Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
Links to assorted local theater & book venues
Bookwaves
Martin Amis (1949-2023), in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky for the “Probabilities” program, recorded in the KPFA studios November 26, 1991 while on tour for the paperback edition of “London Fields.” First of five interviews conducted over a 23 year span.
Martin Amis, who died of esophageal cancer on May 19th, 2023 at the age of 73, was a leading English novelist, essayist, memoirist and screenwriter. Known for such novels as London Fields, Money, Time’s Arrow, The Information and The Zone of Interest, his memoir Experience won the Booker Prize, and his essay collection The War Against Cliché is now considered a classic. The son of novelist and essayist Kingsley Amis, Martin Amis was close friends with Christopher Hitchens, Saul Bellow and Philip Larkin, all of whom he wrote about in his final novel, which was actually a memoir, Inside Story, in 2020.
This is the first of five interviews recorded with Martin Amis. and has not been heard in over a quarter century and was digitized, remastered and edited in May, 2023. Front photo by Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios in 2014. Page photo: Creative Commons.
Artwaves
Bill English, Artistic Director of San Francisco Playhouse, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded via Zencastr May 29, 2023.
San Francisco Playhouse was founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano and has grown into a major regional theatre, with several world premieres later moving on to future productions in New York and elsewhere. In this interview, Bill English discusses the current show at San Francisco Playhouse, Chinglish by David Henry Hwang, which runs through June 10, 2023, and the upcoming production of A Chorus Line, which starts previews on June 22, 2023. He also talks about the upcoming 2023-2024 season, as well as the state of the company three years after the pandemic shutdown. Complete Interview
Review of “Let The Right One In’ at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre through June 25, 2023.
Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links
Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.
Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival Lists of guests at the upcoming Book Festival, May 6-7, 2023, event calendar and links to previous events.
Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith. Monthly Calendar. On-line events only.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.
Live Theater Companies
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC). See website for past streams.
Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
American Conservatory Theatre The Wizard of Oz adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, based on the classic motion picture, June 1 – June 25.
Aurora Theatre Hurricane Diane by Madeleine George, June 16 – July 16. Streaming July 12 -16.
Awesome Theatre Company. Check website for upcoming live shows and streaming.
Berkeley Rep Let The Right One In, a stage adaptation by Jack Thorne. Through June 25, 2023 at the Roda Theatre.
Boxcar Theatre. See website for calendar listings.
Brava Theatre Center: See website for events.
BroadwaySF: The Book of Mormon, May 23 – June 13, Orpheum. Into the Woods, June 20–15, Curran. Les Miserables, July 6 – 23, Orpheum. Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, August 1-27, 2023, Golden Gate.
Broadway San Jose: Beetlejuice, August 1 – 6.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). No 2023 season scheduled. See website for events calendar.
Center Rep: In The Heights, May 27 – June 24.
Central Works The Dignity Circle a new scheme by Lauren Smerkanich June 24 – July 23.
Cinnabar Theatre. Tosca, June 9 – 25.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre 2023-2024 season: Sondheim on Sondheim; Tintypes.
Curran Theater: Into The Woods, direct from Broadway, June 20-25, 2023.
Custom Made Theatre. Tiny Fires by Aimee Suzara, postponed to a later date in 2023.
Cutting Ball Theatre. Towards Opulence, The Opera. June 3-4.
42nd Street Moon. She Loves Me, June 8 – June 24, Gateway Theatre.
Golden Thread See website for ongoing special events.
Landmark Musical Theater. Hair, May 6 – June 4, at the Landmark, 533 Sutter, SF.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. In The Evening By The Moonlight by Traci Tolmaire, co-created and directed by Margo Hall, June 15 – July 2, Young Performers Theatre, Fort Mason, San Francisco.
Magic Theatre. Josephine’s Feast, August 2 – 20. See website for other events at the Magic.
Marin Theatre Company Odyssey written and directed by Lisa Peterson, August 31 – September 24.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) The Confession of Lily Dare by Charles Busch, May 12 – June 11.
Oakland Theater Project. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, May 26 – June 18.
Pear Theater. Falsettos, June 30 – July 23.
PianoFight. Permanently closed as of March 18, 2023.
Presidio Theatre. See website for upcoming productions
Ray of Light: Spring Awakening In Concert, June 8-10, Victoria Theatre. Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, September 8 – October 1, Victoria Theatre. The Rocky Horror Show, Oasis Nightclub, October 6 – 31. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.
San Francisco Playhouse. Chinglish by David Henry Hwang, May 4 – June 10, 2023. A Chorus Line starts June 22, 2023.
SFBATCO See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.
San Jose Stage Company: 40th Anniversary Celebration, June 26, 2023.
Shotgun Players. Yerma based on the play by Federico Garcia Lorca. Through June 18.
South Bay Musical Theatre: Singin’ In the Rain, May 13 – June 3.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Rhino Gumiho, staged reading June 13. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand, New performances most Wednesdays.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, June 7 – July 2, 2023, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
Word for Word. See schedule for one-night readings and streaming performances.
Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season, starting February.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.
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]