The Oscars are just around the corner and we will be celebrating in our usual high/medium/low/mix-it-up style. Join us for our 8th Annual Awards Night Party! It’s the Oscars broadcast live on Feb. 26, with costume contest, auction and prizes. A delicious dinner from our great local restaurants, appetizers, desert and wine are all included in the ticket price.
This year’s costume contest brings a wealth of opportunity. Steampunks have HUGO. Those who favor casual yet chic clothing made from expensive fabric that drapes nicely can come as the modern-day characters from MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. Marilyn Monroe (MY WEEK WITH MARILYN) and Margaret Thatcher (THE IRON LADY) are both options; or just wear your usual Izod shirt, wind-breaker and baseball cap (MONEYBALL). Something for everyone.
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Tickets are $55 General ($45 for Lark Theater members), $75 VIP. They are going quickly, so we recommend you call in advance: 415.924.5111. Details on our website.
Sunday’s Women’s World Cup soccer Final between USA and Japan is going to be amazing, thrilling, historic. What do you need to know to be fully swept up in the excitement? A little background never hurts.
Let’s start with the home team. USA has long been a superpower in women’s soccer.
An iconic moment from 1999. Chastain says Sunday's final will be “a clash of cultures in both game plan and philosophy.”
They broke onto the world stage in 1999, when 90,000 people filled the Rose Bowl to watch USA play China in the final. The score was tied 0-0 at full time and remained so until a nail-biting penalty kick shootout resulted in a USA win. Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain became stars, and the game brought huge attention to women’s soccer and athletics.They haven’t won a World Cup since, and they’re ready.
USA’s playing style has been characterized as a relentless hustle, never-say-die approach. This team bristles with talent. Hope Solo might be the best goalkeeper in the tournament. Star forward Abby Wambach’s late-game goal against Brazil last Sunday was the stuff of legend.
USA has flourished under the coaching of Swede Pia Sundhage. Hope Solo, pictured here, says of Sundhage's coaching style, "She said, 'You guys are creative, you are soccer players.' She wanted us to think and read the game for ourselves.... She lets the game come to us.”
Japan has displayed discipline, savvy and skill throughout the tournament. But there’s something more. Shortly before Japan faced two-time defending champion Germnay in the quarterfinals, Coach Norio Sasaki gave showed his players slide-show images of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan’s northeastern coast on March 11, killing more than 15,000 people.
“They touched us deep in our souls,” midfielder Aya Miyama told reporters.
Hope Solo sums it up: “They’re playing for something bigger and better than the game. When you’re playing with so much emotion, that’s hard to play against.”
We’ll see how they do on Sunday. Join us. Details here.
Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell. Don't get her mad.
We’ve talked about THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and THE CHERRY ORCHARD here, so, thrilled as we are to be bringing them to our huge screen from Broadway and London, we won’t go on about it. But: once you’ve seen EARNEST on 6/6, you will want to join us for a TONY AWARDS PARTY on 6/12, if only to root for Brian Bedford as Best Actor for his brilliant turn as Lady Bracknell.
So here’s something else exciting. The Metropolitan Opera’s amazing program of satellite transmissions, The Met: Live in HD, is very popular here at the Lark, with most live broadcasts selling out. But we know there’s an audience we’ve yet to reach: people who maybe love theater and musicals but haven’t quite made it over to opera yet, or people on fixed incomes for whom the ticket prices pose a challenge.
Is this you? Then you’ll want to know that starting in June we have the Met’s Summer Encore Series, six of the most popular and accessible shows from the past season, for only $15 each.
Simple gestures movingly convey a child's curiosity, concern and tenderness.
We start with Puccini’s MADAMA BUTTERFLY on Sat, 6/18 at 10am. The insanely beautiful, colorful staging of Anthony Mighella’s production and the music – you’ve heard the heart-piercing aria “Un bel di vedrema,” even if you don’t know it – make this a great introduction if you’re new to opera, or new to opera onscreen. Film-goers know Minghella from THE ENGLISH PATIENT). The production is also graced by the astonishing work of London’s Blind Summit Theatre, which created Cio-Cio San’s puppet child. Read about the production here.
Cio-Cio San and her puppet son. Puppeteers are fully visible but go unnoticed.
March is Member Madness at the Lark. We have a cluster of wonderful, award-winning documentaries coming up on environmental topics (see last post), with director screenings that are open to the public and FREE to members at all levels. Become a member at our affordable Individual level ~ $75/year ~ and attend director screenings for PLASTIC PLANET (3/18, Werner Boote joins us by Skype) and QUEEN OF THE SUN (3/26 & 3/29). See both and it’s like getting $20 off your already low membership dues! And there will be more special screenings to come.
Best of all, you’re supporting the Lark. We wouldn’t be here without community support, and we appreciate your help in keeping us aloft!
Our members do not resemble penguins, this being a casual environment, but nice linocut from Nicole Antrobus.
Local shopper Steven Spielberg
Okay, maybe not every day (though a friend did find himself in line at the checkout at Lucky Supermarket behind Steven Spielberg. For real! It went like this: “Hmmm, that guy’s got some nice shoes… Wow, he’s buying expensive wine…Whoa! That’s Steven Spielberg!”). But around Oscar time, that’s how we like to think of ourselves. We had a fantastic Award Night bash this year. We were sold out in advance for the event (make a mental note for next year), and our audience/community came through with imaginative costumes, lots of fun and hilarity, and generous support.
Please scan the list of local merchants who supported us with in-kind donations for this year’s party, and visit them. They are all wonderful.
Acqua Hotel
Ambrosia
Bloomers of Larkspur
Bryan’s Fine Foods
Burritoville
Chad Carvey
Courtyard by Marriott Larkspur Landing
Walt Disney Family Museum
D.J.’s Chinese Cuisine
Donna and Chuck Huggins
Donut Alley
Emporio Rulli
Eliza Haskins Koeppel
Fabrizio Ristorante
flourchylde Bakery
Gala 484
Il Fornaio
Infineon Raceway
Insalata’s
Jesse et Laurent
Left Bank Brasserie
M Clothing
Marin Country Mart
Marin Symphony
Marin Theatre Company
Mary Clyde
Melting Pot of Larkspur
M & M Team of Pacific Union International
Pizzeria Picco
Red Robin Catering
See’s Candies
Stefano’s Pizzeria
Table Cafe
Tavern at Lark Creek
Tutu School
Ward Street Cafe
Yankee Pier
YogaWorks
It’s event season again here at the Lark, and we have a lot coming up. Our Family Film Series has been a great success. Sponsored by the Sellers and Koeppel families, the series has been our way of offering an easy and affordable afternoon activity for kids and parents alike. Tix are $5 for kids under 12, $6.75 general. As a special part of the series, on 1/29 & 1/30 we’ll have Sing-along WIZARD OF OZ, with SF Opera chorus member Kathleen Bayler leading us in song (same ticket prices except adults are $10 at the door, $6.75 in advance).
Part of our NT Live series, KING LEAR comes to our screen on 2/3 and 2/5. The title role in this most dark yet transcendent of Shakespeare’s works is taken on by that most humane, most nuanced, most astonishing actor, Derek Jacobi. We are proud to be able to offer this caliber of performance, and we hope you’ll join us.
On Feb. 6 we’ll have Super Bowl XLV live onscreen – great for families who like to gather friends together but prefer to skip the clean-up or who have kids too young for the sports bar. Our Sports Onscreen events have grown in popularity. Ticket price Includes one soft drink or beer, popcorn and hot dog or pizza. Join us!
By popular demand, we’ve added a showing of FELA! on 2/10 at 7:00pm. Tony Award winner and living legend choreographer Bill T. Jones helms this amazing production, which he says is “rooted in the big questions of my life, questions like creativity, transgression, rebellion, sensuality, history, race, power. And there’s something about the man that calls out for a very poetic treatment. His life is so mythic in its scale.”
Stay tuned for more – not least, our Seventh Annual Academy Awards Party, coming up on 2/27.
Durst Case Scenario: Election Edition is a new one-man show from the great Will Durst, six-time Emmy nominee and brilliant political satirist. We are again delighted to be working with Ellie Mednick, who produces this very special event as part of our “On Stage at the Lark” series. The New York Times calls him “Quite possibly the best political satirist working in the country today.” Rachel Maddow of MSNBC says: “One of the greatest commentators of all things political. He’s one of the best.”
Outraged and outrageous, Durst is as current as today’s headlines, as accurate as a sniper, and universally acknowledged by even his peers as the nation’s foremost political comic. He has appeared on television hundreds of times – and you may know him from Will and Willie, his radio show with Willie Brown. Durst has performed at countless political events, including for three elected Presidents. We are thrilled to have him at the Lark! Hope to see you on November 12. Details on our website.
Saw IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER at Marin Theatre Company yesterday, a wonderful production that makes simple yet layered poetry out of flesh and blood and breath. The play is part of a trilogy, THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney.
THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS have been widely heralded as marking the emergence of a major new voice in American theater (“It’s what people must have felt during productions of the early works of Eugene O’Neill in the 1920s or of Sam Shepard in the 1960s.”) Recognizing their importance, MTC, The Magic Theatre and A.C.T. have pooled resources to bring us all three plays. This collaboration, the first of its kind, is an inspired and generous gift to local audiences.
We left the theater engaged in deep conversation about language, race, lust, Louisiana, mythology, and more. Meanwhile, back at the Lark, the first in our fall Sunday Salon series had just wrapped up – a screening of ALAMAR with audience discussion moderated by Garth Twa, who will also be leading our World Cinema Workshops later this fall. The Workshops and the Salons are a way of fostering conversation that is informed and illuminating and sparks the imagination. We hope you’ll join us; and also that you’ll take advantage of the wonderful work on offer at our neighboring cultural outlets. And tell us what you think.
- French New Wave. Understand the seismic shift in filmmaking in the early 1960s that continues to influence independent film the world over. Thurs., Oct. 7, 1 – 4pm
- Ingmar Bergman was a master of a cinema of punctured spirituality and our tenuous place in the universe. His work offers an unparalleled exploration of the nature of the human soul. Thurs., Oct 21, 1 – 4pm
- Iranian Cinema. Iran has a greater percentage of women filmmakers than practically any other country, and its industry has learned to challenge prevailing systems in ingenious and stunning ways. Thurs., Nov. 4, 1 – 4pm
With a perfect record of predictions for the 2010 World Cup, Oktopus Paul was one among many remarkable performers we had the privilege of witnessing during this exhilarating series of sporting events. The Lark Theater presented three of the games live on the big screen, with two sold-out houses. It is thrilling to watch a live sporting event here in the dark on the very big screen with a house full of like-minded fans and an up-close view of the action. Today, Paul goes into well-earned retirement. But we will continue to bring you live sporting events; next up, Super Bowl 2011.
Meanwhile, it’s summer, and these breezy, fog-conditioned days won’t last forever. Come in and cool down with us Friday mornings through mid-August at Family Film Fridays, where tickets are only ONE DOLLAR for kids 12 and under, and only FIVE DOLLARS for everyone else. See our website for details on this and more.
And there are three more Met Opera greatest hits coming your way in the next few weeks: LA BOHEME, TURANDOT, and CARMEN. If you haven’t had the amazing experience of the Met onscreen – or if you haven’t seen one or all of these brilliant productions – we hope you’ll take this opportunity. We don’t need a psychic octopus to know you’ll enjoy your experience.
