SF Mime Troupe Opens 2012 –THE MUSICAL!

The Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe opens its 52nd season with 2012 - THE MUSICAL! Wilma Bonet (Posibilidad, Too Big To Fail) directs Lizzie Calogero (Red State, Too Big To Fail), Keiko Shimosato Carreiro (GodFellas, Doing Good, Veronique of the Mounties), Michael Gene Sullivan (Posibilidad, Too Big to Fail, GodFellas), and Victor Toman (Making A Killing, GodFellas, 1600 Transylvania Ave), along with Cory Censoprano and Siobhan Marie Doherty, who make their San Francisco Mime Troupe debuts in this lively satire about corporate funding and the art of mass distraction. Written by Michael Gene Sullivan, with additional dialogue by Ellen Callas, and featuring a live band under the direction of Pat Moran, and music and lyrics by Bruce Barthol, 2012 - THE MUSICAL! plays

July 2 through September 25 (press opening: July 4 at Dolores Park in San Francisco) throughout the Bay Area in San Francisco, the North Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, Santa Cruz, and Southern California. All shows are free and open to the public (unless otherwise noted). For a complete schedule and more information, the public may call 415.285.1717 or visit www.sfmt.org.

A small political theater company, Theater BAM!, finds itself at a crossroads: should they keep telling the stories they feel can change the world (and starve while telling them), or feed at the corporate trough, sell out, and be the mouthpiece for The Man? Tough decision. So when they are offered a commission from a "green" corporation that could save BAM!, the company is very tempted. All they have to do is create a new show: "2012 - The Musical!" But is it political? Will it keep with the company's original mission? And who's really bankrolling the production?

For BAM!'s Artistic Director Elaine Marlowe there is no question: all theater is political, and corporate money poisons politics. Unfortunately for her, not all of Theater BAM! agrees, including her sister, ex-artist turned hotshot investment banker, Suze. Doing pro-bono work for BAM!, Suze sees that the only way to survive in a corporate world is to take advantage of it.

Meanwhile, downtown, Suze's investment banker boss Arthur Rand has his own problems. Government regulation of investment banking is stifling his profits and power. What's the point of unlimited campaign contributions if you still have to rely on politicians who work for "the people?" So when Suze innocently suggests that a wholly-owned politician is legally a possibility, Rand gets a brilliant idea ...

What is Rand's plan to convince people to vote for an openly corporate candidate? Can Theater BAM! survive without corporate money, or should they stifle their ideals in the name of reality and live to fight another day? Is it possible to sell out just a "little bit"? And what the heck is "2012 - The Musical!" anyway?

Wilma Bonet returns to San Francisco Mime Troupe to direct 2012 - THE MUSICAL! An actress and Mime Troupe Collective member in the early 1980's, Bonet directed last season's hit production Posibilidad and the Troupe's 50th anniversary production Too Big To Fail. She directed Jose Rivera's School of the Americas and Sandra Cisnero's The House On Mango Street for Teatro Vision; other regional directing credits include productions at TheatreWorks, Asian American Theater, Women's Will, TheaterFIRST, and Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, among others. As an actress, Bonet appeared at Marin Theatre Company in Octavio Solis' Lydia, at the Mark Taper Forum in Luis Alfaro's Electricidad, and at the Denver Center Theatre Company in Jose Cruz Gonzalez's September Shoes; additional acting credits include productions at American Conservatory Theater, Campo Santo, California Shakespeare Theater, Thick Description, El Teatro Campesino, and The Old Globe. She is the recipient of a Bay Area Theatre Critics Award and Los Angeles Drama-Logue Award.

Playwright Michael Gene Sullivan joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe in 1988. In 1992, he became a Contributing Writer, and Resident Playwright in 2000. His scripts include Red State (2008 nominee, Best Original Script, San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critic's Circle), and Too Big To Fail (2009 nominee, Best Original Script, San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critic's Circle.) He has performed in, written, and/or directed over 20 San Francisco Mime Troupe productions. As an actor, Sullivan has also appeared in productions at the American Conservatory Theater, Denver Center Theater Company, Magic Theatre, TheaterWorks, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and San Jose Repertory Theatre, among others. He is also the author of the award-winning one person show Did Anyone Ever Tell You - You Look Like Huey P. Newton?, and 1984, the critically-acclaimed adaptation of George Orwell's dystopic novel, which opened at the Actor's Gang Theater under the Direction of Tim Robbins. Sullivan is also a blogger for the political website The Huffington Post.

San Francisco Mime Troupe composer, lyricist, and musician Pat Moran has worked with the Mime Troupe since 2005's production of Doing Good. Additionally, Moran is a teacher with the Mime Troupe's Youth Theater Project, a freelance musician, and a private guitar instructor. He can be seen performing regularly with a number of Bay Area bands, including Lord Loves a Working Man (2009 SF Weekly Best Soul/Funk/R&B Award Winner) and Khi Darag; he was a guest artist at the University of San Francisco in 2009.

Composer and lyricist Bruce Barthol was resident composer/lyricist with the San Francisco Mime Troupe from 1976 to 2007, with over 35 productions to his credit, including: Factwino Meets the Moral Majority (Bay Area Critics Award Best Score, 1981); Steeltown (1983); Seeing Double (OBIE Award, 1990); and Eating It (2000). Additional credits include productions at San Francisco Shakespeare, Borderlands Theater, Tucson, ODC San Francisco, Working Theater, NYC, and Curious Theater, Denver. Barthol is an original (1966-1968) member of Country Joe and the Fish; he recently released a cd of his songs entitled "The Decline & Fall of Everything."

Founded in 1959, the San Francisco Mime Troupe creates and produces socially relevant theater; their work is political satire and anything but silent. Winner of three OBIE awards and a Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theatre, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, about which The New York Times stated, "Anyone concerned about the state of global politics -- and about the state of political humor -- should listen to the Mime Troupe's message," creates plays that make sense out of the headlines, close-up stories that make audiences feel the impact of political events on their personal lives. The New York Post called the Mime Troupe "America's oldest and finest street theater," with the The Boston Globe concurring, "You're never only watching a political theater piece, but rather a double barreled re-invention of politics and theater at once." To make this work accessible to the broadest audience possible, the Mime Troupe performs as a regional touring company, presenting their work at a price everyone can afford: free.

SCHEDULE:

Preview performance: Saturday, June 18, San Geronimo Valley Community Center

6350 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, San Geronimo, 3:30 music, 4pm show

 

SAN FRANCISCO:

Saturday, July 2, Dolores Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Sunday, July 3, Dolores Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Monday, July 4, Dolores Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show- OPENING DAY

Saturday, August 6, Peacock Meadow, Golden Gate Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Sunday, August 7, Glen Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Saturday, August 20, Washington Square Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Sunday, August 21, Yerba Buena Gardens, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Saturday, September 3, Dolores Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Sunday, September 4 Dolores Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show

Monday, September 5, Dolores Park, 1:30 music, 2pm show (ASL interpreter on site)

 

 

EAST BAY:

Saturday, July 9, Cedar Rose Park, Berkeley, 1:30pm music, 2pm show

Sunday, July 10, Cedar Rose Park, Berkeley, 1:30pm music, 2pm show

Saturday, July 23, Mosswood Park, Oakland, 1:30pm music, 2pm show

Wednesday, August 3, Lakeside Park, Oakland, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

Thursday, August 4, Lakeside Park, Oakland, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

Saturday, August 13, Live Oak Park, Berkeley, 1:30pm music, 2pm show

Sunday, August 14, Live Oak Park, Berkeley, 1:30pm music, 2pm show (ASL interpreter on site)

Thursday, August 25, Montclair Ball Field, Montclair, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

Saturday, September 17, Willard Park, Berkeley, 1:30pm music, 2pm show

Sunday, September 18, Willard Park, Berkeley, 1:30pm music, 2pm show

Wednesday, September 21, Chabot College Performing Arts Center, Hayward, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

 

RICHMOND:

Sunday, July 24, Nicholl Park, 1:30pm music, 2pm show

 

NEVADA CITY:
Thursday, September 8, Nevada Theatre, 7pm music, 7:30pm show, for tickets visit www.brownpapertickets.com

Friday, September 9, Nevada Theatre, 7pm music, 7:30pm show, for tickets visit www.brownpapertickets.com

 

DAVIS:

Saturday, September 10, Community Park, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

 

SACRAMENTO:
Sunday, September 11, Southside Park, 4:30 music, 5pm show

 

 

NORTH BAY:

Wednesday, August 24, Veterans Memorial Park, Napa, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

Wednesday, August 31, Mill Valley Community Center (back lawn), Mill Valley, 6:30 music, 7pm show

Monday, September 19, Sebastiani Theatre Sonoma, 7:00 music, 7:30pm show, for tickets call

707-996-9756

 

POINT ARENA:

Thursday, July 28, Arena Theater, 7:30pm music, 8pm show, for tickets visit www.arenatheater.org

 

REDWAY:

Saturday, July 30, Mateel Community Center, 7:30pm music, 8pm show, for tickets visit www.mateel.org

 

UKIAH:

Friday, September 23, Todd Grove Park, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

 

PETALUMA:

Sunday, September 25, Petaluma Progressive Festival, Walnut Park, 2:30pm music, 3pm show

 

 

PENINSULA:

 

PALO ALTO:

Thursday, September 1, Mitchell Park (South Field), 6:30pm music, 7pm show

 

REDWOOD CITY:

Wednesday, September 14, Redwood City Courthouse Square, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

 

SANTA CRUZ:

Saturday, August 27, San Lorenzo Park, 2:30pm music, 3pm show

Sunday, August 28, San Lorenzo Park, 2:30pm music, 3pm show

 

 

SOCAL:

 

RIVERSIDE:

Wednesday, July 13, White Park, 6:30pm music, 7pm show

 

CARLSBAD:

Friday, July 15, Carlsbad Community Cultural Arts Center, 7:30pm music, 8pm show, for tickets visit www.carlsbadcac.com

Saturday, July 16, Carlsbad Community Cultural Arts Center, 7:30pm music, 8pm show, for tickets visit www.carlsbadcac.com

 

HOLLYWOOD:

Monday, July 18, Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 7:30 music, 8pm show, for tickets visit www.brownpapertickets.com

 

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