Encore
Our critics weigh in on local theater
The Rules of Charity. John Belluso's engrossing new play describes what it's like to eke out a living in America on meager disability checks and food stamps. If poverty isn't enough to define Monty (Warren David Keith) -- whose cerebral palsy keeps him confined to a wheelchair and his daughter confined to the state of permanent caregiver -- as a social pariah, the fact that he's gay ought to do it. Belluso's writing veers into the terrain of soap opera toward the end, but it's powerful stuff nonetheless. Exploring the way Monty (both as an individual and as an archetypal American charity case) elicits polar responses from the other characters, this stylishly directed and subtly performed production shows how acts of generosity and good will often have little in common with the motives that lie beneath them. Through June 18 at the Magic Theatre Northside, Fort Mason, Marina & Buchanan, S.F. Tickets are $20-38; call 441-8822 or visit www.magictheatre.org. (Chloe Veltman) Reviewed May 11.
Also Playing
AIDS: The Made for TV Musical! New College, 777 Valencia (at 19th St.), 437-3487.
Arabian Night The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby (at MLK Jr.), Berkeley, 510-841-6500.
Are We Almost There? Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter (at Powell), 433-3040.
Art SF Playhouse, 536 Sutter (at Powell), 677-9596.
BATS: Sunday Players Fort Mason, Bldg. B, Marina & Buchanan, for more information call 474-6776.
Beach Blanket Babylon Club Fugazi, 678 Green (at Powell), 421-4222.
Beyond Therapy Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter (at Powell), 433-3040.
Big City Improv Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter (at Powell), 433-3040.
Broken Hallelujah Zeum, 221 Fourth St. (at Howard), 749-2228.
CANTINFLAS! La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck (at Prince), Berkeley, 510-849-2568.
Comedy Improv at Your Disposal Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter (at Powell), 510-595-5597.
The Dharma of Dollars The Marsh, 1062 Valencia (at 22nd St.), 826-5750.
Eighth Annual National Queer Arts Festival Multiple locations, multiple addresses within San Francisco, 864-4124, www.queerculturalcenter.org.
GayProv Off-Market Studio, 965 Mission (at Fifth St.), 896-6477.
The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia? Geary Theater, 415 Geary (at Mason), 749-2228.
The Grand Inquisitor The Thick House, 1695 18th St. (at Arkansas), 401-8081.
Honour Berkeley Repertory's Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison (at Shattuck), Berkeley, 510-647-2949.
Hothouse Magic Theatre, Fort Mason, Bldg. D (Marina & Buchanan), 441-8822.
Hush Up, Sweet Charlotte Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 620 Sutter (at Mason), 474-8800.
"Intrigue in the Mansion: Murder Mystery Dinner" The Archbishop's Mansion, 1000 Fulton (at Steiner), 563-7872.
Legacies Untied Lust Unleashed Buriel Clay Theater, 762 Fulton (at Webster), 861-8208.
Les Miserables Curran Theatre, 445 Geary (between Taylor and Mason), 551-2000.
Love, Chaos & Dinner Pier 29, Embarcadero (at Battery), 273-1620.
Medea: The Musical Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St. (at South Van Ness), 861-5079.
Menopause the Musical Theatre 39 at Pier 39, 2 Beach (Beach & Embarcadero), 433-3939.
Monday Night Improv Jam Climate Theater, 285 Ninth St. (at Folsom), 364-1411.
Monday Night Marsh The Marsh, 1062 Valencia (at 22nd St.), 826-5750.
Moonlight Last Planet Theatre, 351 Turk (at Hyde), 440-3505.
San Francisco Improv Festival The Next Stage, 1620 Gough (at Bush) (Trinity Episcopal Church), 863-1076.
some life Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy (at Taylor), 673-3847.
Someday, Love New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness (at Market), 861-8972.
Tall Tales Children's Fairyland, 699 Bellevue (at Grand), Oakland, 510-452-2259.
Tea at Five Marines Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter (at Mason), 771-6900.
Thanatics: A Rock Opera Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy (at Taylor), 673-3847.
"Throckmorton Stories" 142 Throckmorton Theatre, 142 Throckmorton (at Madrona), Mill Valley, 383-9600.
Viva Variety Buriel Clay Theater, 762 Fulton (at Webster), for more information call 863-0741.
What's Wrong With Angry? New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness (at Market), 861-8972.
Whoop-Dee-Doo! New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness (at Market), 861-8972.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Actors Theatre San Francisco, 533 Sutter (at Powell), 296-9179.
