Baba Yaga ★

San Francisco Theater Blog has been reviewing theater in San Francisco since 2002. In all that time the only rule that we have religiously adhered to is No Walking Out At Intermission. You might miss something. 

But, you know, we're not getting any younger. Each hour counts more than it used to. There could be an earthquake that knocks over the Golden Gate Bridge. Time is Money. (Except that we're theatre reviewers so, ha ha ha, no.) Still. Dysfunctional times call for exceptional responses. 

As for "Baba Yaga," Lance Gardener's newest production at Marin Theater Company, written by Kat Sandler, let's just say that when I asked my wife why she didn't insist that we stay for Act Two, after 20+ years of insisting that we show enough respect to the actors to remain in our seats for the entire production, no matter how cringy Act One had been, her answer, tonight, was "I was afraid I had carbon monoxide poisoning because I kept passing out." 

I wanted to slap the actor (I will not say his name) playing the two male leads (each actor plays several parts). It wasn't his fault, he was saying the lines written by the playwright while following the director's orders to make sure his characters were so supercilious and insincere that the audience won't mind when, presumably, they are killed and eaten by the witch in Act Two. 

But it's hard to watch.

The two female leads were trying really hard to pretend to fall for these pathetic young men. The older woman was going to kill the detective, clearly, or at the very least strip him of his bones and grind them down to sprinkle on her vegetables. The younger woman just seemed...empty, as if she had fallen down a well and no one had called Lassie. 

It is possible that this whole thing is a spoof and that Act Two will pay it all off. I may have missed the joke: it has happened before and I won't know until tomorrow when I poll those reviewers whose partners would not let them leave. To be honest, there was lots of squealy laughter from one particular spot in the center of the audience, perhaps from relatives who live deep in the forest and don't get out much. They thought it absolutely spectacular that the young man would kiss the older woman. Can you imagine! Old people kissing! They applauded and whistled. 

There is one big positive: The Super-Duper Burger across the street is as good as ever. 

RATINGS: ★

You get one Star just for showing up.

The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division knows how difficult this business is. We are not mentioning actors' names, for search-engine purposes. But for the sake of our readers, if you do attend, bring a wooden cross and for the love of God do not kiss anybody.

"Baba Yaga"

Marin Theatre Company

397 Miller Avenue. Mill Valley

Until Nov. 3

$30-$80

King James: ★★★ Bang

We never see the King but he's always in the picture.

Rajiv Joseph's terrific take on friendship, as seen through the eyes of two diehard Cleveland Cavalier basketball fans, spans the years between Lebron James's arrival on the Cavaliers as an eighteen-year-old phenom through James's "taking his talents" to the Miami Heat and then (after Intermission) returning to Cleveland years later. The friendship between Shawn (Kenny Scott) and Matt (Jordan Lane Shappell) has its own range of emotional upheavals and is the heart of this touching story.

Matt has season tickets to Cavs games that have belonged to his father. He remembers going the arena with his Dad and hates the fact that his financial difficulties have forced him to sell the tickets for this season. Shawn wants to buy them but doesn't really have the money. Not only that, but he is purchasing a pair of tickets and doesn't have anybody to accompany him to the games. 

Next scene: Not only LeBron leaves Cleveland, but so does Shawn. He is accepted into a writers' graduate program in New York. LeBron! How can you leave Cleveland? Shawn! How can you do it too? Matt is left to carry on.

We especially like Kenny, as we're supposed to, but remain suspicious of Matt. Both Scott and Shappell have their characters' mannerisms down. This is a sports fan's dream story, as the whole concept of fandom is examined in light of friendship and our need to celebrate together. We all need friends as well as teams to cheer for. 

Extra kudos to director Giovanna Sardelli and the production team who use music (Gregory Robinson) and lighting (Steven B. Manshardt) to make extensive scene changes into something fun to watch by themselves.

RATINGS: ★★★ Bang

The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division grants "King James" THREE STARS with a Bangle of Praise. Directing, Staging and Acting earn one Star each and the cool lighting and music merit a well-deserved Bangle.

"King James"

Mountain View Center for Performing Arts

500 Castro St., Mountain View

Through Nov. 3, 2024

$34-$115

Brian Copeland's "Great American Sh*t Show": UNRATED

We are Brian Copeland fans but we're done with hearing about Donald Trump. Copeland's "Great American Sh*t Show," written with Charlie Varon, was first performed by Copeland and Varon in the runup to the 2020 election. It is all about outrage -- how could America possibly have chosen for President this bad talk-show host and fascist as well?

True that. But it's 2024 and here we are again. There's another election coming up, and, wonder of wonders, the Evil Orange is coming at us again. The problem is the same old outrage doesn't cut it anymore.Yes, he's a psychopath and a racist and a pathological liar, and yes, half of America is likely to vote for him again. We've heard it all before. And there is nothing funny about it.

So we would need Brian Copeland to give us something new, like "The Bucket List" or "Grandma and Me," where there is a story to tell. Even an actor as personable as Copeland can't just keep telling us what we already know, without the show feeling like that uncle at Thanksgiving who won't stop spewing the same complaints you heard last year and the year before.

There are some funny bits: naming the tiki torch-wielding white nationalists at Charlottesville "Orchard Supply Racists" -- and being called the N-word by a man driving a Prius -- I guess these are humorous. And perhaps if you still get perverse pleasure in hearing about Trump's many faults, you'll enjoy hearing about them again. 

Better yet, let us all get down on our knees and pray that in a few months we will never have to see that face and hear that name again, on stage or off.

RATINGS: UNRATED

The San Francisco Theater Blog has chosen not to give Brian Copeland's "Great American Sh*t Show" a rating. In our opinion, this is a step up from a rant and not even close to the brilliant performances we have seen from this normally funny and insightful actor.

Brian Copeland's "The Great American Sh*t Show"

October 24, 2024

The Marsh

1062 Valencia St. San Francisco