‘Dear San Francisco,’ long may it thrill
The intimate, interactive circus experience Dear San Francisco at Club Fugazi in North Beach recently celebrated its 1,000th performance. Photos above and below were taken from my onstage seat.
When Dear San Francisco opened at the City’s legendary North Beach theater Club Fugazi, we were emerging from a COVID haze, and this thrilling, intimate, altogether lovable show felt like exactly the kind of community experience we had been craving. Not only was the show itself – created by the circus troupe The 7 Fingers – an exciting thing to witness but also to feel. There are more than thrills here as co-creators/directors Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider wove in a whole lot of love for their beloved hometown and the people in it. It was a communal love fest with acrobatics, music and heart.
Now, almost four years later, Dear San Francisco has celebrated it's 1,000th performance. I’ve written about the show before (read my original review here and my first return trip here) and loved it, but this experience was maybe the best yet.
It was an exciting night to begin with because of the milestone performance (Joan Baez was there on the same weekend someone is nominated for an Oscar for playing her in a movie!), but the real thrill was seeing theshow for the first time from one of the on-stage seats. Getting to watch the rest of the audience watch the show and to feel how much they’re enjoying it is like multiple cherries on top of an already delicous sundae.
The other benefit of being on stage is really getting an up-close-and-personal view of the amazing performers as they’re performing but also as they’re preparing to perform – moving equipment, preparing for an entrance, schmoozing with those of us invading their space. Because you’re on stage, you also feel the thumps and bumps of their acrobatic and dance activity, so they’re really making the earth move under your feet.
The company of performers is, as usual, extraordinary. They are as dazzling as they are charismatic, and their sense of camaraderie is palpable, which is a key to the show’s success. This is a show, ultimately, about a City that has been many things through the years and continues to discover and reinvent itself. The point of this particular love letter seems to be that whatever direction the City takes, the only way we all thrive is in community. Coming out of COVID four years ago, that was powerful and moving. Living through this particular moment in history, it’s even more so.
Long live San Francisco and the sublime Dear San Francisco!
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Dear San Francisco continues at Club Fugazi, 678 Green St., San Francisco. Running time is 90 minutes (no intermission). Call 415-273-0600 or visit clubfugazisf.com
