company Pass Over by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, January 27 – February 20.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center Gently Down the Stream by Martin Sherman was cancelled its final weekend; NCTC is negotiating for streaming rights. Getting There by Tipika Guha has been cancelled.
Oakland Theater Project. 2022 season starts with Shakespeare’s The Tempest, February 11 – March 6, 2022, at FLAX art & design, 1501 MLK, Oakland.
Pear Theater. In Theater: Mountaintop by Katori Hall, January 21 – February 13, 2022.
PianoFight. Calendar of shows. Expansion to The Flight Deck in Oakland. SF Sketchfest, January 7-23.
Ray of Light: Upcoming shows to be announced.
San Francisco Playhouse. Twelfth Night, a musical adaptation. On Demand extended through January 29, 2022. Heroes of the Fourth Turning opens January 20, in theater only.
SFBATCO See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. I, Too, Sing America on the main stage, January 28 – February 13.
San Jose Stage Company: Strange Courtesies by L. Peter Callender, scheduled to open in January, has been rescheduled to spring, 2023. Coming next: August: Osage County, March 30 – April 24, 2022.
Shotgun Players. Babes in Ho-lland has been cancelled. Contact the ticket office for refunds. Passing Strange by Stew, March 5 – April 10/
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Rhino Staged Reading: Kingdom by Michael Allen Harris, February 9, 7 pm, 4229 18th St., SF. Hold Me the Forgotten Way, now streaming. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand; Saturday, January 29: REBS! (as in Rebels), Saturday January 29, 5 pm on Zoom or Facebook Live, live from New York.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Hershey Felder as Chopin, scheduled to open in January, has been postponed until August 17, 2022. Sense and Sensibility, a musical, music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, March 9 – April 3, Lucie Stern Theater, Palo Alto, also available streaming.
Word for Word. See webpage for WORD for WORDcast streaming availability.
Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: Current film series.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, Feb. 13 – May 8, 2022.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings, January 16 – June 10, 2022.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.
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.
Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.
If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]