Yuka Yu Rocks

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Yuka Yu Rocks

Marin-based Yuka Yu is a DJ with a worldwide palette, and with good reason: Music and culture run through her veins.

Born in Taiwan in 1986 into a family of Hakka, a Han Chinese subgroup with rich musical traditions, she grew up in Taipei. Her relatives on her mother’s side were singers and played traditional Chinese instruments. Coming of age in the late ’90s allowed her to experience first-hand the birth of the electronic music scene in Taiwan and other parts of Asia. When Japanese culture became popular in Taiwan during the 2000s, she learned Japanese from her grandparents.

“Because I grew up in this mixture of Taiwanese, Chinese and Japanese culture, I think that it’s always seemed natural for me to incorporate influences from everywhere in the world into my own palette and try to create something new,” she says.

After studying drama and film in college and graduate school in Taiwan, she found a job working in the marketing department of a biotech company—a career that didn’t jibe with her. So she left Taiwan in 2017 and traveled around China and Europe before attending the London Sound Academy in 2018.

“I had grown up in a society with traditional female roles,” she says. “Living in London changed my life. I found creative women, and I was exposed to even more diverse cultural influences. The underground and electronic music scenes in London ignited my passion for making music, and I began DJing in Camden Town.”

Yuka met her husband and manager, Albert Yu—a full-time business professor and hospitality management program manager at Santa Rosa Junior College’s Petaluma campus—while traveling in the summer of 2016 in Chengdu, China. They stayed in touch, and she later visited him in California, and ultimately decided to attend UC Berkeley. They married in 2019. The two share a common cultural heritage; though born in Urbana, Illinois, Al Yu’s parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan, and he went to graduate school there.

“I’ve been Yuka’s manager since she moved to California and started DJing here,” he says. His own interest in music stems back to booking live bands for his frat house in college, and he began listening to DJs in earnest after attending Burning Man in 2002.

Yuka Yu does periodic gigs in the North Bay—on June 16 she DJed for the grand opening of Mandarin Kitchen in Santa Rosa, and last year she DJed for Jam Cellars in Napa, Vintage Space at the Flamingo Resort in Santa Rosa, Bloodroot Wines in Healdsburg and other venues. She also plays farther afield at clubs, festivals, venues and events in San Francisco, Oakland and elsewhere in California, as well as in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Portland, New Orleans, Brooklyn, London, Berlin, China and Taiwan.

In 2019, Yuka Yu founded Nu Tekno, “a San Francisco, Taipei, London artists’ exchange, Asia tour management and underground event promoter showcasing woman, BIPOC and underrepresented artists,” which has, since 2020, hosted regular events and residencies at the Fern Bar, Asiento, The Endup, Lion’s Den and Mars Bar in San Francisco.

“I started organizing music events in the Bay Area to create safe places for women in music,” she says. “I hope especially to inspire other Asian women to pursue their dreams. If we can form more links between artists and ordinary people and the activists who are trying to support human rights and the environment, then we’re doing what we can.”

For more info, visit yukayumusic.com, facebook.com/nuteknosf/, Instagram @nuteknosf, soundcloud.com/nuteknosf.

Shakespearean Silliness at 6th Street

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Shakespearean Silliness at 6th Street

The Venn diagram that displays the relationship between lovers of the works of William Shakespeare and musical theater probably shows very little overlap. Nevertheless, if one is in either category—and especially for those who are in that overlap—they should head to Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse and catch one of their remaining performances of Something Rotten! The rollicking Railroad Square production runs through June 25.

The Bottom brothers, Nick (Nelson Brown) and Nigel (Lorenzo Alviso), have been toiling in the theater world under the shadow of Renaissance rock star playwright William Shakespeare (Garet Waterhouse). Bill always seems to be one step ahead of them, and the fact that Nigel is an adoring fan doesn’t help matters.

Nick comes upon the idea to seek a soothsayer to predict what the next big thing in theater will be. Enter Nostradamus (Ted Smith)—Thomas Nostradamus that is—nephew of the famous prognosticator, who looks into the future of theater and sees… musicals! Desperate for success, Nick asks Nostradamus to predict what Shakespeare’s next hit will be, and the befuddled diviner comes up with Omelette. Nick’s vehicle for the fulfillment of his dreams of prosperity and renown will be a combination of the two: Omelette: The Musical!

The key to the success of this exceedingly enjoyable show is the affection the show’s original creators (John O’Farrell and Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick) have for the source material. It honors the work of Shakespeare and Broadway musicals while good-naturedly sending them both up. Every musical theater trope is in play, from a flashy opening number (“Welcome to the Renaissance”) boisterously delivered by the Minstrel (Jonathen Blue) and ensemble, through a hilarious paean to “The Black Death,” to the musical moral of the show (“To Thine Own Self”).

Director David Lear (not the first person who comes to mind when one thinks of Broadway-style musical comedy) has assembled a terrific cast of performers and craftspeople to deliver the most entertaining show to grace the GK Hardt stage in some time. The choreography by Joseph Favalora is zippy (including a lot of tap), costumes by Mae Hagerty-Matos are colorful, and the vocals are top-notch. The unseen orchestra led by Lucas Sherman does a fine job delivering the score.

The key to the success of this particular production is the affection the cast has for the material and the joy they exhibit in delivering it. It’s infectious.

Something Rotten! really isn’t. It’s a lot of fun.

‘Something Rotten!’ runs through June 25 in the GK Hardt Theatre at 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. 6th Street, Santa Rosa. Fri-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $28–$48. 707.523.4185. 6thstreeetplayhouse.com.

Glazed & Confused’s Scott Reilly

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Glazed & Confused’s Scott Reilly

Scott Reilly moved to Marin in 1996 and worked as a private estate gardener for 11 years, landscape business owner for 16 years, and presently owns Glaze & Confused, a pottery studio in San Rafael. The following is an interview with him:

What do you do? Keeping busy! I work at G-Landscape Division in San Rafael, where I manage our landscape design and maintenance crews. I also own a small ceramics business in downtown San Rafael where we teach beginners how to make pottery, host birthday parties, that sort of thing.

Where do you live? Petaluma.

How long have you lived in Marin? 23 years and counting!

Where can we find you when you’re not at work?

I am always working! Otherwise, spending time with my family. I started late in life to raise two teenagers, a daughter and son; loving that. Walking my English bulldog Eathen (my kids came up with the name). I sometimes relax at a friend’s new wine and beer bar in Larkspur called Internos.

If you had to convince someone how awesome Marin was, where would you take them?

I think the best way to see Marin is on a bicycle, riding the trails in Sausalito or China Camp. It shouldn’t take much more convincing than that.

What’s the one thing Marin is missing?

A great small music venue. Actually, I’m bringing in a musician from New York, Sean Rowe (who played on the soundtrack for the movie The Accountant), to Internos, a new wine bar, later this month.

What’s one bit of advice you’d share with your fellow Marinites? The weather out here is remarkable. We sometimes complain, but it is nothing like the East Coast. We are on the best coast.

If you could invite anyone to a special dinner, whom would they be?

The great Leonard Cohen, the wonderful artist and environmentalist Andy Goldsworthy and the famous landscape architect Russell Page.

What is some advice you wish you knew 20 years ago?

It’s ok to be quiet, shy and different.

What is something that 20 years from now will seem cringeworthy? The automation of technology allows us to do less in return for more and therefore not experience hardship.

Big question. What is one thing you’d do to change the world?

Have safer roadways for bicycles so you don’t have to worry about getting run over by a vehicle.

Keep up with Reilly at @glazeandconfused on Instagram.

Nish Nadaraja was on the founding team at Yelp, serves on the San Anselmo Arts Commission and attempts to play pickleball at Fairfax’s Cañon Club.

Alenka Vrecek’s Cycling Memoir

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Alenka Vrecek’s Cycling Memoir

From her home near Lake Tahoe, Alenka Vrecek rode a bicycle through mountains and deserts, all the way to the southern fringe of Baja California. The solo 2,500-mile trip comes to life in her new memoir, She Rides: Chasing Dreams Across California and Mexico.

Years earlier, after a miserable divorce and the death of her grandfather back home in Slovenia, Vrecek wrote down her plan in the back of a Rumi book: Someday she would make this ride.

It was not until after Vrecek dealt with cancer, chemotherapy, tedious medical visits and changes to her body that the journey became a reality. Overwhelmed with physical and emotional suffering, she loaded up her mountain bike with 50 pounds of camping gear and hit the road.

“The bike ride was symbolic, in a way, moving forward,” Vrecek told me. “And I think that is the part of the story I really wanted to share with people. Because we all have stuff going on. Everybody has trauma, everybody has something that affects them on a deep level emotionally. ‘How do we move on from that?’ was really what I wanted to bring to light, and hopefully inspire people to go and do something to move on.”

In cinematic fashion, the book weaves together a multitude of threads. Through the lens of a classic travel narrative, we get a fresh perspective of the immigrant experience, oscillating between various understandings of home, with every little tangible detail along the journey triggering memories. California mountain culture goes up against psychological imprints of the Julian Alps. Genteel stylings of small towns in Central Cali remind Vrecek of her youth in the former Yugoslavia. The fallibility of GPS gadgets and mobile phones contrast with memories of handwritten letters, aromas and human connection.

From beginning to end, Vrecek overcomes a variety of obstacles, discovering gratitude in various forms. Defying all expectations, she meets a wealth of people who assist her in times of need. They supply fried chicken and repair her camping stove. She gets beer, spices and a floor on which to crash. People open cafes for her. Others give Vrecek a lift when she is completely worn out. At one point, she even gets a packaged breakfast for the road ahead. Oddly enough, the people who seemed to have the least were the ones who helped her the most. It wasn’t exactly like acolytes aiding a pilgrim on her way to the Holy Land, but the effect came through, intentionally or not.

“Even though it was remote and it was solitary for big parts of my journey, it really was the people I met along the way that made the difference,” Vrecek said, adding that many emerged at just the right time and place, encouraging her to soldier on and never give up. Especially when she got into Mexico, the individual hospitality shattered the myths Vrecek often heard about the dangers of a woman traveling alone south of the border.

“It was the opposite of what we hear in the news,” Vrecek said. “Especially in today’s political climate, people were extraordinarily generous and kind and loving. Mexicans are all about family. Mexicans are all about living together in tight union. Even the people who helped me along in California, they were of Mexican origin, and I, as an immigrant myself, I was very touched by that.”

Speaking of gratitude, Vrecek appears in a Book Passage conversation with iconic travel writer Don George at 1pm, Saturday, June 24. George was among those who coached Vrecek when she began writing the first drafts of She Rides, after she attended the Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference. As such, the event should be a full-circle moment.

“Don George, I have to say, I didn’t really know who he was, but I signed up for his workshop tour before the conference started,” Vrecek said. “And I found him to be the most kind and warm person and engaging and helpful. I think he is, in a true sense, a mentor and a very giving person.”

Virtual Solution to the Student housing shortage

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Virtual Solution to the Student housing shortage

The moment when a student learns they’ve been accepted into college, especially one on their shortlist, can be filled with excitement and pride. Those emotions can soon shift to frustration and panic when they ask, “Where will I live?”

Across the U.S., student housing availability and cost continue to move in opposite directions. According to a 2022 survey by StudentBeans, about one-fifth of U.S. students have experienced housing insecurity, which makes them “twice as likely to want to drop out of college.”

Traditional universities and colleges have not been able to keep up with the demand for on-campus housing, and communities cannot totally fill the gap, with limited off-campus housing increasing rental costs.

While nearly 45% of U.S. students live with their parents, an option not universally available, too many students resort to long commutes, substandard housing conditions, couch surfing or even sleeping in their car. Over 200,000 students across America consider themselves homeless. This crisis disproportionately affects low-income, minority and LGBTQ+ students, threatening their ability to pursue higher education and fulfill their dreams and limiting the traditional higher education pathway.

Amid this challenge, many students are looking beyond traditional location-based schooling to consider online, hybrid and non-linear university education. Major online accredited universities, which adhere to the highest educational standards today, allow students to earn a college education wherever they live.

Providing access, convenience and affordability, online education alleviates student parking concerns, local traffic and carbon emissions, and the stress of in-person education. Giving learners flexibility while pursuing a degree benefits the nearly 77% of U.S. graduate students over 25 years old, with half being parents.

While government, academia and the private sector continue to seek solutions to the chronic student housing shortage, online education can serve as another viable pathway that can lead to better and more equitable outcomes for students.

Rick Benbow is regional vice president of the nonprofit Western Governors University.

Still Cracker, After All These Years

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Still Cracker, After All These Years

I used to collect things, but not anymore. I’m in the business of jettisoning unnecessary accumulations now, yet there are things I still miss—like the lime green cassette copy of Camper Van Beethoven’s Key Lime Pie that I bought in the 8th grade.

An obsessive liner note junkie at that time, I soon came to know the name David Lowery.

That tape opened a portal to truly creative music that wasn’t handed down from my Boomer parents. And that particular cassette led to eventually owning almost everything Lowery has ever put out.

Lowery is wise to the way of the collector, and all its attendant redundancy. “You had to replace that one,” he says when I mention it. “That cassette would have failed eventually.” And it’s true. A vinyl copy of Key Lime Pie is sitting on a shelf a few feet away, plus I had it on CD. Being a music fan was different then. And I still identify as a David Lowery/Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker fan.

David Lowery and his many collaborators have been releasing music consistently since 1985. Camper Van Beethoven released perhaps their most famous single, “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” right out of the gate and got considerable traction for an indie band of their day. Across the long arc of his career, it’s notable that Lowery didn’t put out a solo album until 2011’s The Palace Guards.

“I wanted to do something really small scale and stripped down,” he says. “Although as these solo records have gone on, [the production] sort of built back up with string arrangements and all that… but I originally wanted it to be stripped down and about the words.”

Which made me wonder how he knows which project he’s writing for when an idea arrives.

“I used to always say that I could tell which band it would work with,” Lowery admits, “but when I do these solo songs, I have a specific agenda. There’s a narrative, so unlike the other stuff, I’m starting with the lyrics and moving backwards to the music, which is interesting in that I had always done it the other way.”

The solo stuff is a vehicle for story telling, and Lowery uses it differently than, say, a Cracker song. “You know how musicals can get away with really awkwardly expositive phrases in the middle of a song? That’s what’s really cool about this material,” he says.

None of Lowery’s bands are easy to define. Camper Van Beethoven is sometimes reduced to eclecticism in the press, but in doing so one risks missing their often great songs. If one examines Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven’s bodies of work, Cracker is both a little bit more country and a little bit more rock ‘n’roll. But then there’s a gem like “Sad Lover’s Waltz” from Camper Van Beethoven II & III, and it muddies the waters with its lonesome pining.

A standout for me is “Sick of Goodbye’s,” which he penned with the late Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. One can probably hear the hurt a bit more in Linkous’s rendition, which Lowery guests on, but the Cracker version is no slouch. More likely though, one will have heard “Low,” a song that reminded me more of The Pixies when it was new but, according to Lowery, was constantly mislabeled as Tom Petty on limewire and the like back when stealing music replaced buying it.

“Low” is a great song, but Lowery is a kind of renaissance man (for one thing he now spends a good chunk of the year as a professor at the University of Georgia). So if Low is all one knows of him, there are great depths lurking below the iceberg’s tip of his biggest hit.

Cracker plays at 6pm, Sunday, June 25 at HopMonk Tavern Novato, 224 Vintage Way. Tickets start at $40.

Your Letters, June 21

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Your Letters, June 21

In the Details

The article, “Accountability” by Nikki Silverstein (Pacific Sun, June 14-20), is the best report to date on the bungling process surrounding the incident referenced. Kudos to Nikki Silverstein for her thorough update. And for “besting” the Marin Independent Journal by a week. The IJ finally got around to a similar report June 18.

Perhaps the Pacific Sun could serve a public good by reporting on why, how and when the California legislature passed laws barring the public from some employment details of public employees, including wrongdoing, discipline, termination, etc. Since we, the taxpayers, pay the salaries of public employees, why did the legislature put up a wall between employer (us) and employee?

James Koger

San Rafael

AI Ain’t So Bright

Forty-two percent of CEOs surveyed at the Yale CEO Summit this week say AI has the potential to destroy humanity five to ten years from now, according to survey results shared exclusively with CNN.

That is a bit much; however, many CEOs depend on “soft skills” (communication, professional relationships, crowd sourcing decision making) to justify their salaries. If AI creates or develops these skills, then CEOs will not be needed. Finally, as most CEOs are bereft of any new ideas, AI’s reliance on vast IT reference material could “create” new ideas or programs.

Gary Sciford

Culture Crush, Week of June 21

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Culture Crush, Week of June 21

Taste of Sonoma

What does Sonoma taste like? The area’s premiere tasting event has the answer. Taste of Sonoma, the annual juggernaut showcase of the best SoCo has to offer, includes a walk-around wine tasting, guided wine seminars (over 60 wine varietals from 19 unique growing areas!), garden tours, premium wine experiences, food trucks and themed lounges, among other sensual delights…like frosé at Rodney Strong Vineyard’s Destination Rosé Lounge. And so much more… Start early, stay for the day and post to pics to your Insta to inspire #SonoFOMO in your friends. Taste of Sonoma runs from 12 to 4pm (VIP Club Reserve ticket holders may come at 11am), Saturday, June 24 at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens, 5007 Fulton Rd., Santa Rosa. Attendees must be at least 21 years of age. No pets (service animals are allowed). Tickets are $180 to $245 and are available at TasteofSonoma.com.

Mill Valley

For Undead Heads

The Junction launches its first outdoor summer concert with Los Angeles-based instrumental supergroup Circles Around the Sun next Wednesday, June 28. The band was initially formed with the purpose of creating music for “Fare Thee Well,” a series of reunion concerts played by the surviving members of the Grateful Dead. The response was so positive that they continued. Revelers are encouraged to arrive early for dinner and drinks before the show. A free shuttle service is provided from the nearby Manzanita Park N Ride at Highway 101 at the Mill Valley exit. Doors open at 5 pm, show from 7 to 10pm, at The Junction, 226 Shoreline Highway, Mill Valley. Tickets are $30 and available at simpletix.com. For more information, visit thejunc.com.

Sonoma

Virtual Town Hall

Local radio KSVY 91.3 FM and SonomaTV will be hosting State Sen. Bill Dodd in another of his “virtual town hall” meetings at 6pm, Wednesday, June 28. Dodd will be joined by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; University of California president Michael Drake; and Larry Galizio, president and CEO of Community College League of California. “We’re really proud to be able to present these town hall meetings to interested parties, as it aligns with our mission of keeping residents informed and educated with what is happening in their local government and gives people a chance to interact as well,” says KSVY program director Ronny Joe Grooms. The town hall will be streamed live on SonomaTV’s YouTube channel and broadcast over the air at 91.3FM and online at ksvy.org. Dodd and his guests will take questions via email and phone. The call-in line phone number is 707-933-9133. Interested parties can email questions as well to: to******@**vy.org.

Napa

Comedy Flashback

Comedian, actor, “most downloaded” podcast host and ’90s media stalwart Adam Carolla brings his comic stylings to Napa this Saturday. Here’s a refresher—Carolla was the co-host of syndicated radio call-in program Loveline with Dr. Drew Pinsky, as well as the show’s television incarnation on MTV through the late ’90s. He was also the co-host and co-creator of the cable TV venture, The Man Show with Jimmy Kimmel, as well as the co-creator of the early aughts puppet/prank call show Crank Yankers, which was reincarnated in 2019. His book, In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks, debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2010, and his second book, Not Taco Bell Material, also reached bestseller status. Carolla’s gig begins at 8pm, Saturday, June 24, at the Uptown Theatre, 1350 3rd St., Napa. Tickets are $35 to $45 and available at uptowntheatrenapa.com.

Real Astrology, Week of June 21

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Real Astrology, Week of June 21

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When I was still an up-and-coming horoscope columnist, before I got widely syndicated, I supplemented my income with many other jobs. During one stretch, I wrote fortunes for a line of designer fortune cookies that were covered with gourmet chocolate and sold at the luxury department store Bloomingdale’s. The salary I got paid was meager. Part of my compensation came in the form of hundreds of delicious but non-nutritious cookies. If you are offered a comparable deal in the coming weeks and months, Aries, my advice is to do what I didn’t do but should have done: Ask for what’s truly valuable to you instead of accepting a substitute of marginal worth.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): My mentor, Ann Davies, said that of all the signs of the zodiac, you Tauruses are most likely to develop finely honed intuition. At least potentially, you can tune in to the inner teacher better than the rest of us. The still, small voice rises up out of the silence and speaks to you clearly and crisply. Here’s even better news: I believe you are entering a phase when your relationship with this stellar faculty may ripen dramatically. Please take advantage of this subtly fabulous opportunity! Each day for the next 14 days, do a relaxing ritual in which you eagerly invite and welcome the guidance of your deepest inner source.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): New College in Oxford, UK has educated students since 1379. Among its old buildings is a dining hall that features beams made of thick oak trees. Unfortunately, most oak wood eventually attracts beetles that eat it and weaken it. Fortunately, the 14th-century founders of New College foresaw that problem. They planted an oak grove whose trees were specifically meant to be used to replace the oak beams at New College. Which they are to this day. I would love you to derive inspiration from this story, Gemini. What practical long-term plans might you be wise to formulate in the coming months?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the Northern Hemisphere, the astrological month of Cancer begins with the sun in its greatest glory. Our home star is at its highest altitude, shining with maximum brightness. So then why is the sign of the Crab ruled by the moon? Why do the longest days of the year coincide with the ascendancy of the mistress of the night? Ahhh. These are esoteric mysteries beyond the scope of this horoscope. But here’s a hint about what they signify for you personally. One of your assets can also be a liability: your innocent openness to the wonders of life. This quality is at the heart of your beauty but can also, on occasion, make you vulnerable to being overwhelmed. That’s why it’s so important that you master the art of setting boundaries, of honing your focus, of quaffing deeply from a few cups instead of sipping from many cups.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The coming weeks will be a delicate time for your spiritual unfoldment. You are primed to recover lost powers, rediscover key truths you have forgotten and reunite with parts of your soul you got cut off from. Will these good possibilities come to pass in their fullness? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how brave you are in seeking your healing. You must ask for what’s hard to ask for. You’ve got to find a way to feel deserving of the beauty and blessings that are available. PS: You are deserving. I will be cheering you on, dear Leo.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Whether or not you have been enrolled in a learning institution during the past 12 months, I suspect you have been getting a rigorous education. Among the courses you have almost completed are lessons in intimacy, cooperation, collaboration, symbiosis and togetherness. Have you mastered all the teachings? Probably not. There were too many of them, and they were too voluminous to grasp perfectly and completely. But that’s OK. You have done well. Now you’re ready to graduate, collect your diploma and apply what you have learned.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): History has provided contradictory reports about Isabeau of Bavaria, who served as queen of France from 1385 to 1422. Was she a corrupt, greedy and indecisive fool who harmed France’s fortunes? Or was she a talented diplomat with great skill in court politics and an effective leader during the many times her husband, King Charles VI, was incapacitated by illness? I bring these facts to your attention, Libra, hoping they will inspire you to refine, adjust and firm up your own reputation. You can’t totally control how people perceive you, but you do have some power to shape their perceptions—especially these days.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The next four weeks will be an excellent time to create and celebrate your own holidays. I recommend you dream up at least four new festivals, jubilees, anniversaries and other excuses to party. Eight or more would be even better. They could be quirky and modest, like Do No Housework Day, Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day or Write Bad Poetry Day. They could be more profound and impactful, like Forgive Your Parents for Everything Day, Walk on the Wild Side Day or Stay Home from Work Because You’re Feeling So Good Day. In my astrological opinion, Scorpio, you should regard playful fun as a top priority. For more ideas, go here: tinyurl.com/CreateHolidays, tinyurl.com/NouveauHolidays or tinyurl.com/InventHolidays.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Greek mythology, Prometheus was a god who stole fire from his fellow gods and gave it to humans to help them build civilization. His divine colleagues were not pleased. Why? Maybe they feared that with the power of fire, people would become like gods themselves and have no further need for gods. Anyway, Sagittarius, I hope you’re in a fire-stealing mood. It’s a good time to raise your whole world up to a higher level—to track down and acquire prizes that will lead to major enhancements. And unlike what happened to Prometheus (the other gods punished him), I think you will get away with your gambits.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s discuss magical doorways. Each time you sleep, you slip through magical doorways called dreams. Whether or not you recall those adventures, they offer you interesting mysteries utterly unlike the events of your daily life. Here’s another example: A magical doorway opens when an ally or loved one shares intimate knowledge of their inner realms. Becoming absorbed in books, movies or songs is also a way to glide through a magical doorway. Another is when you discover an aspect of yourself, a corner of your being, that you didn’t know was there. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Capricorn, because I suspect the coming weeks will present an extra inviting array of magical doorways.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Psychiatrist Myron Hofer specializes in the mother-infant relationship. Among his findings: The first emotion that a newborn experiences is anxiety. Struggling to get out of the womb can be taxing, and it’s shocking to be separated from the warm, nourishing realm that has been home for months. The bad news is that most of us still carry the imprint of this original unease. The good news, Aquarius, is that the coming months will be one of the best times ever for you to heal. For optimal results, place a high priority on getting an abundance of love, support, comfort and physical touch.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Curious blends and intriguing juxtapositions are in the works—or at least they should be. Improbable alliances might be desirable because they’re curative. Formulas with seemingly mismatched ingredients might fix a glitch, even if they never succeeded before and won’t again. I encourage you to synergize work and play. Negotiate serious business in casual settings, and make yourself at home in a wild frontier.

Marin Shakes returns with ‘Hamlet’

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Marin Shakes returns with ‘Hamlet’

If, as Hamlet says, “The play is the thing,” then why do so many feel the need to adapt Shakespeare’s scripts so much?

According to Jon Tracy, the director and adaptor of Marin Shakespeare’s season opener, Hamlet (their first full post-pandemic production), it’s because while Shakespeare is a mirror to nature, it is necessary to “correct the focus” for modern times. Tracy has heavily adapted the well-known play into a high-concept retelling that is actually lacking in focus. The show runs in San Rafael through July 16.

This reviewer attended the final preview and not the opening performance. A preview is considered a rehearsal and should be viewed in that light and with that grace.

To begin, there is obviously a lot of talent at work here. From the opening, one is clearly watching highly-trained actors looking for the truthful nuance in Tracy’s fever dream of a script. Of note is the funny and fully-embraced Polonius as performed by Richard Pallaziol.

Also deserving of accolades is Lady Zen, who plays the Clown King. When “speaking the speech” as written by the Bard, they are electrifying. It’s unfortunate that Tracy has decided to strip the most famous speeches from this character and replace them with songs that are, while admittedly beautifully performed and stunningly eerie, hard to follow.

Nina Ball’s set is a great use of minimalist space, and Ben Euphrat and Lady Zen’s soundscape is highly innovative and well-realized.

The costume design by Miyuki Bierlin and Luisa Frasconi is problematic, as it contains many flashy, eye-catching and odd elements that don’t quite work. For example, Queen Gertrude is always dressed as if attending an awards ceremony, even in her bedchamber.

High-concept Shakespeare is a rite of passage for theater artists, and Hamlet has always been the siren call for those wanting to leave a mark on the theatrical landscape. The question is how far can one adapt a play before they have left that play behind and, for better or for worse, created something completely new?

In this case, one is left wondering why they sold tickets to Hamlet and not to Jon Tracy’s Millennial Drugs and Murder With Puppets, because here’s the really important thing—if the tickets had said Jon Tracy’s Millennial Drugs and Murder With Puppets, this would have been a phenomenal mixture of performance art that borrowed heavily from Shakespeare, interpretive dance and physical theater.

The one thing it’s not is Hamlet.

‘Hamlet’’ runs Thurs-Sun through July 16 at the Forest Meadows Amphitheatre at Dominican University of California, 890 Belle Ave., San Rafael. Thurs-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 5pm. $15-$40. 415.388.5208. marinshakespeare.org.

Yuka Yu Rocks

Marin-based Yuka Yu is a DJ with a worldwide palette, and with good reason: Music and culture run through her veins. Born in Taiwan in 1986 into a family of Hakka, a Han Chinese subgroup with rich musical traditions, she grew up in Taipei. Her relatives on her mother’s side were singers and played traditional Chinese instruments. Coming of age...
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Shakespearean Silliness at 6th Street

The Venn diagram that displays the relationship between lovers of the works of William Shakespeare and musical theater probably shows very little overlap. Nevertheless, if one is in either category—and especially for those who are in that overlap—they should head to Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse and catch one of their remaining performances of Something Rotten! The rollicking Railroad...
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Glazed & Confused’s Scott Reilly

Scott Reilly moved to Marin in 1996 and worked as a private estate gardener for 11 years, landscape business owner for 16 years, and presently owns Glaze & Confused, a pottery studio in San Rafael. The following is an interview with him: What do you do? Keeping busy! I work at G-Landscape Division in San Rafael, where I manage our...
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Alenka Vrecek’s Cycling Memoir

From her home near Lake Tahoe, Alenka Vrecek rode a bicycle through mountains and deserts, all the way to the southern fringe of Baja California. The solo 2,500-mile trip comes to life in her new memoir, She Rides: Chasing Dreams Across California and Mexico. Years earlier, after a miserable divorce and the death of her grandfather back home in Slovenia,...
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Virtual Solution to the Student housing shortage

The moment when a student learns they’ve been accepted into college, especially one on their shortlist, can be filled with excitement and pride. Those emotions can soon shift to frustration and panic when they ask, “Where will I live?” Across the U.S., student housing availability and cost continue to move in opposite directions. According to a 2022 survey by StudentBeans,...
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Still Cracker, After All These Years

I used to collect things, but not anymore. I’m in the business of jettisoning unnecessary accumulations now, yet there are things I still miss—like the lime green cassette copy of Camper Van Beethoven’s Key Lime Pie that I bought in the 8th grade. An obsessive liner note junkie at that time, I soon came to know the name David Lowery. That...
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Your Letters, June 21

In the Details The article, “Accountability” by Nikki Silverstein (Pacific Sun, June 14-20), is the best report to date on the bungling process surrounding the incident referenced. Kudos to Nikki Silverstein for her thorough update. And for “besting” the Marin Independent Journal by a week. The IJ finally got around to a similar report June 18. Perhaps the Pacific Sun could...
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Culture Crush, Week of June 21

Taste of Sonoma What does Sonoma taste like? The area’s premiere tasting event has the answer. Taste of Sonoma, the annual juggernaut showcase of the best SoCo has to offer, includes a walk-around wine tasting, guided wine seminars (over 60 wine varietals from 19 unique growing areas!), garden tours, premium wine experiences, food trucks and themed lounges, among other sensual...
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Real Astrology, Week of June 21

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When I was still an up-and-coming horoscope columnist, before I got widely syndicated, I supplemented my income with many other jobs. During one stretch, I wrote fortunes for a line of designer fortune cookies that were covered with gourmet chocolate and sold at the luxury department store Bloomingdale's. The salary I got paid was meager....
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Marin Shakes returns with ‘Hamlet’

If, as Hamlet says, “The play is the thing,” then why do so many feel the need to adapt Shakespeare’s scripts so much? According to Jon Tracy, the director and adaptor of Marin Shakespeare’s season opener, Hamlet (their first full post-pandemic production), it’s because while Shakespeare is a mirror to nature, it is necessary to “correct the focus” for modern...
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