FRIDAY, SEPT. 14 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Eugenie Scott on “The Evolution of Creationism” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

Emergnecy Free Speech Rally in the Memorial Oak Grove to protest the ten foot chainlink fence around a dozen tree-sitting environmental protesters and the chilling effect UC’s actions are having on free speech at 1:30 p.m. in the Oak Grove next to Memorial Stadium, Piedmont Way north of International House. www.saveoaks.com 

“Don’t Fall for It” Learn the right ways to maintain good balance and prevent falls at 10 a.m. at Salem Lutheran Home, 2361 East 29th St. Free individualized screening after the talk. 534-3637. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Children’s Hospital, Outpatient Center Basement, 747 52nd St., Oakland. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

Conscientious Projector Film Series “When the Levees Broke” by Spike Lee at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Donation requested. 528-5403. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253.  

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15 

Coastal Cleanup along the Berkeley Waterfront from 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at 9 a.m. behind Seabreeze Market at the corner of University Ave. and Frontage Rd. For other coastal clean-up sites see www.coastforyou.org 

Oakland’s Creek to Bay Day Volunteers need to remove litter and non-native invasive species at 16 locations in Oakland. For details about locations call 238-7611 or see www.oaklandpw.com/creeks 

Creek to Bay Day at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park A creek clean-up and beautification event. Tools, water and snacks provided. Bring sunscreen, hat, gloves and rubber boots. From 9 a.m. to noon at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465 34th Ave., Oakland. 532-9142. 

Albany Waterfront Trail Cleanup Meet at 9 a.m. at the foot of Buchanan, west of 880. Bring water and be dressed to get dirty. 759-1689. 

Community Peace Rally & Concert from 1 to 5 p.m. at People’s Park with music, speakers, tables and action circles. peacerally07@hotmail.com 

Walking Tour of Historic Oakland Churches and Temples Meet at 10 a.m. at the front of the First Presbyterian Church at 2619 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www. 

oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Oakland Point Meet at 10 a.m. at Cypress Feeway Memorial Park, Mandela Parkway between 13th and 14th St. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Historical and Botanical Tour of Chapel of the Chimes from 10 a.m. to noon at 499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. RSVP to 228-3207. 

Chalk4Peace A chalk art project for children midday at Museum of Childrens’ Art, 538 9th St., Oakland. 465-8770, ext. 310. and at Cragmont Elementary School, 830 Regal Rd. 644-8810. www.chalk4peace.org 

“The Day the Earth Stood Still” Oakland Outdoor Movie Series at 8:30 p.m. on Ninth St. between Broadway and Washington, Oakland. Filmgoers are encouraged to bring thier own chairs and blankets. 238-4734. 

Free Earthquake Retrofit Seminar sponsored by the Association of Bay Area Governments from 10 a.m. to noon at Albrier Community Center, 2800 Park St. 418-1676. http://quake.abag.ca.gov/fixit  

Interreligious Art & Music Festival from 1-5pm at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley, Ave. http://drbu.org/ 

research/iwr/festival 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Demystifying Tofu, Tempeh, and Seitan” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $45 plus $5 materials fee. To register call 531-2665. www.compassionatecooks.com  

Positively Ageless A Celebration of Art & Aging at 6 p.m. at 4th Street Studio, 1717 Fourth St. Cost is $25. Benefits Adult Day Services Network of Alameda County. www.fourthstreetstudio.com 

Friends of the Albany Library Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room of the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

Chapel of the Chimes Historical and Botanical Tour at 10 a.m. at 4499 Piedmont Ave. RSVP to 228-3207. 

Kidpower Parent Child Workshop for chidren aged 4-8 to learn everyday safety skills, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Berkeley. Cost is $60, no one turned away. Email to register and for location. safety@kidpower.org www.kidpower.org 

“Crazy, Sexy Cancer Tips” with author Kris Carr at 3 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Saturday Music Classes for Children and Youth in Choir, Marimba, bands, drumming and dance begin at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, 1616 Franklin St., Oakland. 836-4649, ext. 112. www.opcmusic.org 

AAU Boys Basketball Tryouts for 12U, 13U and 14U teams from noon to 2 p.m. at the Downtown Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way. For information call 665-3264.  

Fast Pitch Softball for Adults at noon on Saturdays in Oakland. For information call 204-9500. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

SUNDAY, SEPT. 16 

Bike Against the Odds for the Breast Cancer Fund at 6:30 a.m. at Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt, Oakland. Cost is $50-$75. To register see www.breastcancerfund.org/bao2007 

Transit to Trails Meet at the Downtown Berkeley BART station at 9:30 a.m. for an AC Transit bus ride to Tilden, followed by a guided walk through the park. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Mortar Rock Ivy-Pull Help clean up this historic site in North Berkeley from 10 a.m. to noon at 901 Indian Rock Ave. 848-9358. 

Musical Block Party at Peralta Community Garden hosted by the Friends of Westbrae Commons. Meet at 1 p.m. at 1400 Peralta Ave., by the corner of Hopkins to celebrate three community gardens. 524-2671. 

Community Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m., Willard Middle School, Telegraph Ave. 526-7377. 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of the Eichlers of Oakland to learn about Oakland’s residential district of houses by Joseph Eichler, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Cost is $10-$15. Reservations required. 763-9218.  

Sycamore Japanese Church Bazaar with Japanese food, Taiko drumming, crafts and activities for children from noon to 5 p.m. at 1111 Navellier St., El Cerrito. 525-0727. 

Retromobilia Classic Auto Show 60+ vintage cars and the latest alternative fuel vehicles, food, fun, music from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 1800 block of Fourth St. between Hearst and Virginia Sts. 526-6294.  

CodePINK Women for Peace Newcomer Orientation at 10 a.m. at the CodePINK Office, 1248 Solano Ave., Albany. Please RSVP to 524-2776. 

Green Sunday on Oakland’s Green Economic Development: How it is Being Affected by the BP Deal With the University of California and the “Progressive” Dellums Administration’s Partnership with the Oakland Chamber of Congress at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. 

Mac Lingo “Reflections on My Religious Journey” at 10 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

East Bay Athesists meets to watch the documentary “The Attack on Science” at 1:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 222-7580. 

“Updating Engels” a discussion of the achievements in Anthropology since Engels published “Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State” Led by Gene Ruyle, emeritus prof, CSULB at 10 a.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland. 595-741. www.tifcss.org 

Urban Living Tour Benefit for Rebuilding Oakland Together. A self-guided tour of some of the most interesting living spaces and historical landmarks in the East Bay. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Starts at the Central Station, 14th & Frontage Rd. (adjacent to Historic 16th Street Train Station), Oakland. Costs $20. www.UrbanLivingTour.org 

Bike Tour of Oakland around the Fruitvale District on a leisurly paced two-hour tour that covers about five miles. Meet at 10 a.m. at the 10th St. entrance to the Oakland Museum of California. Reservations required. 238-3514.  

Free Sailboat Rides from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club, Berkeley Marina. Wear warm, waterproof clothing and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. www.cal-sailing.org 

Martial Arts Around the World A Family Exploration Day from 1 to 4 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. 238-2022. 

Introduction to Wellness Integration at 11:30 a.m. at Pharmaca, 1744 Solano Ave. 527-8929. 

MONDAY, SEPT. 17  

Free Boatbuilding Classes for Youth Mon.-Wed. from 3 to 7 p.m. at Berkeley Boathouse, 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Classes cover woodworking, boatbuilding, and boat repair. 644-2577.  

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at West Pauley Ballroom MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, SEPT. 18 

Tuesdays for the Birds Tranquil bird walks in local parklands, led by Bethany Facendini, from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Today we will visit Garreston Point. Call for meeting place and if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

Memorial Ceremony at the Oak Grove with Country Joe McDonald and veteran’s groups to honor the Californians who gave their lives in World War I. At noon at the Oak Grove in front of Memorial Stadium, Piedmont Way. www.saveoaks.com 

Join in the “Living Graveyard” Bring a white sheet and join in the legal street theater to make visible the reality of the deaths caused by the war, at noon at Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay St. 655-1162.  

Constitution Day at the Free Speech Cafe with Daniel Farber on “Bong Hits 4 the Constitution: Free Speech Rights of Students Today” and Loweel Bergman on “Lots of Talk and No Action: Free Speech in the New Millenium” at 6 p.m. at Free Speech Movement Cafe, UC Campus. 643-6445. 

Berkeley Garden Club “Color, Texture and Water in the Garden” with Paul and Robin Cowley at 1:30 p.m. at Epworth Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 845-4482. 

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Open House from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. RSVP to 642-9934. olli.berkeley.edu 

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 

“High Crimes and Atrocities” A documentary on the lies of the Bush administration’s to justify the invasion of Iraq, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 6 to 8 p.m. in Oakland. Registration required. 594-5165.  

“Sleep? I Wish!!!” Why people with Fibromhyagia, ME/CFS and related conditions do not get full and restful sleep and what can be done about it, with Andrew Greenberg, MD, of the California Center for Sleep Disorders at noon at Maffly Auditorium, Herrick Campus, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 2001 Dwight Way. 644-3273. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

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.  

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. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 19 

Walking Tour of Oakland Chinatown Meet at 10 a.m. at the courtyard fountain in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza at 388 Ninth St. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Margaret Crawford on “Everyday Urbanism” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced.berkeley.edu/events/colloquium  

“The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foriegn Policy” with John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Donations accepted. Sponsored by Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

“Amax: La Memoria del Tiempo” a film on the 1932 genocide of the Nahua-Pipil of El Salvador, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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 

Free Estate Planning Seminar at 7 p.m. at Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth St. RSVP to 845-7735, ext. 19.  

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. 548-9840. 

THURSDAY, SEPT. 20 

Emergency Benefit for Street Spirit Editor Terry Messman and Ellen Danchik with poetry readings, art and music at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Church, 1600 Sacramento St. at Cedar. www. 

freedomvoices.org/streetspirit 

“Local History of the Codornices Creek Watershed” with Richard Schwartz at 6:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth El, 1301 Oxford St. 759-1689. 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll hunt for spiders, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Tilden Explorers An after-school nature adventure program for 5-7 year olds. We will hunt for spiders from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Fall Plant Sale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755, ext. 03. 

Students United For Peace “Committee on UnAmerican Activities” documentary by Robert Carl Cohen, also “Operation Abolition” at 7 p.m. in Dwinelle Hall, room 145, UC Campus. studentsunitedforpeace@gmail.com 

“An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President” with Randall Robinson at 6:30 p.m. at Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland. Advance tickets available at Marcus Books 3900 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Oakland, $5-$30. 652-2344. 

“Two Rings Around the Bay: The Bay Trail and the Bay Ridge Trail” A slide talk with Bill Long at 7 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Sponsored by Berkeley Path Wanderers. 848-9358. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Border Patrol & Immigration Issues at 7:30 p.m. in the Home Room, International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Cost is $5. 642-9460. 

“Places Seen-Places Imagined: Reflections on Xuanzang’s Xiyu-ji” with Max Deeg, Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at Cardiff University, Wales, at 5 p.m. in the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Flr. Sponsored by the Center for Buddhist Studies. 643-5104. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from noon to 1 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

“Fall of the I-Hotel” a film and panel discussion on the evictions in Manilatown, San Francisco in 1977, at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. 238-2022. 

Center for Elders Independence Gala “‘S Marvelous!” with food and music by the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra, at 5:30 p.m. at Historic Sweet’s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $125. RSVP to 839-3100. 

Free Diabetes Screening Come find out if you might have diabetes with our free screening test and make sure not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand, from 8:45 to noon at the Latina Center, 3919 Roosevelt Ave., Richmond. 981-5332. 

LeConte Neighborhood Association meets at 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at the LeConte School, corner of Russell and Ellsworth. karlreeh@aol.com 

Easy Does It Board of Directors Meeting at 6 p.m. at 1636 University Ave. 845-5513. 

“Andropause: The Male Menopause” at 5:50 p.m. at Pharmaca, 1744 Solano Ave. 527-8929. 

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Mon., Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers.644-6128 ext. 113. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

City Council meets Tues. Sept. 18, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www. 

ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Citizens Humane Commission meets Wed., Sept. 19, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-6601. 

Commission on Aging meets Wed., Sept. 19, at 1:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center.  

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed., Sept. 19 , at 7 p.m. at the South Branch Library. 981-6195.  

Police Review Commission meets Wed. Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950.  

Design Review Committee meets Thurs., Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7415.  

Transportation Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 20, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7010.  

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., Sept. 20, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520.

In the Sept. 11 issue, the nonprofit corporation for which the city’s Energy Commission sits as the board of directors was misidentified: its name is the Community Energy Services Corporation. The headline should have read: “CESC Under a Cloud, Director Terminated.” 

• 

A story in the Sept. 11 issue about an incident between a security guard and a man with a knife at Berkeley High School misidentified the man. He was not a student, but a 20-year-old non-student.  

• 

The photograph of the 30-year celebration of Ecole Bilingue on the front page of the Sept. 11 issue was taken by Karoline Robbins. 

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 in, working in or enjoying various neighborhoods in our area. We are looking for essays about the Oakland neighborhoods of Temescal and around Lake Merritt, Fourth Street in Berkeley, and the city of Alameda. Please e-mail your essays, no more than 800 words, to firstperson@berkeleydailyplanet.com. We will publish the best essays in upcoming issues in October. The sooner we receive your submission the better chance we have of publishing it.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 14 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “Urinetown, The Musical” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St., Alameda, through Oct. 6. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “Hysteria” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Sept. 30. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822.  

Black Repertory Group “Secret War” Fri. at 8 p.m., Gala on Sat. at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25-$45. 652-2120.  

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “Rumors” by Neil Simon, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sundays at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave. at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Oct. 14. Tickets are $11-$18. 655-8974. www.cct.org 

Impact Theatre “Sleepy” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through Oct. 13. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. 

Masquers Playhouse “The Shadow Box” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. matinees, at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Runs through Sept. 29. This show is not recommended for children. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Ragged Wing Ensemble “Alice in Wonderland” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Envision Academy, 1515 Webster St., Oakland, through Oct. 13. Tickets are $15-$30. 800-838-3006. www.raggedwing.org 

Woodminster Summer Musicals “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat” Fri.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Rd., Oakland, through Sept. 16. Tickets are$23-$36. 531-9597.  

EXHIBITIONS 

New Works by Carol Dalton and Emily Payne Opening reception at 6 p.m. at the Cecile Moochnek Gallery, 1809-D Fourth St., upstairs. 549-1018. 

“Garnish” An exhibition of wearable art. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at the ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. www.accigallery.org 

FILM 

Midnight Movies “The Big Lebowski” Fri. and Sat. at midnight at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Cost is $8. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

John Curl and Marianne Robinson read their poetry at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Ave., at Hearst. 841-6374. 

Richard Schwartz describes “Eccentrics, Heroes, and Cutthroats of Old Berkeley” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher read from “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas” at 7 p.m. at Beebe Memorial Cathedral, 3900 Telegraph Ave., Oakland.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Rafael Manriquez at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15.. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Mo’ Rockin Sextet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ras Igel, Razorblade, Carl McDonald, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Berkeley Old Time Music Convention with Tom Sauber, Brad Leftwich & Alice Gerrard, Lee Stripling Trio, Heidi Clare at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50-$16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Nomadics at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Polkacide, Fuxedos, Japonize Elephonts at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Dr. Know, Circle One at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Rainmaker at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Hiroshima at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $18-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15 

CHILDREN  

“Mexica: An Aztec Tale” Sat. and Sun. at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave. 452-2259 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Inside Out” New works by painter Cheryl Finfrock and sculptor Michael Pargett. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Float Gallery, 1091 Calcot Place, Unit #116, Oakland. www.thefloatcenter.com 

Positively Ageless A Celebration of Art & Aging at 6 p.m. at 4th Street Studio, 1717 Fourth St. Cost is $25. Benefits Adult Day Services Network of Alameda County. www.fourthstreetstudio.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Nelson Peery discusses “Black Radical: The Education of An American Revolutionary” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

“Addicted to Hope” with comic Mark Lundholm at the California’s Writer’s Club, at 10 a.m. at Barnes and Noble Event Loft, Jack London Square. 272-0120. www.berkeleywritersclub.org 

East Bay Lesbian Poets read at 7 p.m. at Frank Bette Center for the Arts, 1601 Paru at Lincoln, Alameda. Open mic follows. 523-6957. www.frankbettecenter.org  

Robin Romm reads from her short story collection “The Mother Garden” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

String Band Contest and performance by Gallus Brothers at 11 a.m. at Berkeley Farmers’ Market, MLK and Center St.  

Berkeley Old Time Music Convention with The Tallboys, Dram County and Knuckle Knockers at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15, children ages 5-18, $5.. 525-5054.  

Interreligious Art & Music Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley, Ave. Free and open to the public. http://drbu. 

org/research/iwr/festival/ 

Araucaria, traditional Chilean music and dance, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

Robin Gregory & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Five Eyed Hand at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Don Villa & Ethan Bixby, guitar, at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. at Bonar, in the Strawberry Creek Park complex. 704-9378. 

Jack Williams & Ronny Cox at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Royal Hawaiian Serenaders at 9 p.m. at Temple Bar Tiki Bar & Grill, 984 University Ave. 548-9888. 

Serenity Fisher, Zach Fisher at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. 

Triple Ave. at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

The Unreal Band, Pat Nevins and Stu Allen of Workingman’s Ed at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Charles Wheal & the Excellorators at 9 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810.  

Ghoul, Funerot, Oskorei at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, SEPT. 16 

EXHIBITIONS 

“The Face of Place” mixed media by Janet Brugos, opening reception from 2 to 5 p.m. at L’Amyx Tea Bar, 4179 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. www.lamyx.com 

FILM 

Tomu Uchida: Japanese Genere Master “Policeman” at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Conversations on Art “Music, Liturgy and Cultural Fusions: The Making of Revisions Shahrokh Yadegari Through Music” at 2 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $10-$12. 549-6950.  

Rhoda Curtis introduces “Rhoda: Her First Ninety Years, a Memoir” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Lauren Bank Deen demonstrates crafts and recipes from “Kitchen Playdates” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sundays @ Four Chamber Music with Axel Strauss, violin and Miles Graber, piano at 4 p.m. at Crowden Music Center. Tickets are $12, free for children. concerts@crowden.org 

Americana Unplugged with Berkeley Old Time Cabaret at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

The Snake Trio at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10. 228-3218. 

Cabaret in the Castle with Mark Gilbert & Friends, in a fundraiser for Berkeley City Club at 4:30 p.m. at The Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $45-$55. 883-9710. 

Araucaria, traditional Chilean music and dance, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

Vasen, Swedish folk revivalists, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761.  

Quejerema & Quarto Latino Americano de Saxafones at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

MONDAY, SEPT. 17 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ernest Bloch Lecture Series with Martha Feldman on “Of Strange Births and Comic Kin” 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864.  

Tea Party Magazine reading with poet Craig Santos Perez at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Suggested donation $10. 849-2568.  

David Leavitt introduces “The Indian Clerk” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Poetry Express with Jan Steckel and Stephen Kopel at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Classical at the Freight with the Stern/Simon Duo at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. 

Ed Neff and Friends, bluegrass, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100. www.lebateauivre.net 

Lavay Smith & The Red Hot Skillet Lickers at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $16. 238-9200.  

TUESDAY, SEPT. 18 

CHILDREN 

Daffy Dave the Clown at 6:30 p.m. Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. For ages 3 and up. 524-3043. 

FILM 

“It’s a Funny, Mad, Sad, World: The Movies of George Kuchar” with filmmaker George Kuchar at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

David Barsamian will discuss his book “Targeting Iran” at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Freight and Salvage Open Mic featuring Eva Schlesinger at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $4.50-$5.50. 548-1761.  

Ian Klaus describes “Elvis is Titanic: Classroom Tales from the Other Iraq” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Book. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Gator Beat at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

Christian Scott at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 19 

EXHIBITIONS 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Opens with a curator’s talk at noon at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, and runs through Dec. 23. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. 

FILM 

“Amax: La Memoria del Tiempo” on the 1932 genocide of the Nahua-Pipil of El Salvador, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5-$20. 849-2568.  

International Latino Film Festival “O Casamento de Romeu e Julieta” at 7 p.m. at Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. 620-6555. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt describe “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Donations accepted. 559-9500. 

Lucy Jane Bledsoe reads from her new novel, “Biting the Apple,” at 7 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Andrew Helfer introduces “Ronald Reagan: A Graphic Biography” 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.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Jazz Masters Concert with Calvin Keys, jazz guitarist, at noon at 12th and Broadway, Oakland.  

Wednesday Noon Concert, Jazz Faculty Recital at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

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

Richard Freeman Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Mazacote at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Rebecca Griffin at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Le Vent du Nord, music of Quebéc at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. 

Christian Scott at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. 

THURSDAY, SEPT. 20 

EXHIBITIONS 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Guided tour at 12:15 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. 

Works by Ocean Quigley Artist reception at 7 p.m. at Artbeat Salon & Gallery, 1887 Solano Ave. 527-3100.  

FILM 

“Fall of the I-Hotel” a film and panel discussion on the evictions in Manilatown, San Francisco in 1977, at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. 238-2022. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Peter Dale Scott reads from “The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire and the Future of America” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Randall Robinson discusses “An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President” at 6:30 p.m. at Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$20 and are available from Marcus Books, 3900 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Oakland. 652-2344. 

Writing Jewish History with Frances Dinkelspiel at 6:30 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $6-$8. 549-6950. www.magnes.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Melanie O'Reilly and pianist John R. Burr, jazz and Irish traditional music at 12:15 p.m. in the Art & Music Room of the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge at Shattuck. 981-6100. 

Dubconscious, reggae with guest Kaptain Harris, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13-$8. 525-5054. 

Mark Morris Dance Group “Mozart Dances” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$72. 642-9988.  

Old Blind Dogs at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Kitt Weagant CD Release Party at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Citta di Vitti, Rubber City at 10 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. 

Larry Harlow and the Latin Legends Band at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $20-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

“Motion picture stars bowing to admiring throngs and stopping before microphones to extend greetings. Dazzling klieg lights, brighter than a torrid desert sun. Powerful searchlights piercing the darkness above with sudden flashes. Music and flowers.” 

It would be, the Berkeley Daily Gazette said, “Hollywood transplanted here” and “the greatest theatrical event in the history of Berkeley.” 

That was 75 years ago, Sept. 16, 1932, as Berkeley’s new United Artists theater opened on Shattuck Avenue, just south of the Berkeley Public Library. 

The opening was big news in Depression-era Berkeley, which preened in the assurance that a national corporation was willing to invest in the community, despite economic hardship. 

Then, as now, there were several movie theaters downtown, but the new building with its fluid sculptural facade, enormous marquee with hundreds of lights, and towering sign that proclaimed “United Artists” in neon up and down Shattuck Avenue, changed the commercial and physical landscape. 

Berkeleyans flocked to the spectacle. 

“Every one of the 1,800 luxurious seats in the theater was filled within five minutes after the doors opened,” reported the Berkeley Daily Gazette the next day. “Twice as many filled the foyers, waiting for an opportunity to obtain seats for the second show.” 

“A solid mass of stargazers” outside ogled the celebrities who arrived in “a fleet of new sedans,” after dining at the Berkeley Country Club. Actors and actresses “mingled with their local admirers, laughing and 

chatting and writing autographs on anything that would take ink or lead pencil.” 

They included “beautiful blond Josephine Dunn” and “the vivacious Spanish dancer, Senorita Conchita Montenegro,” both splendid in evening gowns and “costly outer wraps.” Male stars included “broad-shouldered, swaggering George Bancroft,” “youthful Marty Kemp, suave Lou Cody” and “crooning, good looking, Bing Crosby,” who rushed over from a performance in Oakland to attend the opening. 

“Outside as late as 10 o’clock several thousand persons stood in the street.” Police and firemen managed the crowds, not only on Shattuck but around the corner of Bancroft where a “great throng” waited to see movie stars emerge from the stage door. 

Inside the theater, Bancroft recited a monologue and comic actor “Stuttering Roscoe” Ates paired with Kemp on “an impromptu dialogue which even had Master of Ceremonies Cody laughing.” 

Berkeley Mayor Thomas Caldecott came forward to “extend the City’s greetings to the United Artists and the Fox West Coast Theaters corporations for giving Berkeley such a magnificent theater.” 

Caldecott had earlier posed with two “pretty usherettes” to sign the “biggest proclamation in the world” which had noted “life in Berkeley and its surrounding communities takes on a new and bright aspect” with the opening of the theater. 

“Practically every city official and civic leader of Berkeley and the East Bay district was in the audience, including the entire City Council.” 

United Artists was founded by powerhouse stars Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith to make films and, as was typical of the time, show them in its own corporate theaters. 

Berkeley’s UA Theater “was an early link in the United Artists chain,” and “fairly deluxe,” says Gary Parks, southwest director of the Theater Historical Society of America. Southern California had several similarly designed UA theaters. 

Berkeley, though, has the only one where the allegorical figure of “Artistry” is on the left on the facade, “Unity” on the right. “Let’s hear it for Berkeley non-conformity,” Parks says. 

“The Berkeley UA was the work of Clifford Balch, with Walker & Eisen,” he notes, while the interior painted decoration were done by the Heinsbergen Decorating Company of Los Angeles. 

The Berkeley theater is perhaps the only one of its type still directly connected to United Artists, which merged with Regal Cinemas and Edwards Theaters to form Regal Entertainment Group, which runs 6,368 screens in 529 locations around the country and calls itself “the largest motion picture exhibitor in the world.” 

When the $300,000 UA Berkeley opened, it had a single screen and the filmgoer was offered a spectacle extending from curb to commode.  

“The brilliantly illumined marquee and the lobby give no idea of the beauty and space within,” the Gazette reported at the opening. 

The theater originally had a tile-floored atrium open to the street, with a four-sided dome; it’s now enclosed and carpeted. 

“Once through the outside doors patrons will be delighted with the artistic outer foyer with its high, richly toned ceilings, the great French plate glass mirrors on either side, the delicate warmth of color and the great black and gold illustrated panels, depicting above, on and below the earth,” the Gazette wrote. 

There was no concession counter. “Theatres in the 1930s in some cases did experiment with things like candy machines, but it wasn’t until the 1940s that concessions became common,” says Parks. 

From the lobby, “straight ahead the artistic mezzanine looms up with its polished aluminum railings like glistening silver” the Gazette wrote. “Then further ahead is the inner foyer with its wonderful murals depicting the drama. To the right is the main lounging room, replete with comfortable and handsome furniture, a gigantic solid mahogany table on which is mounted a beautiful silver statuette. Here there are roomy Chesterfields in Spanish and modernistic design sufficient to seat comfortably nearly 100 persons.” 

Within the theater one found, the Gazette said, “the massive stage, the artistic contours and decorations of the proscenium arch, the golden console and generously large orchestra pit which extends outward so far that it makes the front row of seats desirable ones at a distance sufficient from the silver screen.” 

The stage, 25 feet deep, had a dozen adjacent dressing rooms, and was equipped “to present all kinds of stage attractions at any time there is demand to offer vaudeville here.”  

Patrons could also luxuriate in non-theatrical amenities. 

The “ladies’ parlors” included “overstuffed furniture, lounges and individual chairs, beautiful French plate glass mirrors” and “inviting” lighting. The main women’s lounge has “smoking stands” and a “cosmetic room” with dressing tables. 

The men got their own smoking room with walls “stenciled with various sports—football, baseball, track, polo, hunting and fishing, tennis and basketball.” 

Many of these features are now gone or covered up. In the 1970s the main auditorium and balcony were partitioned to provide four separate screens, although liniments of the original spaces can still be seen. 

Further renovations in the early 1980s caused worries that the lobby would be compromised, and heartfelt appeals were made to the management. As a result, the original glass and wood entrance doors, set back from the street, were preserved, a matching new mural was added, and the lobby stayed intact. 

“The high standards of the original design are something that future generations would appreciate as theaters of this type are becoming increasingly rare,” wrote architectural historian Michael Crowe to the president of United Artists in 1982. 

“The glittering, labyrinthine Aladdin’s Cave of a lobby, belying the building’s small street facade, still conveys the feelings of surprise and splendor that were part of the great days of movie-going. This must not be lost now,” wrote the Berkeley Historical Society. 

The theater now has now seven screens serving about 1,400 seats, according to Regal Entertainment representatives. 

Outside, the original marquee is gone along with the neon tower. In the 1960s and ’70s, Parks says, civic and architectural distaste for neon brought about the demise of numerous theater signs, including Berkeley’s. 

The facade retains its original flowing Art Deco character but has been painted. It’s one of the more prominent and important architectural compositions from its era in Berkeley, complementary to the Deco-style Berkeley Public Library, just up the block. 

Some original furnishings are at the Oakland Paramount, while others are scattered among private collectors. The theater organ is now privately owned and may end up, Parks says, in a theater in Astoria, Ore. 

On opening night in 1932 the organ was central to the entertainment, with four virtuosos offering solos as a prelude to “a typical theater opening program” on film. 

A Will Rogers comedy, Down to Earth, was the feature film. “There was one of those almost tragically funny ‘Screen Souvenirs,’ a Magic Carpet Travel, a Mickey Mouse cartoon and the Metrotone news.” 

Tickets cost 30 cents for general admission and 40 cents for loge seats at matinees, 45 cents and 69 cents on evenings, Sundays and holidays, and “children 10 cents any time.” 

“Those who waited in the foyers were loud in their praise of the wonderful lounging rooms, the artistic decorations. Hundreds stopped to congratulate Manager Clarence L. Laws on the beauty of the theater and the wonderful service rendered by the house staff.” 

Back then, elaborately uniformed staffers ushered patrons to their seats and even posed for publicity photos. Today’s staffers are practically invisible in comparison and there’s no such thing as an usher, only an employee who slips in silently after each showing to clean up. 

In 1932 Councilmember Reese Clark said the theater “is one of the beauty spots of the downtown district.  

“Berkeley at one time was known as a ‘show town’ and, if the theaters continue to express their confidence in Berkeley with such luxurious structures, it again will assume that role.” 

Berkeley Police Chief Greening added “bright lights are a deterrent to crime—criminals fear them more than any other one thing. That is exactly what the new … theater has brought to the downtown business area—bright lights and plenty of them.” 

“Berkeley citizens are entitled to the best that the show world has to 

offer,” Greening concluded.  

And that’s just what they enjoyed on that brilliant night, 75 years ago. 

Photograph Courtesy Regal Entertainment 

In late 1966 the theater still had its original marquee, below the neon sign tower that dominated the façade.  

It’s only appropriate, after a play about Freud’s last days in England (“Freudian slips,” shots of morphine and meeting Salvador Dali), that what’s remembered breaks down to obsessive, recurrent actions and images, signaled by the insistent tapping of an unexpected visitor on a glass door leading from a study into a garden. 

Terry Johnson’s Hysteria, now on-stage at the Aurora, with Joy Carlin directing, is subtitled “or Fragments of an Analysis of an Obsessional Neurosis,” a sliver that cuts both—or all—ways. Swinging back and forth between a serious look at the Father of Psychoanalysis facing the immediacy of mortality while attempting to continue till the end, exiled in England after the Anschluss has driven him from Vienna, and a crazy, slapstick farce of pretension and self-deception, it’s a very English thing, strung out between a Cambridge seminar and an uptown music hall.  

In some ways, Johnson pulls out the stops on Stoppard, at least in posing a theatrical conundrum that’s a projection of its audience’s grasp of the subject at hand. 

And what better subject for a conundrum than a riff off the actual meeting between the investigator into the psychic meaning of slips of the tongue, jokes and riddles and the premier illustrator, mid-20th century, of the mental state which produces them? 

The encounter between Freud and Dali takes the form of a bad daydream, a mirage of how Freud might have felt about meeting the self-parodying autofarceur of Surrealist painting, who liked to grandstand in both personal meetings and public appearances. 

That stellar meeting is, however, sandwiched between a less explicable intrusion, that of a strange woman at the rainy garden door, who alternately seems to be seeking something or seeking to deliver something else, both threatening and vulnerable in both her tenacity at remaining in the master’s presence despite his commands for her to leave, and her determination to doff her clothes.  

The scene itself is hysterical, and becomes the unlikely, if eponymous, ground for an inquiry into the case which helped decide Freud’s shift in the theory of “family romance” from the more confrontational positing of widespread child molestation to the later complexities of “infant sexuality,” the repressed incidents explained as what the seeming victim imagined or desired to happen. 

It’s a heady brew both the actors and audience bolt down, like Alice sampling the bottle marked “Drink me” (and, as in Surrealism itself, besides English domestic life, there are many other reminders of “Alice” at odd moments during a roller-coaster evening.) 

The cast is top notch—Warren David Keith a stalwart yet bumbling Freud (without, alas, the charm exhibited in his books and remarks to the press, but with what Sherlock Holmes, that other intrepid unraveler of mysteries, dubbed “a pawky humor” in his otherwise straight man sidekick, Dr. Watson). The Dr. Watson of this adventure is a composite physician, administering the shots which will eventually euthanize Freud, and Jewish scholar, delivering another kind of shot, chiding the master for his agnostic Moses and Monotheism, produced at a desperate moment for those other Jews still stuck in the Reich from whence they fled. Charles Dean plays Abraham Yahuda with an admirable, dry poise, anchoring the antics of the rest of the bunch. 

The chimerical Salvador Dali is nicely portrayed with spread-eagled waxed mustache, an overwrought flourish and comic swagger worthy of Danny Kaye by Howard Swain, who hilariously makes every self-regarding move seem like both an entrance and an exit. 

But the most elusive, shadowy character, whose historical antecedents are legion, victims and children of victims all—Jessica the erudite intruder—is the most fully, profoundly portrayed, by splendid Nancy Carlin. Perhaps freed of the necessity (and temptation) to make up a half-historically accurate caricature, like the others, she is the catalyst, the reagent, for the strange alchemy that makes the play work, that takes it past the status of a Monty Python or Beyond The Fringe camping and into the realm of real theater. As Freud intones at the end, “The year I looked into myself is the year that is killing me!” 

The production values are practically seamless. All add to the total effect, constantly jostled by the seesaw dynamics and sometimes burlesque tone. The cast was still playing with the very British timing and humor the first weekend, but was out of the gate and running with it. They’re thoroughbreds—it can get to be muddy going, but the only slip will be Freudian—and this time, intentional. 

HYSTERIA 

8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 30 at Aurora Theater, 2081 Addison St. $40-$42. 843-4822.  

The names and their general significance may still be familiar, but the details of the lives and trials of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti have faded over time. The names have become shorthand for injustice, for political persecution, for America’s tendency to at times fall disastrously short of its ideals. Yet while these two men remain potent symbols, symbols do not live and breathe.  

Sacco and Vanzetti, an excellent documentary by Peter Miller, newly released on DVD, restores the humanity to these men, these Italian immigrants who came to America in search of the land of liberty and opportunity, only to find that much of the American Dream was just that.  

They found themselves faced with the conundrum of a nation of immigrants that despised immigrants, and Italians were ranked among the lowest of the low. They found a land where economic exploitation was rampant, and where opportunity was plentiful only for those who could afford it.  

The film uses photographs and archival footage of Sacco and Vanzetti as well as first-hand accounts and impassioned testimony from historians to paint a picture of the men, the times, the turmoil and fallout of their trial and persecution. But the most moving device is the readings, by John Turturro and Tony Shalhoub, of letters written by the two men from their prison cells. Vanzetti at one point wrote to his sister back home in Italy, telling her, “This is no longer the America that excited your imagination. America, dear sister, is called the land of liberty, but in no other country on Earth does a man tremble before his fellow man like here.” Other letters to family and friends reveal the two as men of great dignity and resilience, facing death with bravery, honor and sadness—sadness not for themselves but for their loved ones and for the wayward path of their adopted homeland. They spoke little to no English upon their arrival, yet by the time they faced execution each man had acquired an eloquence rarely attained by many native speakers.  

They were anarchists, non-violent as best anyone can tell, whose politics stemmed from first-hand experience of capitalism run amok. They came with dreams of democracy, liberty, opportunity and, perhaps above all, fairness and the rule of law. Yet what they discovered was the grim reality behind the facade, and in their search for answers to these vexing problems they settled on anarchism as the ideal solution.  

Some details may come as a surprise to many viewers. For instance, though it is readily apparent that neither of the men was involved in the murder for which they were convicted, it is not only possible that they knew the murderers but that they may have had knowledge of the crime before it occurred. The fact is, much of the case is still shrouded in mystery. 

What is known, however, is that two men were targeted for their ethnicity and their political beliefs, that evidence against them was falsified, and that neither man received anything resembling a fair trial. The story, of course, contains many parallels with modern-day America, links that are clear and obvious. But that doesn’t stop the filmmakers from hitting the point with excessive force in the final moment. It is a forgivable misstep in an otherwise fluid and informative documentary that gives shape, shading and meaning to one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in the land of the First Amendment.  

Blood in the Face, another documentary examining the face of American bigotry, just released on DVD, was made in 1991. And if its subject matter no longer seems shocking or even surprising, that’s hardly the filmmakers’ fault. A film about neo-nazis and the threat of terrorism from within America’s heartland just doesn’t pack quite the punch in might have in the days before the Oklahoma City bombing. 

The title comes from a racist leader’s description of who should control America: white people, he says, those who can “show blood in the face,” and he demonstrates this by slapping his cheek to bring about a rosy blush. 

Filmmakers Anne Bohlen, Kevin Rafferty and James Ridgeway enlisted the newly famous Michael Moore to assist in interviewing a stunningly ignorant group of American fascists, but don’t expect a Michael Moore film here by any means. In fact, the man is barely recognizable in voice or profile. There is a bit of humor here, some confrontation and some point-blank questioning, but nothing like the style Moore has employed since 1989’s Roger and Me. It’s just not necessary. This is a group of people so misguided, so foolish, so narrow-minded and mean, that all one has to do is give them the rhetorical rope and let them hang themselves from their own burning crucifixes. So we just watch and wait and sigh as these self-proclaimed chosen ones struggle to choose their words, stumbling more often than not into rhetorical labyrinths that twist and turn and fold back on themselves, eventually spitting the speaker out at exactly the point where he entered. “Why are whites superior?” they ask themselves, and the answer, distilled from rambling rants about Hitler, the Bible and Manifest Destiny, repeats the question: “Because they’re white.” Or, more accurately, “Because I’m white,” as, oddly enough, there seems to be little support for their cause among non-whites. 

Image:  

Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco as depicted by artist Ben Shahn.