Clybourne Park After Dark

You know what's good? Clybourne Park, the play running right now at the American Conservatory Theatre. It's a sequel of sorts to Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 classic A Raisin in the Sun, but even if you've never seen A Raisin in the Sun, you still can enjoy Clybourne Park. By the way, if, in fact, you haven't seen A Raisin in the Sun and decide you want to, don't make the mistake I made ten years ago and see a bad amateur production of it in Marin (or anywhere else, for that matter). Thank goodness I'd read it already. If in doubt, eschew potentially poor theatre and allow Netflix to deliver the 1961 film version to your home. You can't go wrong with Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee.

Anyway.

My friend Andrey and I got all fancy and saw Cybourne Park at A.C.T. last night, and it is just wonderful. It's a comedy, so you'll laugh out loud, but you'll also cringe a bit. In a good way. Prior to meeting Andrey for cocktails followed by our theatre fanciness, I popped into Border's, which is like a crack den for me, and bought myself a little book to read. A Reliable Wife has been eyeing me for weeks from the shelves of bookstores all over town, and I finally succumbed to its temptations. I hope it's good.

I won't be digging into A Reliable Wife quite yet, however. It's in the queue behind Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him, Fated and Chronic City. And all of those will have to be patient because I'm currently reading the very charming A Certain Chemistry by Mil Millington. I'm only about 85 pages in, but so far I love it. In fact, I believe this book is trying to humiliate me because more than once it has caused me to laugh out loud while on a crowded bus on my way to work in the morning.

If other San Francisco public transit commuters think I'm crazy, it's Mil Millington's fault.

Between the theatre and all these books, you'd think I have time for nothing else. Ah, but how wrong you would be. I, of course, still find plenty of time to sing, and this weekend I'm going to see one of my favorite professional singers, Paula West. She is amazing. If you haven't seen her perform, do it. Then do yourself a favor and go see Clybourne Park.