Berkeley Rep Blog
Tres Agaves Tequila warms up summer nights
posted by Chad Jones on Wed, Jun 9, 2010
in At the theatre
Audiences for Lisa Kron's In the Wake and John Leguizamo's Klass Klown are loving this week's free pre-show tequila tastings in the courtyard sponsored by Berkeley's own Tres Agaves Tequila. In fact, folks are enjoying the tequlia so much, they're heading over to the lobby bar and buying a Tres Agaves margarita.
Ah, summertime theatregoing can be such a joy!
And we're thrilled to share with you an article about Tres Agaves published this week on the Berkeleyside website. Read the article.
Here are a few things we learned reading the story by Frances Dinkelspiel:
- Tres Agaves Tequila was launched in January by Barry Augus, former president of Cabo Wabo Tequila.
- Californians consume 23% of the world's tequila!
- Tres Agaves was started by Barry, Eric Rubin, and Chris Alvarez. Barry and Eric opened San Francisco's Tres Agaves restaurant but left the restaurant business to become spirit makers.
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Lisa Kron goes Against the Grain
posted by Chad Jones on Tue, Jun 8, 2010
in At the theatre , Our shows
Lisa Kron's In the Wake, now having its world premiere in the Roda Theatre, is full of powerful observations linking the personal and political. The drama also asks questions about how our personal sense of responsibility becomes manifest in our relationships as well as in our political convictions.
The play seemed like a perfect match for Berkeley Rep's intelligent, ever-questioning audiences, and that's turning out to be true.
Lisa was interviewed by C.S. Soong on his KPFA-94.1FM radio show Against the Grain.
Listen to Part One of the interview. (Be aware that Lisa follows UC Berkeley political science professor Ron Hassner, and her segment begins at about the 35-minute mark.) Listen to Part Two of the interview. (Lisa's segment begins at the 32-minute mark.)
As always, Lisa is fascinating as she discusses the genesis of the play and its subject matter, which is, in her words, "white liberalism and what it misses in American `democracy'."
Lisa also talks about a central issue in the play, which is the notion of a "blind spot," both on a personal and on a national level. Lisa says she was fascinated by, "our deeply held belief — and it's as true on the left as on the right — that we will land on our feet and right ourselves. There's only so far we can fall. I was questioning that in a political sense. And then you go through things in your personal life, as people do, and I realized I did believe that in my personal life. Why? I thought to myself, `That is so American.'"
In the Wake continues through June 27. Visit our online box office for tickets or call 510 647-2949.
Lisa Kron photo by Joan Marcus.
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Revving up the tunes before Klass Klown
posted by Chad Jones on Mon, Jun 7, 2010
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz
John Leguizamo’s solo show Klass Klown is a pretty exciting place to be, but so, it turns out, is the lobby of the Thrust Stage and the courtyard just outside its doors.
Audiences are enjoying (to put it mildly) the free Tres Agaves Tequila tastings that take place an hour before each performance. They’re also grooving to some fantastic tunes while they sip their tequila or go full-bore and order a Tres Agaves margarita from our lobby bar.
Compiled by Pauline Luppert, our marketing and multimedia manager, the playlist even won kudos from Mr. Leguizamo himself. Here are some of the artists and songs you’ll hear before the show.
- Bomba Estéreo’s “Fuego” and “La Boquilia” (from the album Blow Up)
- Calle 13’s “Atrévete-te-te" (from the album Calle 13)
- New York Noise’s “Do Dada” (from the album New York Noise: Music from the New York Underground 1978-1982)
- Dávila 666’s “Basura” (from the album Dávila 666)
- Diplo’s “Solta O Frango” (from the album Decent Work for Decent Pay)
- DJ Blaqstarr’s “Shake It to the Ground” featuring Rye Rye (from the EP Supastarr)
- Gipsy Kings’ “Bailla Me” (from the album The Best of the Gipsy Kings)
- M.I.A.’s “Hombre” and “Galang” (from the album Arular)
- Major Lazer’s “Pon de Florr” featuring VYBZ Kartel (from the album Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do)
-
Mala Rodriquez’s “Caida Libre” (from the album Malamarismo)
- Mexican Institute of Sound’s “Cumbia” (from the album Soy Sauce)
- N.O.R.E.’s “Oye Mi Canto” featuring Tego Calderon, Nina Sky, Gemstar & Big Mato (from the album Oye Mi Canto – Reggaeton Mix)
- Os Mutante’s “Bat Macumba” (from the album Os Mutantes)
- The Ruby Suns’ “Tane Manuta” (from the album Sea Lion)
- And the Reggaeton hits “Guilaera” (from the album Eddie Deejay Arroyo presents Reggaeton Party Hits) and “Dominicana” (from the album This Is Reggaeton)
Please enjoy Bomba Estéreo’s “La Boquilia."
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John Leguizamo is in the house!
posted by Chad Jones on Fri, Jun 4, 2010
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz
John Leguizamo's Klass Klown is up and running on the Thrust Stage, the first show in the Fireworks festival, and audiences are eating it up.
Since he arrived in Berkeley earlier this week, John has been tweeting up a storm on his Blackberry. Follow John on Twitter and learn how he's going to "destroy" Berkeley Rep and how director Fisher Stevens opts to give John post-show notes.
John is everywhere in the media this week. You can read interviews with him in
He's also been making the TV rounds. Here he is with NBC's Laurence Scott:
John made "Liam's List," a weekly look at your best entertainment bets put together by KPIX's Eye on the Bay host Liam Mayclem. Check out "Liam's List" (John appears toward the end).
Act fast if you want to catch Klass Klown. The show is here only until June 12. Visit our online box office for ticket info.
Above photo: John Leguizamo in Klass Klown. Photo by Carol Rosegg
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More great reviews flowing in for In the Wake
posted by Chad Jones on Thu, Jun 3, 2010
in At the theatre , Our shows
Several more reviews of Lisa Kron's In the Wake have arrived, and they're worth sharing.
The first is from Nathaniel Eaton at the SF Weekly. Here's a taste:
Kron writes all sides thoroughly and brilliantly; she has no political agenda except perhaps to show that interconnectedness is the key to understanding our experience. This play is a powerful statement that we must question everything and everyone — including ourselves.
Next up is from Richard Dodds in the Bay Area Reporter, who writes:
Kron, who first came to attention as a member of the Five Lesbian Brothers, is much like the lesbian brother Tony Kushner never had. Dizzyingly complex discussions of economic theories, social constructs, and historical paradigms whiz by in high-voltage conversations that don't allow eyes to glaze over because of the skillful use of language and the recognizably comfortable circumstances in which ideological friction gets messed up with the everyday clatter of folks just trying to figure out mundane coping techniques.
In the Wake continues through June 27 in the Roda Theatre. Click berkeleyrep.org for ticket info.
Above photo: Carson Elrod and Heidi Schreck in Lisa Kron's In the Wake at Berkeley Rep. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com.
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Girlfriend band reunites for San Francisco concert!
posted by Chad Jones on Wed, Jun 2, 2010
in Events , Our shows
Some things are just too good to end.
After a fantastic extended run on the Thrust stage in the world-premiere show Girlfriend, musical director Julie Wolf and her band continue playing together. They were joined by Girlfriend actor Jason Hite for a rousing performance at Berkeley Rep's recent night/Out event for In the Wake. (They even performed "Billie Jean" for playwright Lisa Kron, who happened to be celebrating her birthday that night.)
And now the Girlfriend band will perform another gig (though Jason is unavailable for this one). This Friday, June 4, you can find Julie, Jean DuSablon, Shelley Doty, and ieela Grant at the Dolores Park Cafe, 501 Dolores Street (at 18th Street). The music goes on from 7:30pm to 10pm.
Julie promises some sweet Matthew Sweet songs and some "funky surprises" as well.
Above photo: The Girlfriend band (from left) includes Jean DuSablon, Shelley Doty, Julie Wolf, and ieela Grant. (Photo courtesy of Julie Wolf)
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Free tequila tastings before Klass Klown
posted by Chad Jones on Tue, Jun 1, 2010
in At the theatre , Events
We're thrilled that John Leguizamo's Klass Klown kicks off the Fireworks festival tonight in the Thrust Theatre. As if the event could get any more exciting, we're thrilled to announce that Berkeley"s own award-winning Tres Agaves Tequila will offer free tastings in the courtyard an hour before every performance! And we're offering Tres Agaves margaritas at the lobby bar.
About Tres Agaves:
Tres Agaves has one distinct difference: the entire product family has
been carefully designed to help people make world-class margaritas. Now
anyone can make a great margarita at home — or behind the bar. Before
Tequila was a spirit, it was a place — a small town in Jalisco, Mexico
where the world's best blue agave plants grow. Very few 100% agave
brands are still produced in the town of Tequila, and Tres Agaves is
one of those special few. This is a true artisanal-quality tequila.
Tres Agaves is supporting Berkeley Rep by donating $5 for every 375 ml. bottle sold at the Theatre of their soon-to-be famous, organic Cocktail-Ready Agave Nectar. This is the secret ingredient to making the perfect margarita, and at $7 per bottle is well worth it (makes over 12 margaritas) — be sure to take one home and see how easy it is to make the Tres Agaves margarita.
Raffle! Berkeley Rep will raffle off a Tres Agaves margarita "survival" kit at each show, including a bottle of award-winning Tres Agaves Blanco Tequila, a bottle of Tres Agaves' Cocktail-Ready Agave Nectar, and a custom lime-squeezer.
We also have a full bar and snacks available in the Thrust lobby. Click here for a list of all the delectable treats you'll find at the lobby café.
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The fine art of fine actors
posted by Chad Jones on Fri, May 28, 2010
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz
It should come as no surprise to anyone that actors are multi-talented beings. Not only can they walk and talk at the same time (some can even dance and sing simultaneously!), but many of them also act and engage in other artistic pursuits.
For a case in point, we need look no further than the cast of In the Wake, now in the Roda Theatre. Did you know that Heidi Schreck, who plays Ellen, is also a successful playwright? The Obie-winning actor had a successful off-Broadway debut last year with a play called Creature.
Here's a snippet about Heidi and the play from Time Out New York:
Creature’s subject is the extraordinary Margery Kempe (1373–1438), an Englishwoman whose bourgeois existence as the wife of a beer brewer was marked by a series of intense mystical revelations. Kempe bore 14 children and made several pilgrimages to the Holy Land, eventually dictating her ecstatic visions to two clerks. Her Book of Margery Kempe is considered by some to be the first autobiography in English.
“I totally fell in love with her,” Schreck says about her first contact with Kempe’s book in college. “She’s a very unreliable narrator, so the book is hilarious. You’re watching her talk about how she’s so pious and God’s chosen, but you can tell she’s so far from the mark; she’s really flawed and vain and prideful—just really human.”
Heidi's Wake Obie-winning co-star, Deirdre O'Connell, who plays Judy, is another hyphenate. She's an actor-painter. Deirdre creates small paintings — about 10 inches by 10 inches — inspired by the work of Anton Chekhov. Didi, as she is known, has appeared in many Chekhov plays during her 25-year
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Take a look at In the Wake
posted by Chad Jones on Wed, May 26, 2010
in At the theatre
How do you accurately describe a play that is full of big drama, big laughs, and big ideas? You don't even try and let words and pictures attempt to do the job.
Check out this trailer for the world-premiere production of Lisa Kron's In the Wake, running through June 27 in the Roda Theatre.
Top photo: Carson Elrod and Heidi Schreck in the world-premiere production of Lisa Kron's In the Wake at Berkeley Rep. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com.
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Checking in on NYC awards season: Berkeley Rep shows win!
posted by Chad Jones on Mon, May 24, 2010
in Backstage buzz , News , Our shows
This is the time of year when they're practically hurling awards at shows in New York, and it's all leading up to the Tony Awards on Sunday, June 13.
Just yesterday (Sunday, May 23), the Drama Desk handed the Outstanding Director of a Musical Award to Michael Mayer for his work on Green Day's American Idiot, which also earned the 2010 ITBA Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical from the Independent Theater Bloggers Association. (Michael is seen in the above American Idiot rehearsal photo in the orange T-shirt; photo by Carole Litwin.)
Tony Taccone, Berkeley Rep's artistic director, had this to say about American Idiot's achievements: “All of us at Berkeley Rep send our congratulations to Michael and our collaborators on American Idiot. When we develop new shows at Berkeley Rep, our focus is on creating work that entertains and invigorates Bay Area audiences. Their support and their intelligence make it a pleasure to launch plays here. But it is also gratifying to see our shows go on to enjoy successful runs on Broadway and beyond. We are extremely proud and enormously grateful that our work continues to receive such recognition.”
In other awards news...