84 stories by "Leslie Katz"
After a four-year drought relieved by a season of El Niño rain, what could be more appropriate than a new ballet by a California native, with a score composed by »
The post Smuin Bal…
It's too bad that not all storytelling theater pieces can have a soundtrack as eloquent as the one in "Second Time Around." Compositions by Jean Jeanrenaud of Kronos Quartet fame »
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The best part of Justin Bieber's concert Thursday at the SAP Arena in San Jose was when he invited a young woman onstage to tie his floppy blond hair back »
The post Justin Bieber comes…
About 30 minutes into his nearly 3 ½ hour concert at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on Sunday, Bruce Springsteen surfed the crowd during a great sing-along version of "Hungry »
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With plenty of tulle, glitter and living dolls, San Francisco Ballet's happy production of "Coppélia" hides a dark core. Léo Delibes' lively score, choreography by George Balanchine and Al…
San Francisco Opera's new venture, called SF Opera Lab, is admittedly small. "One of the keys is the intimacy. Historically, San Francisco Opera produced grand-scale opera, and we have a …
Personal and political issues come to the fore in funny, fascinating and provocative ways in "The Call," a thoroughly engaging play by Tanya Barfield exploring the intricate relationships an…
San Francisco Performances' administrator Christine Lim admits that the first of the group's new, four-concert PIVOT series will be weird. "It's going to be crazy … and crazy fun," says &#…
Does the world really need "Dirty Dancing"The Classic Story on Stage"? No. Is it a guilty pleasure for fans of a certain little 1987 flick? A qualified yes. Faithful to »
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"Bridges: A New Musical," a world premiere at Berkeley Playhouse, covers a lot of ground. It's also a keeper. With a book and lyrics by Cheryl L. Davis and catchy »
The post 'Bridges' t…
Good versus evil rarely has center stage in popular entertainment, unless it's a movie based on Marvel Comics. We shy away from the big dichotomies because we feel we are »
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"Aubergine," Julia Cho's lovely theatrical meditation on food and family, goes down easy. Directed by Tony Taccone, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre world premiere is sweet, savory and a littl…
Bay Area flamenco great Yaelisa is doing something for the first time in performances this weekend: looking back. The San Francisco-born and bred dancer, who appears in the retrospective tit…
"Do we need another version of 'Someone To Watch Over Me"? I don't think so," said Paula West near the beginning of the opening night of her annual four-week residency »
The post Paula …
As composer John Adams calls his 1988 work "Fearful Symmetries" a "seriously aerobic piece," it's easy to understand why it's been used for many ballets, and why Royal Ballet choreographer &…
"Whoa-Man!" is an avant-garde clown show that highlights the fool character to show audiences what's true. That's the aim of Maya Lane, founder of the performance troupe Fou Fou Ha!, »
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"Jersey Boys" is here to stay. A decade after Broadway smash about the rise of the 1960s pop group The Four Seasons began its national tour at the Curran Theatre, »
The post Fans keep w…
What do you get when you mix choreographers Helgi Tomasson, Yuri Possokhov and William Forsythe in a program? One of the most diverse and satisfying concerts given by San Francisco »
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San Francisco Ballet opened its 83rd season Thursday with lovely classics and lots of couples in a show not quite as "Provocative" as its one-word title promised. Playing to the »
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Choreographer Hervé Koubi's dance "What the Day Owes to the Night" is an intensely personal journey. "I had to give life to my orientalist dreams. … I had to do »
The post Choreograp…
San Francisco Opera will offer new productions — including a world premiere tailor-made to draw attendance from the Bay Area's large Chinese-American community, as well as restaged pre…
After a sold-out run in the fall, "Star Trek Live! Mudd's Women" is back at Oasis, and what could be a better intergalactic kickoff to 2016? The spoof in the »
The post Beam up 'Star Tr…
With a title like "Date Night at Pet Emergency," Lisa Rothman's one-woman show at the Marsh in Berkeley sounds like a wild affair filled with goofy gags and nonstop laughs. »
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For Seth MacFarlane, singing traditional pop songs with the San Francisco Symphony is an ideal way to spend New Year's Eve. Last year, he was asked to appear with the »
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Headlining the 23rd annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy this week at San Francisco's New Asia Restaurant, Wendy Liebman is holding a record " topping the holiday bill (of Jewish comics »
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