Kevin’s Showtime on the Cheap

As Dolly Levi said, “Money is like manure. Not worth a thing unless it’s spread around, encouraging young things to grow.” With the economy the way it is, we all need to spread out the little monies we have to help our economy the best we can. And there are ways to support the arts without mortgaging your home.

In a recent trip to Los Angeles, I found a lot of great ways to have fun at the theatre. First of all, the Center Theatre Group has addressed tough times head on by offering hot tix to certain performances for $20. This collection of live theatres always have high-end touring Broadway shows or even some terrific Broadway-bound productions. If you act quickly (as it closes Dec. 21), you can catch “The Little Dog Laughed,” which won a Tony for its lead actress Julie White, who is in the LA production as well.

This is a gem of a show about a closeted movie star who gets caught with his hands in the cookie jar (or actually in the arms of a male hustler). But the story really shines with the acid-tongue, fast-talking, riotous White as his agent who is the one who really holds nothing back. White’s performance and the witty dialogue of Douglas Carter Beane are worth the price of admission.

The Center also has an original musical coming up early next year – “Minsky’s,” a fact-based telling of the famed burlesque club. Written by Bob Martin (“The Drowsy Chaperone”), this will likely be a crowd pleaser, but we will certainly keep you posted. It opens January 21, 2009.

And as long as you’re in LA, you must catch “I Love My Wife,” closing Dec. 14 at the Brentwood Theatre. This is a seldom revived musical dealing with wife swapping and the 1970s, this clever show has a great ensemble cast with Jason Alexander, Patrick Cassidy, Lea Thompson and Vicki Lewis. It seems the cast is mostly made up of TV stars, which one might expect from an LA production. But many forget that before “Seinfeld,” Alexander won a Tony award for best actor in a MUSICAL and Cassidy also has done a lot of regional, touring and Broadway musicals.

The show is a nice flashback to the 1970s with the cast all in top form. Alexander, who also is the theatre group’s artistic director, makes you forget George from “Seinfeld” and Cassidy is in good voice as his more debonair friend. And, he looks a lot like his late father Jack Cassidy with his distinguished white hair. But his hot body, much on display at the end of the second act, makes him less distinguished and more just hot!

And let’s not forget the ladies. Both actresses are amiable TV stars that you expect to find pleasant but they actually bring more character and personality to their roles then you’d expect. Get your last minute tickets at www.reprise.org. Oh, and if you don’t know LA, you should ask everyone to help you find the theatre as the address is not on a GPS system! But it can be found in a tree lined country backroad behind the Veteran’s Administration building.

And for people who are in San Francisco, you can get camp and trannies for $20! See some of our popular drag queens, including my dear friend Heklina, in “The Golden Girls Christmas Episodes.” These campy reenactments of classic TV can make any grinch give back Christmas. Learn how to get tickets through Heklina’s website. But it plays Thursday, Friday and Saturdays through Dec. 27 (except Christmas).

And the New Conservatory Theatre Center always has great prices for shows! Closing Dec. 21 is another gem from Douglas Carter Beane – “As Bees in Honey Drowns.” But I can’t wait to get out there to see “Zanna Don’t!,” which plays through January 18. I saw the off-Broadway musical about a topsy-turvy world in which being gay was the norm and straight was the minority. It’s a cute and clever show and as I couldn’t get through Fausto and Mark’s heads, it is not a retelling of “Xanadu” – it just plays with the title. (The musical “Xanadu” just starting touring – so keep your eye for it – and it’s book is by Douglas Carter Beane, I guess he’s our savor for good theatre in this poor economy.)

And last but not least, regional theatre is getting more cutting edge – and regional is always less expensive. In the Bay Area, I have enjoyed many a show at the Willows Theatre. Starting next month is “Evil Dead – the Musical” – can’t wait to see that and I will tell you all about it. And then coming later in the season is “Pageant,” which did very well a few seasons back in San Francisco. Since the Willows is in the East Bay, I hope they maintain the drag queens play the parts of competing beauty queens instead of having women play the roles, God forbid. And the Willows will also present “Hats” (about red hat ladies) and “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” – you can get a better season than that!

Now that’s enough about theatre!

And to get the most out of San Francisco during the holidays and through the winter, the Hotel Mark Twain’s shopping package, through February, has hundreds of dollars in savings at stores, restaurants and other service providers – from Macys to Nordstrom to Go Car to free wine at First Crush to discounts at Fish & Farm to discounts at the factory outlet. Check out all the participants on the specials at Hotel Mark Twain. Oh, and if you notice, the hotel is also offering FREE valet parking with all deluxe rooms this winter for reservations made directly with the hotel. Book both of these great offers online or by calling directly at 415/673-2332.

And if your travels take you to New York City and you want a good hotel deal, I truly enjoy the hotels part of the Empire Hotel Group or there are often deals at the Hotel Edison or the Skyline Hotel which has an indoor pool!

As mentioned on the show, for those who want to win someone over for the holidays with cookies, Monster Cookies with Red and Green M&M’s would make anyone happy. There are several recipes for these cookies online but this is my favorite. Hints: to make nuttier I use peanut M&Ms and use a metal spoon to stir – a wooden one will break!

And once Christmas is over, New Year’s is right around the corner. Most hotels in metropolitan cities are at their premium on New Year’s Eve. But if you are going to be downtown San Francisco, ask for the FEAST rate at the Hotel Mark Twain and you’ll get $20 off your room for New Year’s Eve!

And if you’re looking for something in San Francisco to do downtown that’s fun and festive, Infusion Lounge, which technically opens in January, is having a special New Year’s Eve event. They are promoting themselves as “Nightlife Defined” and in my recent tour of the facility, they are absolutely right. Infusion Lounge features two posh rooms of Asian-inspired decor and a great VIP area. They have great packages for New Year’s Eve-whether you’re going solo as a couple or need a reserved table for a group.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at 1:57 am and is filed under Events, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.