Erika Milvy

San Francisco is coming up big time in the theater world. Not only will the City by the Bay host the third world tour of Hamilton this spring (if you still haven't seen it, you need to GET ON THAT), but there's almost more Tony Award-winning plays and musicals than we can count headed to our humble theaters and performance centers. From up-and-coming tear-jerkers like The Jungle at the Curran to nostalgic shows like Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, there's something for everyone this year in San Francisco theater.  And if you want to start planning for next year, Tina Fey’s Mean Girls the Musical opens in the summer of 2020. RECOMMENDED: Best museums in San Francisco 

Calling all fans of filth, smut and potty talk! Amy Schumer is coming back to town this October as part of her new fall tour which lands at The Paramount in Oakland on October 21. The last time Amy Schumer was in town she performed at Clusterfest. Schumer was her usual smutty self, performing the same material that she had just done hosting SNL. But her new tour—which begins in Newark, New Jersey on September 20 and continues to Nashville, Austin and Atlanta after the Oakland stop—promise all new material. 

A weekend at The Fairmont Hotel’s Santa Suite is exactly the sort of thing that would make Buddy the Elf squeal with Christmas cheer.  From December 3 through December 25, guests are invited to crash at Santa’s house for $1,599 per night. Santa and Mrs. Claus' pied-à-terre atop Nob Hill consists of a two-bedroom luxury suite, with all the sugar and fir you'd expect from North Pole residents, and Santa and the Mrs. have even left some of their actual clothing draped over a chair and in the closet. Photograph: Courtesy Fairmont Hotel   The Santa Suite package includes breakfast for four guests in the Laurel Court Restaurant or delivered to the suite. In-room treats include a candy and hot chocolate bar and a stash of holiday DVDs like A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frozen and, of course, Elf. Adults can spike their cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps, Baileys and Kailua, also included at the chocolate bar, while the kids watch Curious George –A Very Monkey Christmas for the third time. A gingerbread house making kit is also included for guests to assemble and decorate on their own. Afterwards, head down to the lobby to enjoy the hotel's world-famous giant gingerbread house and 23-foot-tall Christmas tree while you anxiously await Santa's arrival. 

The San Francisco Symphony really gets into the holiday spirit. This year, they're celebrating with a jam-packed schedule of festive events featuring world renowned singers, aerial dancers and notable San Francisco personalities like songstress Vanessa Williams and drag queen Peaches Christ. The holiday cheer starts now.    Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Nov 30, Dec 1, 6 at 8pm  Everyone’s favorite animated holiday film comes to life when the San Francisco Symphony performs Danny Elfman’s delightfully quirky score live while Jack Skellington and the gang plot to take over Christmas on the big screen.   Holiday Soul with Vanessa Williams Dec 7, 8 at 7:30pm  America’s first black Miss America turned vocalist and actress Vanessa Williams performs soul, jazz and Christmas classics with The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. Famed for her chart-topping hit, “Save the Best for Last," Williams brings a soulful Christmas performance to the Symphony.   Peter and The Wolf Dec 9 at 2pm  Prokofiev's symphonic fairy tale for children has been narrated by everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt to Sting. This year, Richard Dreyfuss narrates the story in which individual instruments play the part of the story’s characters.    Photograph: Courtesy SF Symphony   A Merry-Achi Christmas Dec 9 at 7:30pm  Mariachi Sol de Mexico returns to Davies Symphony Hall for a festive musical tribute to Mexico’s Christmas traditions. The he ensemble will sing holiday favorites from both Mexico and A

It's going to be a star-studded winter indeed. In the coming months, the Bay Area will be visited by a galaxy of iconic superstars—from those covered in sequins to those covered in face makeup—and many of them are on their LAST TOUR EVER. See these legendary musicians before its too late.      Van Morrison and Shana Morrison November 14, 15 at the Fox Theater Irish singer-songwriter and indubitable music legend Van Morrison performs at Oakland's Fox Theater this month with his daughter Shana Morrison. On her own, Shana's music has been described as pop with a side of blues and a side of rock, while Van is about to release his 40th album of original material. Get tickets.    Fleetwood Mac November 21 at SAP CenterNovember 25 at Oracle Arena Reports of the demise of Fleetwood Mac have been greatly exaggerated. Sure, the pop-folk rock band that ruled the '70s has had many incarnations (this year, the band fired Lindsey Buckingham) but the tour must go on. The band has been making music for over 50 years and will commemorate this milestone with a new 50-song collection called 50 Years—Don't Stop. Get tickets.    Elvis Costello & The Imposters December 1 at the Masonic Elvis Costello is as much a new wave trail-blazer as he is a folk rock legend with records that have skewed from rock to jazz and from blues to bluegrass. A recovered Costello (who recently underwent surgery for cancer) is back with a new U.S. tour and a stop at the Masonic. The tour promotes his new LP Look Now, El

The weather outside is hardly frightful, but that doesn't mean we're not ready for the holiday season's ice-cold attractions. New this year in San Francisco is the Winter Park at Civic Center, which opens this month right across from City Hall and the Asian Art Museum. Modeled after the internationally-famed Wiener Eistraum ice-skating rink in Vienna, Austria, the winter wonderland comes complete with 100x60-foot ice rink and dozens of illuminated trees. Along with adding a third ice rink to the city, the new attraction includes a 400-foot skating track (for those who really want to zoom) which winds through the lighted tree forest. Rendering courtesy of the Winter Park at Civic Center The park will officially open on Friday, November 30 with an inaugural celebration featuring a guest appearance from Sunnyvale-born Olympic champion skater Brian Boitano, a live DJ, family-friendly activities, and more. Throughout the season, the Winter Park will also host iHeart Wednesdays, weekly themed dance parties on the ice, and a HolidayBreaker, an early-morning yoga sesh on the ice. Learn to Curl sessions will happen every Sunday in December and mark your calendar for the holiday tree lighting on December 5. Rendering courtesy of the Winter Park at Civic Center The Winter Park will be open daily from noon–10pm from November 30 through Sunday, January 6, 2019. Tickets are $15–$20, and include skate rentals. Public school child (grades K–12) in the Tenderloin get into the park free of

We’re not going to say its “fetch” but here’s some pretty grool news—Mean Girls the Musical is coming to San Francisco the summer of 2020. SHN just announced that the Broadway show, based on Tina Fey’s cult movie, will be a highlight of their upcoming season. The original movie, starring Lindsey Lohan came out nearly 15 years ago but, girl world hasn’t changed a ton. The story of Regina George and the Plastics and the new girl who upstages the queen bee still resonates. Tina Fey based the Broadway production on her screenplay for the film, which itself was based on Rosalind Weisman’s 2003 non-fiction book, Queen Bees and Wannabees. The sociological tell-all presents an alarming picture of teen tyrants and friendships poisoned by social hierarchies and stealth competition. For Tina Fey, the material screamed out hit comedy. Fey wrote the book for the musical and her husband, three-time Emmy-Award-winner Jeff Richmond wrote the music. Nell Benjamin, who wrote the lyrics for Legally Blonde the Musical, wrote the show’s lyrics. If Fey’s ability to spot teen comedy in Weisman’s parent-coaching was inspired, the next step, making it a musical, was a natural, according to the show’s lyricist Nell Benjamin. “High School is an inherently dramatic time, right?” she said. “The feelings are larger than life and they take over your body in the same way that in the traditional musical a song takes over your body.” In other words, intense teen emotions are perfectly matched to singing your

From July 19 through August 5, The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival will bring 67 movies to theaters around the Bay Area. Here are our top picks for this special fest.  Love, Gilda  The festival’s opening night film, directed by Lisa D'Apolito, is a tribute to the late Gilda Radner, the first cast member in the first season of Saturday Night Live. Her memorable SNL characters included Bill Murray’s nerdy girlfriend Lisa Loopner and Weekend Update correspondents Roseanne Roseannadanna and Emily Litella. Her life with husband Gene Wilder was cut short by ovarian cancer. The film includes home movies and interviews with current and former SNL cast members such as Amy Poehler, Cecily Strong, Laraine Newman and Martin Short.  July 19 at 6:30pm; Castro Theater. $35–$75.  Sammy Davis Jr: I've Gotta Be Me The festival's closing night film reveals the complex personal and political life of the only Black member of the legendary Rat Pack. The film reveals his contradictions: He was a Civil Rights activist who supported J.F.K. and then, in 1972, Richard Nixon. Director Sam Pollard’s film includes interviews with Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis and Whoopi Goldberg. July 22 at 1:45pm; July 29 at 7:45pm; Aug 4 at 4pm; Aug 5 at 4:10pm; various locations. $15.     To Dust This dark comedy won the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award for Best Narrative. Géza Röhrig plays a Hasidic cantor in upstate New York. The recent widow is obsessed with the nuts and bolts of death and decay

If you’re lukewarm for Ludwig but thrilled by "Luke’s Theme," we have just the concert series for you. This spring and summer, the San Francisco Symphony continues their excellent film series with some blockbuster mega-hits, including Star Wars and Harry Potter projected onto a huge screen while the Symphony orchestra performs the score live.  Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets August 11–12; $77–$154 Potterheads will rejoice as Harry Potter returns this August with a screening of The Chamber of Secrets. This is the one with Dobby, the basilisk, the flying car and Tom Riddle’s diary/horcrux. It’s 73 minutes of musical magic composed by John Williams and performed by the Symphony. Tickets will sell out fast!    The Star Wars Trilogy July 19–August 3; $50–$165  Hear the awesome acoustics of intergalactic ass-kicking as the Symphony presents George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy and John Williams’ legendary score. Watch and listen as Luke Skywalker and his motley crew save the galaxy on the big screen. A New Hope: July 19–21  The Empire Strikes Back: July 26–28  Return of the Jedi: July 29–August 3

Naturally, the world’s longest-running and largest showcase of queer cinema takes place in San Francisco every June, the month that gay pride takes over the city just a little bit more than it does on any other day of the year, and this year is no different.  Frameline just announced a lineup of 153 films that will be screened at the 42nd annual San Francisco LGBTQ film festival. The festival runs from June 14 to June 24 and will include narratives, documentaries, episodics, and short films from 39 countries including 25 world premieres. There are all sorts of hidden gems and subjects to fit every proclivity, but here are some standouts playing at theaters in SF, Oakland and Berkeley.   TransMilitary Opening night features a documentary about transgender people in the military. The movie, which won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival, follows four transgender soldiers who make up some of the 5,000 transgender military personnel whose careers are on shaky ground under the new Commander-in-chief. Playing June 14 at 7pm at the Castro Theatre   Man in an Orange Shirt This BBC drama starring Vanessa Redgrave tells the story of Michael and Thomas, British officers who return home together at the end of World War II. Playing June 15 at 9:15pm at the Castro Theatre   The Gospel Of Eureka Narrated by drag chanteuse Justin Vivian Bond, this documentary is about the gospel-themed drag shows that go down in a small Arkansas town just as the town prepares for a historic vote o

The Curran's 2018 season is going to be a real doozy.  Right now, 1980s girl group the Go-Go's get their own musical with the pre-Broadway engagement of Head Over Heels, a new musical comedy from director Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot, Spring Awakening). Head Over Heels is an Elizabethan romp about a royal family who embarks on an extravagant journey to prevent an oracle’s prophecy of doom and save their beloved kingdom. In June, a Trump-era comedic musical comes to town in the first-ever collaboration between Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) and Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home). Titled Soft Power, the story rewinds our recent political history and plays it back through a Chinese lens. In December, Broadway’s biggest hit since Hamilton comes to San Francisco. Dear Evan Hansen, which won the Tony for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score last year, tells the story of a high school student thrust into social relevance after a classmate's suicide. The score, by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, combines insightful, well-crafted lyrics with an exciting contemporary-pop sound.  In November, Taylor Mac—the drag artist whose show, A 24-Decade History Of Popular Music, played for four six-hour nights in September—will be back to ring in the holidays with a new show, Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce. Mac is joined by longtime collaborators, designer Machine Dazzle and music director Matt Ray, and special guests to reframe the songs you love and the holida

The second annual Clusterfest, a three-day comedy fair going down in San Francisco this summer, may have dropped the word colossal from its original title, but the lineup definitely features some monumental talent and fun.   Headliners Jon Stewart headlines the festival and he’s bringing some A-list friends. Expect sets from Amy Schumer, Tiffany Haddish, Michael Che, David Cross, Jim Jefferies, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz and Trevor Noah throughout the weekend. And because the current president will likely be the butt of many of Noah’s jokes, The Daily Show is also setting up the Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library in town. You can explore the finest works from Trump’s Twitter account and even get the chance to compose your own POTUS tweet while sitting upon a golden toilet.   Live music The trio The Lonely Island is making history with its first live concert. Made up of Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, TLI is known for viral hits such as “Dick in a Box,” “Jizz in My Pants” and “Motherlover.” For more throwback hits, check out performances by Bronson, Salt-N-Pepa and Reggie Watts.   Grab a drink at Paddy's Irish Bar Photograph: Courtesy Clusterfest     Drinking opportunities Enter the world of South Park and join Cartman, Kenny and Chef at the county fair, where you can try your luck at classic carnival and drinking games. Also, the team behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia will bring Paddy’s Pub back to life, serving thematic dishes such

The Go-Go’s may be one of those quintessential ’80s bands, but their latest project, Head Over Heels, takes on an entirely different century. The musical, which is set to make its world premiere at the Curran this month, is a retelling of Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, his Elizabethan romp written sometime in the 1580s. This production includes the band’s rockin’ girl-power beats and hits such as “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed” and frontwoman Belinda Carlisle’s No. 1 smash, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.” Directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, American Idiot, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), the story is set in ancient Greece and concerns a royal family’s attempt to prevent the fulfillment of  an oracle’s dark prophecy. If the idea of a Broadway musical stocked with the infectious tunes of an old-school pop band imagined in Greece sounds familiar, though, the similarities stop there. Mayer says that, while Mamma Mia! was meant to be kitschy, Head Over Heels is artistically sophisticated, with a classic text and a feminist message. “It’s a cautionary tale about what might happen if the patriarchy goes unchecked,” says Mayer. “But it’s all done with incredible wit and charm and great music.” So why pair Sir Philip with a 1980s-era girl group? For one thing, Gwyneth Paltrow, one of the show’s producers, calls the Go-Go’s her favorite band, says Mayer. “She said, ‘And my baby daddy [Coldplay frontman Chris Martin] is just going to have to take a pill abou

Jane Lynch’s characters are often hard-edged, overbearing and even a little scary, but Lynch herself is known for showing up early, working hard and being nice to everybody—not exactly the reputation you would expect from Glee’s Sue Sylvester or Steve Carell’s icky boss in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. This year, SF Sketchfest honors Lynch, who has spent four decades in the entertainment industry, with a special tribute. Joining her are Glee creator Ian Brennan, writer Michael Hitchcock and actor John Michael Higgins to discuss her illustrious  career.   TIME OUT: You tend to play characters who are kind of unhinged. How much of your own personality plays into these characters? JANE LYNCH: It’s only unhinged when you’re not aware of it. And I have full awareness of those aspects of myself. The thing with Sue Sylvester is, if you go a little deeper, the warrior shield is actually protecting a tender heart. I will have outbursts now and again that are Sue Sylvester–like, but they’re almost immediately followed by gales of laughter.   TO: Your most recent project, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, deals with a 1950s housewife who tries to break into comedy. Do you relate to her perspective as a woman trying to make a name for herself in a man’s world? JL: I don’t walk around feeling like a woman or a man or whatever. I just did whatever I had to do to get a job and be relevant. I had several roles that were originally written for men.   TO: How did you get those roles? JL: I’ve got grea