Right about this time, middle of the week, one starts entertaining options for the weekend. If in San Francisco, look no further, Tim Barsky's, The Bright River is a performance that is equal parts morbid and enlightening, dangling hope in an underworld of despair. Unfortunately, there are only three shows left before "the mass transit bus of the afterlife" departs the historic Brava Theatre Center with destination unknown. So needless to say this weekend is the last chance to see The Bright River at the end of the tunnel. It ends on February 20th, 2010.
The press release notes that : The Bright River: A Mass Transit Tour of the Afterlife is a beat box-musical that is part Sam Spade, part Dante’s Inferno, part love story, and part socio-political commentary infused with bodkin (a traditional Hassidic street theater style that was popular hundreds of years ago in the streets of a Jewish ghetto). But when you watch the performance, you will discover what lies under the theatrical layers and at the the heart of The Bright River. It is a brute and raw glimpse into the lives of those people that are hustling their way through the injustices in the world, on a daily basis. It is a story of those that find their homes and identities in the underground.
"There's a rising divide between people, between each-other, and between ourselves, and yet I think there's something awesome in reclaiming the high ground, in about saying; yeah this is our country, this is our world. Those in power want to dictate terms to us but their stories are not as good, their beats are whack." - Tim Barsky
Watch some snippets of the performance and see what else Barsky, has to say about The Bright River, in this YouTube video:
This 5 person performance crew takes multi-tasking to the highest level. They are actors, musicians, urban-artists, beat-boxers, folk-lore entertainers, circus performers, historians, hip-hop DJs, educators and grass-roots social activists, sharing their love for social justice both on stage and in their communities. They teach beat-boxing at San Francisco juvenile detention facilities and poetry at correctional facilities, educate at risk youth about lyrics, help ESL kids improve speech skills, teach break-dancing to children and keep music alive so that youth can better express themselves. In a world full of high drama and injustice, they are true urban heroes.
Photos borrowed from The Bright River producer, Laird Archer, Golden Gate Recordings
Purchase your tickets from Brown Paper Tickets and invite your friends. $17.00 gets you through the door of this intimate theater and $35.00 will have you practically sitting on stage beat-boxing along with the crew.
Support other and all events at the Historic Brava Theatre Center owned and operated by Brava! for Women in the Arts; committed to the artistic expression of women, people of color and youth.
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