San Francisco Entertainment
Since the days of the Barbary Coast, San Franciscans have liked to be
entertained. They pack blues and comedy clubs, plays, movies, and the
opera. San Francisco also has a long tradition, by American standards,
of a vital visual art scene.
Art
Art in San Francisco was given a shot in the arm by the recent
completion of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA). While
there are those who contend that the best thing about the museum is the
building iteself - a striking, striped, skylit cylinder designed by
Swiss architect Mario Botta - there is no question that its excellent
temporary exhibitions have drawn tens of thousands of San Franciscans
who might otherwise not have bothered to come to an art show. Across
Third Street, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts has interesting
exhibitions, often of larger multimedia installations and kinetic
sculpture, in its two-floor gallery. The M.H. de Young Memorial Museum
in Golden Gate Park and the newly renovated California Palace of the
Legion of Honor (a handsome classical pavilion with Rodins "The
Thinker" at its entrance) are San Francisco's fine art museums. The
world-famous Asian Art Museum, next to the de Young, is a must-see.
Most of San Francisco's private art galleries are clustered downtown,
to the east of Union Square on Geary and Sutter Streets. The more
experimental galleries operate near the SoMa lofts and in Potrero Hill.
Cinema
San Franciscans enjoy movies more than most, or so it seems. Popular
features, particularly edgy comedies, can be sold out for weeks. New
screens are opening all the time to meet the demand, with the AMC 1000
on Van Ness offering 14 screens, and the Sony Theaters Metreon housing
16, including one IMAX. San Franciscans love independent cinema, too. In
spite of the multiplex phenomenon, San Francisco moviegoers support
quirky rep houses like the Castro, with its mighty Wurlitzer organ, and
the Roxie, with its funky and eclectic programming.
The San Francisco International Film Festival, the oldest film
festival in the Americas, draws filmmakers, critics and movie buffs from
all over the world for its two-week run every year. There are also more
specialized film festivals operating throughout the year, including the
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the Jewish
Film Festival, and the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay
Film Festival, the oldest of its kind anywhere. The Yerba Buena Center
for the Arts also presents a frequently changing program of experimental
and documentary films.
Comedy
San Francisco has always been a great town for comedy. Its Standup
Comedy Competition winners have been virtually guaranteed television
contracts. Cobbs and the Punch Line are two of the oldest and most
popular comedy clubs.
Dance
San Francisco Ballet has long been one of the worlds premier companies
with a variety of other companies, such as the globe trotting and
award-winning ODC, making San Francisco their home base. More
experimental modern dance has found a friendly venue at the Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts Theater.
Museums
San Francisco's other museums are varied and worth visiting. They
include, to mention but a few, the Mexican Museum, the Museo
Italoamericano, the African-American Historical & Cultural Society
Museum all at Fort Mason Center, the Jewish Museum, California Academy
of Sciences (for natural history) and, designed for kids but great for
grown-ups, too, Zeum and the Exploratorium.
Theater
Not even San Francisco's most blustery pretentions can obscure the fact
that its theatre scene can be uneven.
The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) presents innovative
productions of excellent plays, old and new, at the Geary Theater, as
does the Berkeley Rep across the Bay. The Curran puts on both
commendable touring plays and musicals. Aside from the big touring
productions at the Orpheum and the cavernous Golden Gate, and a handful
of small houses like the Theater on the Square-often given over to
popular confections like "Shear Madness," there is only a
fringe theater scene in San Francisco. The Magic Theatre, a leading
interpreter of Sam Shephard Plays, at Fort Mason Center and a few
independent, theater-less companies do mount entertaining productions
here and there. Performance spaces, such as Theatre Artaud in the
Potrero Hill area or The Marsh in the Mission, host occasional
experimental plays.
The Music Scene
Classical
The award-winning San Francisco Symphony Orchestra plays at ultra-modern
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. Its music director and principal
conductor is the charismatic Michael Tilson Thomas, who recently won a
slew of Grammys. Touring soloists and symphonies play at Davies, Masonic
Auditorium, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and other venues throughout
town. In the summertime, the natural amphitheater at Stern Grove (on
Sloat Boulevard in the Sunset District) features outdoor concerts by the
Symphony, the Opera, and other performers.
Jazz
While in recent years the failure of Keystone Korner and Kimballs West
have left the city without a regular venue for jazz (the best jazz club
in the Bay Area, Yoshis, is across the Bay in Oakland), jazz fans
delight in the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival. It features legends
like Elvin Jones and Sonny Rollins, as well as lesser-known, more
experimental performers. The Festival always gives due acknowledgement
to the Latin influences of jazz, with heavies like Eddie Palmieri and
the stars of the Buena Vista Social Club. The San Francisco Jazz
Festival is establishing a Spring series to complement its regular
October run.
Rock/Pop
San Francisco is inextricably linked with the history of rock n' roll.
The return of the Fillmore Auditorium (of Hendrix fame) has been a boon
for rock fans. The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is another venue for big
shows, and the new Pacific Bell Park will likely be used for outdoor
concerts and major league baseball. The Maritime Hall has become popular
for mid-sized shows. Slims and the Great American Music Hall are good
settings for performances on a smaller-but no less intense--scale.
Nightclubs
There are night clubs all over the city, but locals favor North Beach,
and especially SoMa. Most clubs have disc-jockeyed music, but live bands
are common. Bimbos 365 Club (a sexy, must-see retro fantasy spot that
puts on more blues and jazz than it does rock n' roll), the Justice
League, and the Transmission Theater have all hosted well-known acts
that have packed the hall.
Opera
Next door to Davies Hall, at the beaux-arts Opera House, the San
Francisco Opera has an even more devoted following than the Symphony.
They mix classic operas with modern ones, including their recent
premiere of "A Streetcar Named Desire" scored by Andre Previn.
Doug Gorney
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