June 19, 2025: Pride Month, with Theatre Rhino and the late Edmund White

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

 

John Fisher, Theatre Rhinoceros

John Fisher, Artistic Director of Theatre Rhino, and writer/performer/co-director of “The Doodler,” now at The Marsh in San Francisco through July 6, 2025, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Theatre Rhino is the longest running LGBTQ+ theatre company in America, and John Fisher has been its Artistic Director since 2002. His show, “The Doodler” concerns a serial killer off gay men in the mid-1970s in San Francisco and is based on an actual case in which a  young man would approach gay men in a bar with a drawing, a doodle, he’d made of them, and then invite them to a secluded location. Between six and thirteen men were killed. It’s a true-crime story that also involves police indifference and homophobia.

In this interview, John Fisher discusses how he came to work on the piece, the history behind it, and Rhino’s upcoming show, “The Laramie Project.”

 

 

Edmund White (1940-2025)

Edmund White (1940-2025) in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA Studio while he was on tour for his memoir, “My Lives: An Autobiography,” on May 4, 2006.

Edmund White, who died on June 3, 2025 at the age of 85, was often called the Grandfather of gay literature. Equally at home writing novels, biographies, plays, memoirs, essays and various hybrids, he was a pioneer in the LBGT world, one of the first gay novelists to achieve literary fame, the co[author in 1977 of The Joy of Gay Sex, along with a ground breaking trilogy of novels based on his own life, several memoirs, three well received biographies, and various collections of essays. Winner of the Lambda Literary Award and nominated several times, nominated for the Pulitzer and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for his biography of Jean Genet, winner of the National Book Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and the PEN/Saul Bellow Award, Edmund White has also been called the Patron Saint of Gay Literature.

Edmund White Wikipedia page.

 

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others for shorter periods each week. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 110th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, May 31 – June 1, 2025.
Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar.
BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings.

Live Theater Companies
Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events.
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions.
African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar.
Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar.
American Conservatory Theatre Co-Founders. a world premiere hip-hop musical May 29 – July 6, Strand. Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi, Sept 18 – Oct 19, Toni Rembe Theatre.
Aurora Theatre  The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner, with Marga Gomez, July 12 – August 10. 
Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information.
Berkeley Rep. Who’s With Me. written and performed by W. Kamau Bell, June 17-22, Roda Theatre.
Berkeley Shakespeare Company Julius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions.
Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre.
Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for events listings. The Heat Will Kill Everything written and performed by Keith Josef Adkins, July 17-19.
BroadwaySF: A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, June 3-22, Golden Gate. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters.
Broadway San Jose:  Moulin Rouge!, The Musical. July 8-13. See website for other events.
Center Rep: Happy Pleasant Valley, June 1- 29. Lesher Center.
Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond
Central Works  The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27.
Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State.
Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events.
Golden Thread   See website for upcoming events.
Hillbarn Theatre: Murder for Two, a musical comedy, October 9 – November 2, 2025.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. See website for specific workshops and events.
Los Altos Stage Company. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, May 29 – June 22.
Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions.
Magic Theatre. Aztlan by Luis Alfaro, World Premiere, June 25 – July 13. See website for additional events.
Marin Shakespeare Company: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, June 13 – July 13, Forest Meadows Amphitheatre. See website for other events.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC)  Pride Cabaret, June 6-21.  Ride the Cyclone, the musical, July 11 – August 15.
New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule
Oakland Theater Project. Les Blancs (The Whites) by Lorraine Hansberry, July 11 – 27.
Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming.
Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings.
Pear Theater. Constellations by Nick Payne, June 27 – July 20. See website for staged readings and other events.
Playful People Productions. See web page for information on summer camps.
Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances.
Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21.
Ross Valley Players: See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events.
San Francisco Playhouse. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time based on the novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens. May 1-June 21.
SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.  The Day The Sky Turned Orange by Julius Ernesto, Sept 5 – Oct. 5, Z Space.
San Jose Stage Company: Sweet Charity,  June 4 – 29..
Shotgun Players.  The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest, July 12 – August 10.
South Bay Musical Theatre:  The Sound of Music, September 27 – October 18.
Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Lunatico See website for upcoming events and producctions.
Theatre Rhino  Doodler by John Fisher, May 31 – July 6, The Marsh, San Francisco. The Laramie Project, June 19-29.. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean  Jimmy Dean, A New Musical, June  18 – July 13. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions.

Misc. Listings:
BAMPFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Fort Mason Center. Events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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