TUESDAY, NOV. 13 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

“Make Art NOT War” Artists are invited to bring their works to display along the sidewalk in front of the Marine Recruiting Station, 64 Shattuck Square, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 548-7119. 

"Recycling Issues in Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville: What You Should Know" with Martin Bourque, Executive Director of the Berkeley Ecology Center and Nicole Almaguer, Albany Community Development Dept. at noon at Albany Library, at Marin and Masonic, Albany. Brown bag lunch sponsored by the League of Women Voters. 843-8824. 

“The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot: A Citizen’s Call to Action” with author Naomi Wolf at 7:30 pm, at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$13. 415-255-7296, ext. 253. www.globalexchange.org/naomiwolf 

“Intellegence and Counter-Terrorism” with Ram Sidi, veteran member of Israel’s counter-terrorism establishment at 4 p.m. in the Toll Room, Alumni House, UC Campus. 642-7747. 

“Human Rights for European Gypsies” with C J Singh, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Bancroft and Piedmont. 642-9460. 

Writer Coach Connection Volunteers needed to help Berkeley students improve their writing and critical thinking skills from noon to 3 p.m. To register call 524-2319. www.writercoachconnection.org  

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Community Meeting on Redesign of City of Oakland Website at 7 p.m. at LAkeside Park GArden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave. Other meetings throught the month. For the survey see www.oakland.net/survey For information call 449-4401.  

“Older and Wiser: Basic Legal Knowledge for Living Well to the End,” with estate planning attorney Sara Diamond at 1:15 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 981-5190. 

American Red Cross Blood Services is holding a volunteer orientation at 6 p.m. Advanced sign-up is required; please call 594-5165.  

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., and Sat. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122.  

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14 

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Amir H. Gohar “Balancing Tourism Development and Cultural Site Preservation Along the Red Sea Coast” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium 

Civilian War Victim Series “Collateral Damage” with Dr. Brian Gluss at 1 p.m. at Emeryville Senior Center, 4321 Salem, Emeryville. 596-3730. 

AnewAmerica’s Gala & Microbusiness Expo at 6 p.m. at the Holy Redeemer Conference Center, 8945 Golf Links Rd., Oakland. Tickets are $85. 540-7785. www.anewamerica.org 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Sing for Peace at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Stitch ‘n Bitch at 6:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

THURSDAY, NOV. 15 

“Countryside Living: Impacts to Wildlife and Watersheds” with Dr. Adina Merender at 7 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Sponsored by the Golden Gate Audubon Society. 843-2222. 

“Current Research at Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary” with research coordinator Dr. Lisa Etherington at 12:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

“Playground” new extreme ski and snowboard film by Warren Miller at 8 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. www.warrenmiller.com  

“Aging Artfully” with Amy Gorman on Profiles of 12 Visual and Performing Women Artists 85 – 105 at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. 526-7512.  

Babies & Toddlers Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

TUESDAY, NOV. 13 

CHILDREN 

Children’s Delight Musical Theeater for ages 3 and up at 6:30 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

Illustration Workshop with illustrator M. Sarah Klise of “Regarding the Fountain” at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. For ages 7 and up. 981-6223. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Naomi Wolf describes “The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot: A Citizen’s Call to Action” at 7:30 p.m. at , First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$13. www.globalexchange.org/naomiwolf 

“The Country in the City: The Greening of the San Francisco Bay Area” Author Richard Walker, in conversation with Rebecca Solnit at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

“Anarchy and Art” with author Allan Antliff at 7 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. 208-1700. 

Poetry Flash with Matthea Harvey & Joe Wenderoth at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 525-5476. www.poetryflash.org 

Freight and Salvage Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $4.50-$5.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

John Truby explains “The Anatomy of a Stroy: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller” at noon at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Page Stegner introduces “The Selected Letters of Wallace Stegner” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Junior Reid, Reggae Angels at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic with Kelly Park at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Andrew Sammons, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Vital Information at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14 

CHILDREN 

“BookSongs” Gerry Tenney sings folksongs inspired by the books you love at 3:30 p.m. at the Claremont Branch, Berkeley Public Library, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 981-6280. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Spaces” Photographs by Warren Glettner opens at the Christensen Heller Gallery, 5829 College Ave., Oakland. 655-5952. 

FILM 

“Contortions: The Perfomance Work of Patty Chang” with filmmaker Patty Chang in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhoda Curtis reads from her memoire “Rhoda: Her First Ninety Years” at 6:30 p.m. at the North Branch, Berkeley Public Library, 1170 the Alameda at Hopkins. 981-6250.  

Tony Platt, coauthor with Cecilia O'Leary of “Bloodlines, Recovering Hilter's Nuremberg Laws, From Patton's Trophy to Public Memorial” at 7:30 p.m. at Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 388-8932. www.hillsideclub.org 

Ann Vileisis discusses “Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need o Get It Back” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Joel Behrman Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Whiskey Brothers, old-time and bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Bandworks at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Diablo’s Dust at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Benny Velarde at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8:30 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

VOCO with Moira Smiley at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Vital Information at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, NOV. 15 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Creative Reuse” works by Oakland students. Opening reception at 5:30 p.m. at 472 Water St., Jack London Square, Oakland. On display to Dec. 16. 465-8770, ext. 310. 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Guided tour at 12:15 p.m.at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

Patrick O’Kiersey “Selected Paintings and Drawings” Opening reception at 5 p.m. at the Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery, Atrium, State of California Office Bldg. 1515 Clay St., Oakland. 622-8190. 

THEATER 

Hecho in Califas “Amor Cubano” Written and performed by Eric Aviles at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Patty Chang” A performance by the video/performance artist at 6 p.m.at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Barbara Becnel introduces and discusses Stanley “Tookie” Williams’ memoir “Blue Rage, Balck Redemption” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Donation of $10 suggested. 559-9500. 

The Holloway Series in Poetry: Rachel Levitsky: A poetry reading With graduate poet Gillian Osborne. Thursday, November 15th at 6:30pm 315 Wheeler Hall (the Maude Fife Room) on UCB campus Description: Avant-garde poet and critic Rachel Levitsky is a writer "committed to social and spiritual change." Her poems are often "highly charged, quick-to-read, funny and smart," sometimes vulnerable and bare, always engrossing For more info: http://holloway.english.berkeley.edu 

Adrian Tomine introduces “Shortcomings” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

John Hamamura reads form his novel “Color of the Sea” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Carol String Trio will present a free chamber music concert at the Central Berkeley Public Library on Thursday, November 15, from 12:15 to 1 pm. Violinist Brooke Aird, violist Linda Green and cellist Cathy Allen will perform works by Bach, Gliere and Dohnanyi. The performance takes place at the Central Berkeley Public Library, 5th Floor, 2090 Kittredge Street (at Shattuck), which is wheelchair accessible. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. For more information, call 510-981-6100 or visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.  

New Century Chamber Orchestra Baroque concert with Margaret Batjer at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $28-$42. 415-357-1111. www.ncco.org 

Yo-Yo Ma, cello and Kathryn Scott, piano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $50-$125. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

dysFUNKtion Dance performance by UC Berkeley’s Asian American Association at 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $10 at the door.  

Aumnibus, acoustic world, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $TBA. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Infamous Stringdusters at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Snake Trio with Marco Grandos at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Mike Stadler at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Faun Fables, Yva Las Vegas, Loretta Lynch at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

Gato Barbieri at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

“What do I know about a heart? To me, a man’s an asset!” Mae West’s very intonation is proverbial—though just after the start of Sex, her 1926 Broadway blockbuster now revived at the Aurora, she intones, not too piously: “Don’t give me that church business again; you’ll get me goin’ back to the old homestead.” 

That’s what a good deal of the ’20s were about, and another reason they were called roaring. After the First World War, they couldn’t keep ‘em down on the farm, and the duplicities of middle class respectability versus the facts of life, which the novelists and playwrights of Europe and America had been exposing for a couple of generations or so, became the stuff of popular entertainment.  

Vaudeville spawned burlesque—and in a way, burlesque spawned Mae West. Sometimes called “the greatest female impersonator who actually was female,” Mae’s mannerisms were as exaggerated as the—assets—that got a life jacket named after her during the next world war. And Sex, the play and the risque’ subject matter, was what got her over the top and in the nation’s eye (or face) for over 50 years. 

Risqué—the very word summons up a lost half-world of knowing words, looks, gestures ... moves ... that played off the polite meaning of things, the naughty exhibitionistic side of hip, or louche. Lenny Bruce’s bumper shots off compulsive morality now often draw blank looks; how will the hoarier poses of wisecracking Mae make out in The Postmodern? 

Maybe better, as—like current icons such as Madonna—she’s all show, all provocation, in fact a lot of talk, especially when removed from her milieu, one informed with constant tension over behavior, over the social mask. 

So how does the venerable Aurora, under the steady hand of artistic director Tom Ross, turn such a relic of bygone showmanship for contemporary consumption? Wisely, by concentrating on a good time had by all—a reduction of a tour-de-force of yore to a nostalgic entertainment, brought off by skillful entertainers. 

The one tour-de-force remaining is Delia MacDougall’s playing of the lead character, Miss Marguerite (Margy) LaMont, as something more than a bravura impression of Mae. She plays Mae West in every sense, makes her image live, a real icon. 

The rest of the cast was chosen well, having to play two or three roles each, especially two other real troupers, Steve Irish as Mae’s limey squeeze off a lime squeezer, Lt. Gregg, and Maureen McVerry as slummer and thrillseeker “Clara Smith,” showing considerable physical comic skill on her way down to the floor and back up again. 

Kristin Stokes is very bright and funny, touching as a good girl gone bad, and hoping to go back. Mae’s comment: “Agnes’ idea of a good time is to hear the bells chiming and have a good cry ... If I were as dissatisfied as you are, I’d join the Salvation Army.” She also plays a French maid and a chanteuse in the Cafe Trinidad, getting into a funny six-legged dance number with others in the ad-lib chorus. 

It’s that chorus, or ensemble, that really counts, from the framing device of New York Times critic sniffing and Variety scribbler spieling about Mae’s hit, to the panoply of popular—and forgotten—romantic tunes, dance numbers (from “Shake That Thing” to “Everybody’s Shimmying Now”) to Mae’s own versions of red hot mama crooners.  

It’s all a lot of fun, well-executed (if in a way cinematicized, the direction Mae went in from Broadway) with one really funny twist of plot which spices up a suburban parlor scene. But it doesn’t quite catch—though it strives very well—the tone of double-entendre, of artificiality versus sordid reality, which burlesque and the original pulp fiction used to bravely signify, proud to be “genre,” generic.  

On a more middle-to-highbrow level, reading Anita Loos also proves a little bit of a wash-out as far as seeing what all the fuss was about, while her friend Dorothy Parker comes across a little better. But to catch the dark undertow that closed Sex down when it was a success on Broadway and made Mae stand up in the black maria all the way to headquarters in a way that still aches, that’s still all-too-current, it’s necessary to see certain plays of O’Neill—or read Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. 

SEX 

8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday;  

2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 9 at the Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addision St.  

$28-$50. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org.