Gold Mime

First off, if you’re expecting some guy in whiteface trying to get out of an imaginary box on a street corner, forget it. The illustrious San Francisco Mime Troupe has spent most of its fifty-year history taking on issues in a manner that’s decidedly out of the box: Since the company was founded in 1959 by R. G. Davis, it’s clowned its way through various theatrical forms, from political satire in a Commedia dell’Arte format to a more recent Brechtian style of seminal guerrilla theater, buoyed through the years by a liquid crew that’s included rock impresario Bill Graham, actor Peter Coyote, composer/lyricist Bruce Barthol (a one-time member, during the city’s Summer of Love days, of Country Joe and the Fish) and playwright Joan Holden (Nickel and Dimed) along the way.

An appearance here by the troupe is a rarity, and nothing short of the Democratic National Convention would normally woo them to Colorado. SFMT will perform Red State, a characteristically tongue-in-cheek election satire with live music, twice tomorrow at BINDERY|space, 770 22nd Street, skewering the right wing for the entertainment of locals and DNC visitors alike. But tonight only, from 6 to 8 p.m., the group will also present a musical SFMT sampler in celebration of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center’s 25th anniversary, at Los Cabos at 1525 Champa Street; for tickets, $10 to $20 on a sliding scale, call 303-444-6981. Raffle tickets will also be sold for a chance to win your very own electric-powered EcoBike.

Tomorrow’s performances are at 6 and 8:30 p.m.; admission is $20. Visit www.sfmt.org or call 720-221-3821.
Tue., Aug. 26, 6-8 p.m., 2008