Arts & Events
The Theater: Actors Ensemble Stages ‘A Dream Play’
Actors Ensemble of Berkeley has taken on an ambitious project—Strindberg’s shape-shifting A Dream Play as a site-specific performance, in and around the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, played during afternoons over the next few weekends. And admission is free. -more-
The Theater: A New Take on Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’
By KEN BULLOCK -more-
The Theater: Daisey Presents ‘Great Men of Genius’
“Brecht is a very challenging ‘Jeopardy’ question,” quipped a deadpan Mike Daisey at the start of the first in his series of four monologues, Great Men of Genius, at the Berkeley Rep thrust stage through July 1. -more-
About the House: Some Thoughts on Bathroom Remodeling
I just love aphorisms. They’re so … so … one-size-fits-all. No bother with versatility or adjustment for circumstances, just “Time and Tides wait for no man” (but they do wait for women as we all know), “Cast not your pearls before swine” (I like the idea of “casting for swine” although it may not be the right season for swine and I think you need a second set of tackle). “Never throw good money after bad” (now which was the bad money? Let me think). Actually, I think I can say something about the last one. -more-
Garden Variety: House and Garden Wares Worth A Look in West Berkeley
When we’re in the Fourth Street shopomania neighborhood we’re usually on the way to buying groceries for Shep the snake, though if we get a parking space we might go see if Cody’s still exists, or stop for lunch at Tacubaya. So it’s no surprise I missed Eastern Classics while the store was nearby, and had go read the little A-frame signboard on the corner to see where the enterprise had gone. -more-
Correction
According to city spokesperson Mary Kay Clunies-Ross, the city’s web page incorrectly states that there is a budget workshop preceding the regular council meeting on June 12. -more-
Open Call for Essays
As part of an ongoing effort to print stories by East Bay residents, The Daily Planet invites readers to write about their experiences and perspectives on living healthy. Please email your essays, no more than 800 words, to firstperson@berkeleydailyplanet.com. We will publish the best essays in upcoming issues. -more-
The Theater: A True New York ‘Death of a Salesman’
A cellist strikes up in pizzicato as an older man, dressed in the fashion of the late ‘40s, shambles onstage at the Julia Morgan Center, gazing out above the audience as if down the road—or into the past. A crowd forms, staring at him—and disperses. A woman’s voice is heard, calling his name. “I’m tired to the death!” And Willy Loman, brilliantly rendered by Corey Fisher, is home again, in Traveling Jewish Theatre’s remarkable version of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. -more-
The Theater: Theater Groups Stage 3 Weeks of ‘365’
Leave it to the Shotgun Players to organize a posse to go after weeks 26, 27 and 30 of playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’ monumental, year-long, nationwide collaborative theater project. -more-
Daily Planet Wins 6 Peninsula Press Club Awards
The Daily Planet’s Justin DeFreitas swept two categories at the Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards Saturday night at Foster City’s Crowne Plaza Hotel. The contest is sponsored by the Peninsula Press Club. -more-
Green Neighbors: Elderberry Tree Stands in the Margins
Elderberry is a bit more a tree than last column’s rose is, but we usually see it as a shrub: multi-trunked, relatively small. But the wonderful natural history writer Donald Culross Peattie called it a tree, and I’ve seen western pewee and other tree-nesting birds make themselves homes in tall specimens; that’s good enough for me. -more-
Open Call for Essays
As part of an ongoing effort to print stories by East Bay residents, the Daily Planet invites readers to write about their experiences and perspectives on living healthy. Please e-mail your essays, no more than 800 words in length, to firstperson@berkeleydailyplanet.com. We will publish the best essays in upcoming issues. -more-