KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

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) 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 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

Live Theater Companies

Misc. 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 [email protected]

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The post June 19, 2025: Pride Month, with Theatre Rhino and the late Edmund White appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Edmund White (1940-2025) in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA Studio.

Part One: Recorded February 20, 2012 while on tour for the novel “Jack Holmes and His Friend.”

Part Two: Recorded February 17, 2014 while on tour for the memoir “Inside a Peal, My Years in Paris.”

Review of “The Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise” at BroadwaySF Golden Gate Theater through June 22, 2025.

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 vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. 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 [email protected]

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The post June 12, 2025. Pride Month: Edmund White (1940-2026), The Patron Saint of Gay Literature appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 and its sequel, Closing Time, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded in San Francisco on October 17, 1994.

Since its original publication in 1961, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller has become a classic of anti-war literature, gaining fame during the Vietnam era for its dark and satirical look at American military life. Filmed to middling results by Mike Nichols in 1970, a new miniseries on Hulu has brought the novel back into the spotlight, where its focus on circular reasoning and insanity seems a propos to life during the current American regime. Catch-22 was Joseph Heller’s first novel. In the 1970s he wrote the novels Something Happened and Good as Gold, and in the 1980s God Knows and Picture This, and the non-fiction No Laughing Matter about his struggle with Guillan-Barre Syndrome

In 1994, Joseph Heller came out with a sequel to Catch-22, titled Closing Time, which deals with what happened to Yossarian and other characters after the end of World War II. This interview was recorded during that book tour and deals with both books, as well as other aspects of his career, along with comparisons to the works of Kurt Vonnegut.

Despite respectful reviews and a good reputation, Closing Time is mostly forgotten today, though it is easily available on-line in both paper and e-book. Joseph Heller published a memoir, Now and Then, in 1998, and another novel, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man, an autobiographical work about an author who is unable to shake the success of his very first novel, was published posthumously in 2000. This is the first airing of the entire interview.

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Review of “Parade” at BroadwaySF Orpheum Theatre through June 8, 2025.

Review of “Pacific Overtures” at Brava Theater Center (Brava Center for the Arts) through June 15, 2025.

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 vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. 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 [email protected]

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The post June 5, 2025: Joseph Heller: The Man Who Gave Us “Catch-22” appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

J.K. Fowler, Executive Director of the Bay Area Book Festival in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing this year’s festival, Saturday May 31st and Sunday June 1st throughout the City of Berkeley.

The focus of this year’s Festival is Changing the Narrative, with looks at activism, resistance, responding to backlash, writing for social change and more. Guests include Mia Birdsong, Prentiss Hemphill. Viet Thanh Nguyen, Greg Sarris and over a hundred other writers, publishers and editors. The venues include the Berkeley Library, Freight & Salvage, The Marsh, the Brower Center, the Hotel Shattuck, and three outdoor stages, including one at Berkeley’s BART Plaza.

J.K. Fowler founded Nomadic Press, sat on Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Commission, and works on several community projects.

Joan Baez, legendary singer, songwriter and activist, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded while on remote tour for her book of poetry, “When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance.” Recorded April 26, 2024 via zencastr.

Joan Baez is an internationally renowned singer, songwriter and activist who burst on the folk music scene as a teenager in the late 1950s. She has two autobiographies, Daybreak, along with And A Voice to Sing With. There are over thirty albums, including her now classic “Diamonds and Rust”from 1975, she has appeared in numerous documentaries about music and activism, won the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, and is the subject of a recent documentary, Joan Baez, I Am A Noise, which is on Hulu and can be rented on several apps. Photos courtesy Joan Baez. Complete Interview.

Review of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at San Francisco Playhouse through June 21, 2025.

Review of “Yellow Face” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through June 14, 2025.

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 vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. 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 [email protected]

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The post May 29, 2025: J.K. Fowler/The Bay Area Book Festival – Joan Baez appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s episode of Bookwaves/Artwaves is preempted by special programming for KPFA’s 2025 Spring Fund Drive.

Mitch Jeserich reads excerpts from the classic writings The Way of Chuang Tzu, translated by Thomas Merton.

Thomas Merton composed a series of his own versions of the classic sayings of Chuang Tzu, the most spiritual of Chinese philosophers. Chuang Tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries B.C., is the chief authentic historical spokesperson for Taoism and its founder Lao Tzu (a legendary character known largely through Chuang Tzu’s writings). Indeed it was because of Chuang Tzu and the other Taoist sages that Indian Buddhism was transformed, in China, into the unique vehicle we now call by its Japanese name: Zen.

To support our mission and receive the book The Way of Chuang Tzu as a thank-you gift, please donate here or call (800) 439-5732 (800-HEY-KPFA).

The post Special Spring Fund Drive Programming: Special Spring Fund Drive Programming: Thomas Merton’s Translation of Chuang Tzu appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s episode of Bookwaves/Artwaves is preempted by special programming for KPFA’s 2025 Spring Fund Drive.

Mitch Jeserich speaks with historian and author William Dalrymple about his book The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World. His earlier books include The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire.

To support our mission and receive William Dalrymple’s books as thank-you gifts, please donate here or call (800) 439-5732 (800-HEY-KPFA).

The post Special Spring Fund Drive Programming: How Ancient India Changed The World appeared first on KPFA.

Walter Mosley in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded March 5, 2025 discussing his two most recent novels, “Been Wrong So Long It Looks Like Right,”  a Joe King Oliver novel, and “Farewell, Amethystine,” an Easy Rawlins novel.

Today, Walter Mosley is one of America’s leading authors. He is best known for his series of mystery novels featuring the characters of Easy Rawlins and Mouse. To date, there are now twenty non-series novels by Walter Mosley, the most recent titled Touched, published in 2023, Along with three Fearless Jones novels, six Leonid McGill mysteries, three Socrates Fortlow books, three books in the Crosstown to Oblivion series, three books in the King Oliver series, plus two graphic novels, two plays, and six works of non-fiction. Always Outnumbered became a television film in 1998 starring Laurence Fishburne, and a TV miniseries titled The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray, based on Walter Mosley’s book, starring Samuel L. Jackson, on Apple+. At present, an adaptation of his novel The Man in My Basement is in post-production.

To support our mission and receive Walter Mosley’s book Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right as a thank-you gift, please donate here or call (800) 439-5732 (800-HEY-KPFA).

The post Spring Fund Drive Special: Walter Mosley appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Kate MacKay, Associate Film Curator at Pacific Film Archive, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing the films of John Cassavetes directing his wife Gena Rowlands.

Kate MacKay is the curator of a retrospective of the films in which John Cassavetes directs his wife, Gena Rowlands, at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives from May 2 through May 14, 2025. In this interview, she discusses Cassavetes as a pioneer of the American independent film, then goes into detail on the films shown in the restrospective, including A Woman Under The Influence, Faces, Gloria, Opening Night, and Minnie and Moskowitz. She also talks about putting together a retrospective, and the upcoming Pacific Film Archive schedule for summer, 2025. Complete Interview.

Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), discusses the work of the great Belgian-French film maker Agnes Varda (1928-2019) with host Richard Wolinsky. The first major biography of Agnes Varda, A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnes Varda by Carrie Rickey, was published in 2024 and will come out in paperback on August 12, 2025.

Agnes Varda began her career as a stills photographer and became a director with La Point Courte (1954), having seen very few films in her life. She went on to international fame with Cleo from 5 to 7 and Vagabond, but her late life films The Beaches of Agnes and Faces, Places established her as one of the most important directors of the modern era.

All the films discussed in this interview (except the recent documentary Viva Varda!) are available to stream on the Criterion app, save for Faces, Places, which can be streamed on Kanopy. Cleo from 5 to 7 can also be streamed on Max

Complete Interview.

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 vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. 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 [email protected]

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The post May 1, 2025: Pacific Film Archive. John Cassavetes Directs Gena Rowlands appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Film director Rob Nillson, Activist and Environmentalist Gail Schickele, and Film Archivist Jon Shibata in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, discussing the film “Bushman,” directed by David Schickele, recorded January 25, 2024 at Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive.

Released in 1971 but filmed in 1968, the film “Bushman” is a masterpiece detailing the story of a Nigerian educator in San Francisco. The film vanished following its showing at various film festivals, and has now been digitized and restored, and can be viewed on the Kanopy and Hoopla, the free public library film apps.

This discussion with Gail Schickele, wife of the late director David Schickele (1937-1999), his friend, colleague and collaborator director Rob Nillson, and BAMPFA film archivist John Shibata focuses first on “Bushman” and David Schickele, how the film came about and what happened during and after the filming, and later with the film’s restoration, and a look at Rob Nillson’s career as film-maker.

Special thanks to AJ Fox and Susan Oxtoby of Pacific Film Archive.

Inside photo: Richard Wolinsky. Complete Interview.

Review of “Two Trains Running” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through May 4, 2025.

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 vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. 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 [email protected]

.

.

The post April 24, 2025: The Making of the film “Bushman” appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Composer/lyricist William Finn, who died on April 7th, 2025 at the age of 73 and director/librettist James Lapine, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded March 20, 2019 at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco.

William Finn is best known for writing the music and lyrics for two Broadway shows, Falsettos, which was the first gay-themed Broadway musical, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which has become a staple of community theatre companies around the world. He also wrote A New Brain, which dealt with his near death experience following brain surgery.  Falsettos was originally three one-act musicals which opened off-Broadway, In Trousers, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland and the latter two became Falsettos, which opened on Broadway in 1992, co-authored and directed by James Lapine, who’d also co-authored Falsettoland.

James Lapine is best known for his work with Stephen Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. Falsettos was revived on Broadway in 2016 and came to San Francisco in spring of 2019. Richard Wolinsnky had a chance to sit down with both William Finn and James Lapine on March 20, 2019 in the lobby of the Golden Gate Theatre to discuss Falsettos, as well as take a brief look at each man’s career.

Review of “Here There Are Blueberries” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre through May 11, 2025.

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 vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. 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 [email protected]

.

.

The post April 17, 2025: William Finn & James Lapine: Masters of the Musical appeared first on KPFA.