A busy social calendar is helping a new month in San Francisco fulfill an old proverb as March comes in like a lion.
Here are some of the top events to check out this week in The City.
Crossing State Lines for Abortion Access: Short Films and Panel Discussion (Monday)
The Roxie Theatre will screen Nazrin Choudhury’s 2023 Oscar-nominated dramatic short, “Red White and Blue,” and director Robert Greenwald’s 2024 short documentary, “Trump’s War on Women.” Both films chronicle the political and economic pressures affecting abortion access and reproductive health care.
Presented by the San Francisco Public Press, the screenings will be followed by a panel discussion featuring reproductive health-care advocates and experts. General-admission tickets cost $6, with the event running from 6 to 8 p.m.
Monday Night Playground: Bedtime Stories (Monday)
Bay Area actors and directors read original 10-page plays that are written by local playwrights and based on pre-selected monthly topics. The event is hosted by Playground San Francisco, a playwright incubator and theatrical community hub. This month’s edition is inspired by Margaret Wise Brown’s children’s book “Goodnight Moon” and features six talents.
‘Berner — Becoming Legend’ (Tuesday)
Gilbert Milam, Jr., the co-founder and CEO of Cookies, will swing by Book Passage in the Ferry Building to chat about “Becoming Legend: The Billion-Dollar Blueprint to Be a Whale in a Sea of Sharks.” Miliam’s debut book chronicles his journey of starting a cannabis brand on a San Francisco street corner and taking it to more than 70 locations around the world.
Tickets cost $32 and purchases include copies of the book. Guests can get autographs and photos at the event, which starts at 6 p.m.
‘Spamalot’ opening night (Tuesday)
The Tony-winning musical based on the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” comes to Golden Gate Theatre for a nearly three-week engagement. The Broadway production debuted more than 20 years ago with the book and lyrics written by Eric Idle, who also worked on the score with John Du Prez.
“Spamalot,” a Tony-winning musical based on the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” debuted on Broadway more than 20 years ago.
comes to Golden Gate Theatre for a nearly three-week engagement. The Broadway production debuted more than 20 years ago with the book and lyrics written by Eric Idle, who also worked on the score with John Du Prez.
Courtesy Matthew Murphy and Edward Zimmerman
‘The Prince of Homburg’ curator-led tour (Wednesday)
Jeanne Gerrity, a Yerba Buena Center for the Arts curator, will lead an exhibition tour of “The Prince of Homburg,” artist P. Staff’s solo exhibition that museum employees say focuses on themes of desire, repression and violence in contemporary culture.
Kalyn Josephson in conversation with K.X. Song (Wednesday)
New York Times-bestselling author Kalyn Josephson talks with diaspora writer K.X. Song about the former’s new book, “The Library of Amorlin.” Josephson’s adult-fantasy debut novel follows a con artist and a librarian.
Downtown First Thursdays (Thursday)
SoMa’s free all-ages block party is back for another edition spanning Second Street from Market to Howard streets. DJs Camillionaire and Black Panda peform from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by a two-hour special guest set from artist Sofia Kourtesis.
Downtown First Thursday parties — including the one scheduled for this week — take place on Second Street between Market and Howard streets.
Employees at the Tenderloin art gallery and event space are celebrating two years of business by hosting an art show featuring 65 Bay Area artists. The exhibition, their first of the year, takes place at 839 Larkin Street and runs through March 27th.
Rosebud Gallery’s reception takes place from 6 to 10 p.m.
True Laurel’s eighth-birthday jam (Thursday)
The acclaimed bar is celebrating its eighth birthday by inviting bartenders from around the world to the Mission district. True Laurel’s lineup includes stateside establishments from New Orleans and Portland, as well as a guest from Singapore. There will also be pickle beer and pan pizzas, along with vinyl records spun all night.
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‘Sound Maze’ at SFMOMA (Thursday-Saturday)
Composers Daniel Schmidt and Paul Dresher have built an interactive installation that lets guests explore their musical creativity by experimenting with large-scale instruments and sound sculptures. There are new additions by Bart Hopkin and Sudhu Tewari.
“Sound Maze,” an interactive installation built by composers Daniel Schmidt and Paul Dresher, is seen on display at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Courtesy Paul Dresher Ensemble and Sudhu Tewari
Access to the maze is included with general admission; tickets cost $15. Located on the fourth floor, the installation is open Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
North Beach First Fridays (Friday)
Neighborhood businesses and art galleries celebrate the start of International Women’s Month with an event combining live performances, poetry, photography, screen-printed artwork and other media. Twenty merchants will participate in this month’s self-guided art crawl by extending their hours of operation for guests.
The event — which is organized by the North Beach Business Association — begins at 5 p.m.
‘The Eyes and the Impossible’ community night (Friday)
The Word for Word Performing Arts Company presents its adaptation of the first six chapters of “The Eyes and the Impossible,” author Dave Eggers’ 2023 children’s book about a dog who lives in an urban park. Shows take place at Z Space, a Mission District performing-arts venue at 450 Florida St.
Tickets are available online at discounted rates ranging from $15 to $25. The 90-minute production, which includes one intermission, starts at 7 p.m.
‘The Music Critic’ (Friday)
Conductor and violinist Aleksey Igudesman joins forces with actor John Malkovich for “The Music Critic,” a comedic production in which the latter rips apart compositions written by talents like Beethoven, Brahms and Debussy. The show’s program has not yet been announced.
Tickets are available online, ranging in price from $75 to $275. The 7:30 p.m. performance takes place at Davies Symphony Hall.
Speakeasy comedy experience (Friday)
The Setup, a group that hosts stand-up comedy shows in speakeasies across the United States, comes to the Palace Theater’s bar in North Beach for a night that organizers say will be filled with laughter and surprises. Lineups feature Bay Area comedians and talents passing through the region.
Guests must be ages 21 and up to attend the show, which runs from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online for $35, with guests accessing the entrance by walking through Sam Lee Laundry.
‘Solo Act San Francisco’ (Saturday)
San Francisco native and Los Angeles-based artist Dylan Bartolini-Volk presents a visual art exhibition consisting of acrylic paintings on canvas. In addition to his abstract paintings, Bartolini-Volk will also share pieces of furniture and other home goods that he has made.
The admission-free event runs from 5 to 9 p.m., with the exhibition on view through March 15 at 1547 Pacific Ave.
Chinese New Year Parade (Saturday)
Floats, fireworks, lion dancers and other entertainers will walk a one-mile route that starts at the intersection of 2nd and Market streets, wraps around Union Square and ends at the intersection of Kearny St. and Columbus Ave. as part of The City’s long-running annual parade.
Free Boeddeker Park concert (Sunday)
Violinist and fiddler Alex Spoto will play an admission-free live set at 246 Eddy St. as part of his musical act Dog’s Breakfast. The bluegrass musician, who also serves as a Tenderloin Museum program director, will be joined by several yet-to-be-announced special guests.
Violinist Alex Spoto, a Tenderloin Museum program director, will play an admission-free live set Sunday as part of his musical act Dog’s Breakfast.
Courtesy Tenderloin Community Benefit District
Presented by the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, the concert runs from 1 to 2 p.m.
Live music in the Panhandle (Sunday)
Employees from the Balboa Theater and the 4 Star Theater are bringing an afternoon of live music to the intersection of Ashbury and Oak streets. The lineup includes Grahame Lesh, Danny Eisenberg, Brian Rashap, Danny Luehring, Garrett Deloian and special guests China Cats.
