Good Times on a Sliding Scale

As we learned from a certain episode of Maude, nobody comes to a fundraising party for a black militant if you inform them beforehand of your intention to shake them down for money. But surely such tangential rules don't apply to a benefit party for a film that exposes the particular challenges gay youth face to survive under state foster care. The distressing name of this informal gathering is "Institutionalized," and the event benefits a local film from Shanestar Productions called America's Most Unwanted: Stories of Hope and Survival from Former Foster and Group Home Youth. If that title isn't long enough for you, the vaudevillian entertainment lineup should be: Penny Whistle, Poonie Jones, Delicio Del Toro, and Jay Walker provide kingly drag diversions; Twilight Vixen Revue unleashes showgirl glamour and a glossed-up repertoire of Broadway standards; DJ Jenny Hoyston of Erase Errata fame spins throughout the night; and Origami performs live music. Far removed from the ancient Japanese art of paper folding that is their namesake, the members of Origami moved to San Francisco from Melbourne several years ago, unwittingly committing themselves to a lifetime of '60s surf- and No Wave-inspired benefit concerts for a never-ending string of good causes in the Bay Area.
Fri., Nov. 2, 10 p.m., 2007