Author: Alfredo Casuso

Media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 767-1067 /  news@davidperry.com

5^th Season for Circus Center Cabaret Promises Circus! Live Music! Cocktails!

Chanteuse / Emcee Madame Borghesi and The Roger Glenn Trio Lead A Grown Up Circus Extravaganza:

High Five –  October 11 & 12

Season Continues With

Hack This! – November 22 & 23

Galaxies A Go-Go – January 24 & 25

Holier Than Wow – March 13 & 14

Fail to the Chief – April 17 & 18

www.circuscenter.org 

29 August 2019 — San Francisco, CA: Intimate, elegant, cheeky and mischievous as befits its over 21 audience, Circus Center Cabaret roars back to the stage with the 5th anniversary season of its critically acclaimed distillation of top-drawer circus and variety artists, an atmosphere of delightful indulgence, and live music performed by Cabaret Chanteuse Madame Leanne Borghesi and the Roger Glenn Trio. Under the visionary direction of legendary circus teacher and clown Steve Smith, the Circus Center Cabaret is presented in an intimate venue with a full bar at Circus Center’s iconic home near Golden Gate Park (755 Frederick Street).  Tickets are $15 for standing room; $45 for main floor seating; $85 for VIP Seating.   Tickets may be purchased by phone at (866) 811-4111 or online at www.circuscenter.org/cabaret beginning Saturday, September 1. The house opens at 7:30pm; curtain is at 8pm. The running time for the show is 90 minutes. The opening show of the season, “High Five”, runs for two performances: Friday and Saturday, October 11 & 12.

“Hyperbole aside, there’s nothing quite like it in the Bay Area landscape,” says Barry Kendall, Circus Center Executive Director and Executive Producer for the Cabaret, calling the experience “the perfect date night. We have table service and a bar staff who are young, gender-bending, and very sexy. The variety of talent on our stage is enormous – aerialists, acrobats, contortionists, clowns, jugglers, quick change artists, and so much more. We bring in headliner artists from around the world, coming to us straight from Cirque du Soleil, Big Apple Circus, Vegas shows, and more – you can’t see them anywhere else in San Francisco. And in our cozy, intimate theatre, you’re never more than 50 feet from the stars on our stage – sometimes much closer!” 

In charge and in the center of it all are two of the Bay Area’s brightest stars: ringmaster Madame Leanne Borghesi and renowned jazz legend Roger Glenn. A vibrant entertainer and vocalist, Borghesi has been dazzling audiences coast to coast for two decades. Her star is on the rise, with her recent debuts at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Roger Glenn is a second-generation master multi-instrumentalist and composer, hailed for his contributions to jazz and Latin jazz for five decades. Glenn has worked and recorded with giants in jazz such as Dizzy Gillespie, Rosemary Clooney, Steve Miller, Taj Mahal, Kurt Elling, and Steely Dan. 

“Leanne and Roger are icons in their own right, with a wide circle of fans,” notes director Smith. “The combination of interactive performance and world-class musicianship is unmatched.  Our fifth anniversary season serves up crafty cocktails, cabaret, circus antics, and more than a little irreverence, served shaken, stirred, and on the rocks.”

“Madame really goes all the way this season and takes all of us along for the ride,” Smith summed up.  “Fasten your high wire harnesses. It’s going to be a fabulously bumpy night. Humor will definitely ‘trump’ political correctness. As one reviewer said of our Madame, she’s got ‘the lungs of Ethel Merman, the wigs of Ann Miller, the feather boas of Julie Wilson, the humor of Sophie Tucker, and the soul of a RuPaul’s Drag Race winner.’ ”

The 5^th Anniverary Season of the Circus Center Cabaret continues with: 

• Hack This! (November 22 & 23): Madame Founds a Startup! Or at least she tries to. In Hack This!, Madame Borghesi decides to follow the Silicon Valley model and invent her way to fame and riches. There’s a bit of the mad scientist in her (she’s got her very own Igor-like assistant), as she comes up with zany ideas, sings and tells stories about inventions past and present, and tries the enterpreneurial approach to life!
• Galaxies A Go-Go (January 24 & 25): Madame wants to explore deep space! So, she takes a crash course in the history of space travel (aided by a very handsome astronaut) and sends NASA her application, along with a few recommendations: more fashionable space suits, an in-flight culinary upgrade,,zero-gravity sex toys, and more, all chronicled in her new blog,,“KISS MY ASS-TEROID.” But will she pass muster at Mission Control?
• Holier Than Wow (March 13 & 14) In the thick of the March primaries, this show features the return of our popular news segment, WTF News, anchored by an increasingly agitated and outraged Guy Riggs. Madame Borghesi, meanwhile, has decided that her road to celebrity is the path to enlightenment, as she remakes herself into a spiritual guru. Your chakras will tingle as our cabaret artists show you “The Way.”
• Fail to the Chief (April 17 & 18): Madame runs for President! From grassroots to grand plans, Madame has decided that the world needs fixing, and she’s just the one to do it. She’s started a new political party and issued its manifesto, called ‘MOVIN’ ON WITH MADAME.’ She travels to Capitol Hill, where she is grilled by snarky senators and cranky congressmen until she rises to her heartfelt, passionate “Jimmy Stewart moment.”

ABOUT CIRCUS CENTER:
Circus Center’s history began in 1974, when Peggy Snider and Larry Pisoni founded The Pickle Family Circus, the iconic Bay Area troupe that kicked off the United States’ circus renaissance movement.  Ten years later, Pickle Family members Wendy Parkman and Judy Finelli opened the San Francisco School for Circus Arts, renamed Circus Center in 2001, to train youth in circus arts.  Circus Center offers classes for every level of ability in flying trapeze, acrobatics, aerial arts, contortion, juggling and many other disciplines. A vibrant hub of the circus community on the West Coast, Circus Center is comprised of a world-renowned team of instructors and coaches have performed with the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe, Moscow Circus, Cirque du Soleil, Pickle Family Circus, Circus Bella, Circus Smirkus, Teatro ZinZanni, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, and the Big Apple Circus.

• https://www.facebook.com/circuscentercabaret/
• Twitter@circuscenter
• Instagram@circuscenter

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media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com 

Dezart Performs Presents SQUEEZE MY CANS For Two Shows Only: October 7 & 8

Acclaimed “Hilarious But True” Story about One Woman’s Journey
Into-and-Out-of Scientology
Written and Performed by Cathy Schenkelberg

Performances Benefit Dezart Performs and the Scott Smith Scholarship Fund

www.dezartperforms.org

19 August 2019 – Palm Springs, CA: Ever wondered what got into L. Ron Hubbard? Well, the wait is over. For two performances only, October 7 and 8, Dezart Performs presents SQUEEZE MY CANS: Cathy Schenkelberg’s acclaimed one-woman show chronicling her journey into-and-out-of Scientology. A benefit for Dezart Performs and the Scott Smith Scholarship Fund, the performances will take place in a special one-time partnership at the Desert Rose Playhouse.

“It’s so perfect that SQUEEZE MY CANS will benefit the Scott Smith Scholarship Fund as Scott was the one who told me about Cathy’s show,” said Michael Shaw, Dezart Performs Founding Artistic Director. “Besides having been a very dear friend, Scott directed and performed numerous times on Dezart’s stage and was a member of the Dezart Performs’ board of directors.”

Smith, a well known theatre professional in the Coachella Valley, died on March 1, 2018 of a sudden heart attack. Established following his death, the Fund honors a local Palm Springs high school drama student with a scholarship towards their further educational study.

“Scott and I met in the Midwest tour of Hair together,” recalls Schenkelberg, noting that it was Smith who encouraged her to turn her experiences in Scientology into a show.  “Two weeks before Scott died I was at his home. We were at his kitchen counter having a martini and he said, ‘Cathy, you did it! You said you were going to write a show and now you’ve toured it almost three years.’ Then, two weeks later, while I was en flight to perform SQUEEZE in Dublin, Ireland, Scott died.”

In SQUEEZE MY CANS, we follow Schenkelberg from the beginning as a young actor from a big family in Nebraska trying to find her place eventually ending up in – and escaping from – the Church of Scientology. Debuting at the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival, Schenkelberg’s harrowing personal experience as a member of the Church of Scientology was hailed as “moving, hilarious, heart-breaking and redemptive. You experience for yourself how Scientology devours money and lives” (Chicago Reader). “Schenkelberg easily switches characters and time periods with dizzying energy, that is both exhilarating and electrifying” (Edge Media). SQUEEZE MY CANS “is of the best performed, brilliantly written, elegantly directed one person shows I have ever seen” (Buzz News) 

SQUEEZE MY CANS, written and performed by Cathy Schenkelberg, will run Monday and Tuesday, October 7 and 8 at 7:30pm at the Desert Rose Playhouse  (69620 E Palm Canyon Dr, Rancho Mirage). Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at www.dezartperforms.org or by phone by calling (760) 322-0179.

Going on a dozen years, the award-winning Dezart Performs has brought theatre that has enlightened, entertained, educated and enchanted Desert audiences. This year’s upcoming 12^th Season, taking place at thePearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club / 314 S Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs) continues the trend.  Starting with the raucous Tony Award nominated dark comedy HAND TO GOD by Robert Askins (November 8 – 17), the season switches to drama with the acclaimed off-Broadway hit DANIEL’S HUSBAND by Michael McKeever (January 10 – 19). Rounding out the season are the Pulitzer Prize winning working class drama SWEAT by Lynn Nottage (February 28 – March 8) and the comedy/drama EVERY BRILLIANT THING written by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe (April 3 – 12).

Media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com 

MEDIA ADVISORY / REQUEST FOR ONSITE COVERAGE: August 15 & 24

WHO: Manny’s presents

WHAT/WHEN: Two Democratic Presidential Candidates in Discussion

WHERE Manny’s  / 3092 16^th Street @ Valencia, San Francisco

WHEN Thursday, August 15:

7:30pm – Conversation between Manny Yekutiel and Marianne Williamson

Saturday, August 24:

2pm – 4pm: Town Hall with Senator Michael Bennett

WEB: www.welcometomannys.com   

WHY: Manny’s, “the New Hampshire of California” (KCBS Radio)continues its hosting of leading Democratic presidential candidates this month with events featuring Marianne Williamson and Michael Bennett.

Manny’s is a people powered and community focused meeting and learning place in the heart of San Francisco that combines a restaurant, political bookshop, and civic events space. The goal of Manny’s is to create a central and affordable place to become a better informed and more involved citizen. We do this by offering our events space to nonprofits, activists, and civic organizations to spread their message and do their work as well as hosting our own civic and arts related programming. Our kitchen is run by the non-profit, Farming Hope, which hires formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals and trains them in the food skills needed to work in the restaurant industry.

Manny’s opened on Election Night, 2018 where over 500 people came together to watch the results of that moment in our civic life together and since then the venue has hosted hundreds of gatherings. Manny’s is a community space and is proudly located in the Mission District – a historic hub of activism and progressive action. 

media contact:  David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com  

Who / What:  The Rainbow Honor Walk dedicates the next Eight Honoree Plaques

When:        Friday, August 9: 10:30am – 11:30am

Where:      Catch Restaurant / 2362 Market Street (@ Castro) San Francisco

7 August 2019 – San Francisco, CA:  The Rainbow Honor Walk (www.rainbowhonorwalk.org) will unveil its next 8 honorees this Friday, August 9 at 10:30am beginning at Catch Restaurant (2362 Market Street @ Castro).  Plaques honoring Alvin Ailey, W.H. Auden, Josephine Baker, Marie Equi, Freddie Mercury, Gerry Studds, Lou Sullivan and Chavela Vargas will be dedicated as Rainbow Honor Walk board members and supporters stop by each plaque. The eight new bronze plaques, 3 feet x 3 feet, are on Market Street between Castro and Sanchez Streets.

Following are the eight honorees whose plaques are to be dedicated:

• Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) Gay American ballet dancer and choreographer credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th-century concert dance.
  
• W.H. Auden (1907-1973) Gay English poet known for love poems such as “Funeral Blues,” poems on political and social themes such as “September 1, 1939,” and poems on cultural and psychological themes such as “The Age of Anxiety.”
  
• Josephine Baker (1906-1975) American-born dancer, singer, actress, and world-famous entertainer, embraced by France as a national treasure, who refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States.
  
• Marie Equi (1872-1952) Lesbian American physician and political activist devoted to providing care to working-class and poor patients, providing health care information to women, and fighting for civic and economic reforms, women’s right to vote and an eight-hour workday.
  
• Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) Bisexual British singer, songwriter, record producer and lead performer with the rock group Queen.
  
• Gerry Studds (1937-2006) American politician and the first openly gay member of the U.S. Congress.
  
• Lou Sullivan (1951-1991) American author, activist, and female to male transgender pioneer who is widely credited for the modern understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity as distinct, unrelated concepts.
  
• Chavela Vargas (1919-2012) Lesbian Costa Rican-born singer known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras and for her contribution to other genres of popular Latin American music. 

When a volunteer committee of community members proposed the Rainbow Honor Walk, they received the unanimous support of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to create the sidewalk monument. Comprised of 3 foot x 3 foot bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalk, the Walk salutes the groundbreaking achievements of noted LGBT individuals throughout history. The first 20 honorees were announced in 2011. In 2012 the Rainbow Honor Walk board solicited design proposals from around the world.  An independent jury of artists and cultural leaders selected the winning design by architect Carlos Casuso of Madrid, Spain. The plaques were manufactured by Mussi Artworks of Berkeley, California with creative oversight of the process spearheaded by Lawrence Noble, head of the sculpture department at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University. The first 20 plaques were installed in September 2014 with an additional eight plaques added in 2017.

The Rainbow Honor Walk Board is comprised of the following individuals: Peter Goss, Madeline Hancock, Karen Helmuth, Bill Lipsky, David Perry, Joe Robinson, Charlotte Ruffner, Donna Sachet, Gustavo Serina, Barbara Tannenbaum and Tarita Thomas.

The Rainbow Honor Walk will eventually extend from the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy on 19th Street at Diamond down to Castro Street—the LGBT community’s “Main Street”—and will continue up Market Street with additional extensions on 18th Street. On Market Street, San Francisco’s main thoroughfare, the Walk will continue to the LGBT Center at Octavia Boulevard.  

All funds for manufacture of the Rainbow Honor Walk are raised privately, with each plaque costing approximately $ 6000. A major source of income comes from the San Francisco Human Rights Campaign Action Center and Store (575 Castro Street) through the sale of commemorative mugs, t-shirts and lapel pins, which has generated over $20,000 for the Rainbow Honor Walk.

Individuals interested in contacting the Rainbow Honor Walk may do so by email at info@rainbowhonorwalk.org or by mail to Rainbow Honor Walk, 584 Castro Street, #113

San Francisco, California 94114.  Contact can also be made via Facebook by searching “Rainbow Honor Walk”. Information can also be found online, and donations made, through the Rainbow Honor Walk website at www.rainbowhonorwalk.org.