{"id":160431,"date":"2026-03-11T15:49:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/160431\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T15:49:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:49:39","slug":"drama-masks-kings-in-their-castle-and-a-queen-in-her-closet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/160431\/","title":{"rendered":"Drama Masks: Kings in their castle\u2014and a queen in her closet"},"content":{"rendered":"

his is Drama Masks<\/a>, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whenever I\u2019m told to \u201cleave out the political stuff\u201d out of my writing, my inner-Miranda Priestly reminds them that politics, like cerulean blue<\/a>, affects everything, whether you know it or not. That\u2019s why it\u2019s not unusual for this leftist website to feature a write-up about doughnuts<\/a> highlighting SF bakeries not owned by MAGAssholes, or an art show that rejects<\/a> Latine stereotypes, or a push for a major arts institution<\/a> to finally grow a spine<\/a>. Since I see things in narratives, I can tell a \u201cminor plot point\u201d (a pretty-boy actor shit-talking ballet and opera<\/a>) from a \u201clong-term character arc.\u201d <\/p>\n

The latter comes to mind when I think of our dear mayor. One year in and Hizzoner has shown that his real constituency owns an AmEx Black Cards. He responded to an act of anti-Semitism by falsely blaming<\/a> the DSA; his tourist-slumming trip through the Tenderloin saw one of his SFPD henchmen attack a homeless man unprovoked<\/a> (only for said homeless man to kick the henchman\u2019s ass); he supposedly played phone-tag with Kirsti Noem<\/a>; and, lest we forget, he and lackey Rafael Mandelman think the mayor should have complete, unchecked power<\/a> over the city. That\u2019s just in the past two weeks.<\/p>\n

Lurie sure is doing a lot to come off as the villain in this narrative. But when another villain bombs Iran just to distract from the Epstein investigation, it shows why someone else would imitate.<\/p>\n

The twist to this story is that the mayor\u2019s not the main character. He and his affluent friends are all bit players in the true story of the people of San Francisco. Danny & Co. think they\u2019re on a campaign to further gild their castles, but it\u2019s the SF proletariat whose story is being followed. No matter how many dildo-shaped towers the evil kings throw up, a single Tenderloin incident like the one above proves that we know this magical land better than they do. They\u2019ve tried every spell they know, but they still haven\u2019t made us all disappear. That\u2019s because this isn\u2019t their tale, it\u2019s ours. Danny Denim only thinks he\u2019s winning the game. He\u2019s not even the final boss.<\/p>\n

Also, I know a guy who has a Lament Configuration<\/a>, so I\u2019m not scared of any spells those guys cast.<\/p>\n

\"\"Amanda Robles as the Lady in the Lake in \u2018Spamalot.\u2019 Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

Spamalot at The Golden Gate Theatre As a Monty Python fan, it has to be said that Spamalot<\/a> (through March 22 and the Golden Gate Theatre, SF) has never been their best work. Yes, it\u2019s based on the troupe\u2019s mythology-dissecting, meme-spawing, Arthurian masterpiece Monty Python and the Holy Grail (with one song carried over from Life of Brian), but it\u2019s missing a lot of the magic that hilarious film. The Pythons were a \u201cright time, right place\u201d success: a post-mod\/pre-Thatcher Great Britain gave their TV screens over to some well-mannered lads who subverted those manners and the dogma behind them. Their lampooning of English customs and moral superiority was what would happen if punk were posh. Also, there were sex and fart jokes.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the Pythons had mixed success with audiences. Sure, many of their sketches were shot before live audiences and the show always had a laugh track, but the Pythons never paused for laughs. The rapid-fire jokes never waited for the audience to catch up before moving onto the next quip or sight gag. Anytime they tried live shows, some of the momentum would be lost by requiring the audience to catch up. So, when founding member Eric Idle wrote the book to a stage redux of Holy Grail, he did so knowing he had to slow down for an audience that likely already knew most of the punchlines.<\/p>\n

Sponsored link<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The touring version currently in SF is performed competently enough by its cast (especially Amanda Robles as the Lady of the Lake), but jokes are stretched like taffy and modern references crowbarred in just to make the audience nod for getting the allusion. Beach Blanket Babylon did it better.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the plus side, the HVAC at the Golden Gate made sure CO\u00b2 levels didn\u2019t get too high, with my Aranet4 peaking around 1,251ppm sliding down before the final bow. Plus, I\u2019ve always enjoyed listening to the original soundtrack with Tim Curry. So, if this is one\u2019s introduction to the world of these wacky Englishmen, I hope they enjoy it as much as the opening night audience did. I also hope they seek out the troupe\u2019s better work, which isn\u2019t limited to this karaoke-style retread of one of their greatest hits.<\/p>\n

SPAMALOT runs through March 22 at the Golden Gate Theatre, SF. Tickets and further info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Maeve Seashore in \u2018The Ache.\u2019 Photo by Robbie Sweeny<\/p>\n

The Ache world premiere at Z Below<\/p>\n

There were several factors that let me know I had to see Maeve Seashore\u2019s new solo show, The Ache (world premiere through March 14 at Z Below). Being an unabashedly queer show was one; direction by Rotimi Agbabiaka was another; knowing every performance required the audience to wear Covid-safe masks meant I, of all people, was damn-near required to go. Six years and counting into this ongoing pandemic, I forget when I was last in a crowd where my Flo Mask didn\u2019t seem out-of-place. And, despite lacking the open space of the mainstage, Z Below pleasantly surprised me with CO\u00b2 peaking around 1,336ppm during the hourlong show.<\/p>\n

Said show is the story of Ruth (Seashore), shortened from \u201cThe Truth\u201d because \u201csome people can\u2019t handle The Truth.\u201d Ruth is a sentient high-heel (as inventively designed by Marina Agabekov and Alina Bokovikova) owned by a trans drag performer. The unnamed performer can no longer perform due to an unspecified illness. That\u2019s why Ruth has been thrown into a literal closet after her owner fought so hard to come out of one. Feeling lonely, Ruth has uses us for the therapy session she wants to have with her owner\u2014one flips the script on Disney villains; features giant, dancing vibrators and pill bottles; and hinges on the realization that \u201chealing requires kindred spirits\u201d.<\/p>\n

Since it\u2019s only an hour (and told from the POV of a shoe), The Ache isn\u2019t much for specific character depth. Yet, it\u2019s impossible to deny Seashore\u2019s knack for turns-of-phrase (\u201cI am a statement piece-in-hiding; I am a gem in a paper bag\u201d) and ownership of the songs. Seashore doesn\u2019t possess a terrific singing voice, yet neither does Bj\u00f6rk. Neither did Prince. Can you imagine anyone else doing their songs? Yes, another person could bring a genuine belt to the painfully confessional big-band songs (featuring a six-piece orchestra on stage), but none would bring the catharsis and joie de vivre to this none-too-subtle roman \u00e0 clef.<\/p>\n

Though the short story is rough in presenting its narrative, Seashore\u2019s performance and Agbabiaka\u2019s direction make sure it\u2019s never dull. If anything, its lead\u2019s journey through an unspoken illness would almost seem worth it just to hear the tale told. And the mask requirement for every performance shows a level care for performer and audience that\u2019s sadly been missing in theatre of late.<\/p>\n

THE ACHE: A NEW MUSICAL runs through March 14 at Z Below, SF. Tickets and further info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"his is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-160431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}