Steppin’ Out With My Honey…

Last night was “dress-up and go to The City”.

Several weeks ago I saw ads for “The Black Rider” playing at the ACT. Black Rider was a collaboration between Robert Wilson, Tom Waits and William S Burroughs. I had never heard of the first, but I (of course) know of the other two, and those names alone were enough to make me spend far too much on second row seats.

The show was everything I might have hoped for from such a collaboration.

Wonderful music (with a live orchestra playing such bizarre instruments as a glass harmonica, a didgeridoo and a saw and bow. The production was stunning and captivating. It was done in a minimalist, expressionist style, yet still kept you completely entranced. It was as-if Tim Burton decided to produce Kabuki theater.

This was also my first time seeing a show in the ACT. I can remember back in ’89, during my first visit to San Francisco for some MacWorld tradeshow. I stayed in the Hotel Diva, right on Geary across the street from the ACT, and I would sleep with my head right at the window sill, listening to the theater crowd gather before the show, and then the buzz and chatter during intermission, and then the river of people leaving after the show. Having been a theater geek in college, I very much wanted to see the inside of the theater (what kind of scene shop do they have, I wonder?) and eventually see a show there. I’m embarrassed I waited so long, but it was well worth it. It’s just a gorgeous, grand old theater. Next time I need to find out how one gets a box seat. And I won’t wait fifteen years for a “next time”.

Last night scratched a lot of itches. The live theater itch, the live music itch, the surreal experience itch, the dressing up itch. All in all, a good night.