Bookwaves/Artwaves – April 18, 2024: Don Winslow – Viet Thanh Nguyen

KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

​Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Don Winslow, author of “City in Ruins,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded via zencastr on April 10, 2024

Don Winslow is the author of 22 novels, many of which focus on crime and the criminal underworld, including The Cartel, The Force, Savages (which became an Oliver Stone film), and The Border. His latest novel, “City in Ruins”, concludes the trilogy of “City on Fire” and “City of Dreams,” which told of a mob war using as a template the story of the Trojan War, The Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid and other works. In this latest novel, we follow the character of Danny Ryan, (Aeneas) as he winds up in Las Vegas (the founding of Rome), with forays into the Odyssey and the greek tragedies of Aeschylus and Europides. Don Winslow has stated that these will be his final novels.

Don Winslow also produces political videos aimed at saving the American democracy from Donald Trump, and is a vital force on Twitter.

Photos: Richard Wolinsky. Complete Interview.

A conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel, The Sympathizer, which has now been adapted into a television miniseries. The interview was recorded in the KPFA studios, May 5, 2016. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky

Viet Thanh Nguyen came over from Vietnam with his family at the time of the fall of Saigon. The Sympathizer is the story of a Communist exile in America following the end of the Vietnam War, both a spy and in some respects, a lover of American culture.

An Associate Professor at the University of Southern California, Viet Thanh Nguyen is the author of two non-fiction books, Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America and Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War, a non-fiction bookend to his novel. A sequel to The Sympathizer, The Committed, was published in 2021.

Complete 40-minute interview.

Review of “Tiger Style!” at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through April 28, 2024.

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
Bay Area Book Festival Family Day, May 4th, events around Berkeley. 2025 Festival: June 1-2, guests include Joan Baez, Naomi Klein, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jonathan Lethem.
Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith. Monthly Event Calendar.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.

Live Theater Companies
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC). The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Steven Adly Guirgis, May 4, 7 pm, Marin Shakespeare Company, San Rafael.
African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar.
Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
American Conservatory Theatre Kristina Wong Sweatshop Overlord, March 30 – May 5, 2024, Strand Theater. A Strange Loop, April 18 – May 12, Toni Rembe Theater.
Aurora Theatre Blue Door by Tanya Barfield, April 19 – May 19. Streaming: March 14-19.
Awesome Theatre Company. Awesome High: A Sketch Comedy Play, directed by Nikki Menez, April 12-27, Eclectic Box, 446 Valencia, SF.
Berkeley Rep Galileo, World Premiere Musical, book by Danny Strong, with Raul Esparza, May 5 – June 10, Roda Theatre.
Berkeley Shakespeare Company. See website for upcoming schedule.
Boxcar Theatre. See website for upcoming shows.
Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions.
BroadwaySF: Haispray, April 16-21, Orpheum. See website for special events at the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate.
Broadway San Jose: Peter Pan, June 25-30.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). Terrapin Roadshow, June 1-2; As You Like it, September 12 – 29.
Center Rep: Cabaret, May 26 – June 23, Lesher Center for the Arts.
Central Works Accused by Patricia Milton, July 13 – August 11.
Cinnabar Theatre. Shipwrecked! April 12 – 28.
Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre In Repertory: Hamlet and Rosencranz and Gildenstern Are Dead, September 7 – 22.
Curran Theater: See website for upcoming one-night only live events, including the Unscripted series with various celebrities.
Custom Made Theatre. In hibernation.
Cutting Ball Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
42^nd Street Moon. Forever Plaid, April 18 – May 5, 2024.
Golden Thread Returning to Haifa by Ghassan Kanafani, April 12 – May 4, Potrero Stage.
Hillbarn Theatre: Something Rotten, April 25 – May 12.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. (NO MORE) adjustments: A Black Queer Woman Evolves in Real Time, written and performed by Champagne Hughes, May 1-5, 2024. Fort Mason.
Magic Theatre. Riding the Currents of the Wilding Wind by Martha Gonzalez and Virginia Grise, April 18-21. Garuda’s Wing by Naomi Iizuka, June 5-23.
Marin Theatre Company Torch Song by Harvey Fierstein, May 9 – June 2, 2024.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) The Tutor by Torange Yeghiazarian, April 5 – May 12.
Oakland Theater Project. Red, Red, Red by Amilio Garcia, conceived by Lisa Ramirez, World Premiere, April 26 – May 19.h
Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming.
Pear Theater. In Repertory: The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh; Love Letters by A.R. Gurney. April 19 – May 20.
Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances.
Ray of Light: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, June 1 – 23, 2024. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.
San Francisco Playhouse. The 39 Steps, March 7 – April 20.
SFBATCO See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. Sign My Name to Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin, March 29 – April 13.
San Jose Stage Company: Hangmen by Martin McDonagh. Regional premiere. April 3 – 28.
Shotgun Players. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. March 15 – April 14. Website also lists one night only events at the Ashby Stage.
South Bay Musical Theatre: Mary Poppins, the Broadway Musical, May 18 – June 8. Saratoga Civic Theater.
Stagebridge: Shady Manor, a musical play by Prescott Cole. June 14-16. 2501 Harrison St., Oakland.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Rhino Pride of Lions, by Roger Q. Mason, March 28 – April 21. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Tiger Style by Mike Lew, April 6-28, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts..
Word for Word. See website for upcoming productions.

Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar 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 [e-mail]

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