Absolutely San Francisco November 6, 2011

Ongoing through December 29, 2011; Sundays at 6pm until November 13; after November 19, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 6pm; see the website for exact dates and times

Not Quite Opera Productions' original one-woman musical Absolutely San Francisco continues its second year in the Alcove Theater, with East Bay favorite Mary Gibboney as "Sunshine" - a free spirit living under the Embarcadero's Cupid's Span sculpture - and five other "typical" San Franciscans.

Penetrating humor abounds in this uplifting musical "dramedy" treasure about love and the San Francisco experience. The insightful, whimsical book and lyrics by Anne Nygren Doherty turn the city's stereotypes inside out, revealing the heart and soul of its citizens. The audience laughs and cries while taking an up-close tour of the "City by the Bay."
Guided by signals from Sutro Tower, "Sunshine" takes a cable car ride where she meets a hippie billionaire, a Chinese shopkeeper, an Indian engineer, a gay wine merchant, and an empathetic cable car conductor. The plot, which revolves around Sunshine's effort to make a permanent home out of the bow-and-arrow sculpture on the Embarcadero called "Cupid's Span," twists and turns on an unpredictable comic journey that unites the contrasting characters and heals their wounds of lost love.

Gibboney plays all of the roles, using simple hats and props to indicate character. Watching the rapid-fire transformations between characters is also part of the fun, but the idea that one woman plays all the roles underscores one of the show's central themes that the city's people - however disparate - are all connected through their San Francisco experience: "Everybody comes looking for something...even if you were born here, you have to be looking for something, even if it's only acceptance, because the search is what ties us all together."

Writer/composer Anne Nygren Doherty has lived in San Francisco for 13 years with her husband and two children. She is an award-winning playwright and was a former student of the late Broadway composer Bob Merrill.

Official Website: http://www.AbsolutelySanFrancisco.com