San Francisco's Beach Blanket Babylon
click on photos to enlarge
SFO International, June 2009
I came across this exhibit at the San Francisco International airport when I was on my way to France 2 months ago (that's the Air France counter in the back), and it reminded me that I've never mentioned Steve Silver's acclaimed musical review, Beach Blanket Babylon, on this blog, which a huge omission on my part.
SFO International, June 2009
The Silver Anniversary Skyline Hat (above) is "15 feet wide, 10 feet deep and 29 feet tall. At 300 pounds, the brim alone required 60 yards of taffeta and 200 ostrich feathers." said Jo Schuman Silver, producer of BBB
Beach Blanket Babylon is a musical review that has been running in San Francisco for 35 years, and shows no sign of slowing down. Under the same premise (Snow White goes around the world to find her Prince), the cast pokes fun at celebrities, politicians, and current local issues of San Francisco. The events change every year, but the basic premise remains the same.
And while Snow White goes looking for her prince, there is music, singing, dancing, and incredible, colorful costumes.
The elaborate, beautiful, oversized hats are the signature of Beach Blanket Babylon and the hats alone, in my opinion, are worth the price of admission. My favorite hat is the huge one they show at the end, with the whole city of San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge, on top of it. Be sure to click here to see more hats and get some background on them.
The cast will make you laugh out loud but don't underestimate their talent; they can really sing (Renée Lubin especially comes to mind) and dance.
If you want to see the show, be sure to book your tickets early. People customarily show up outside the club an hour or two early to make sure they get good seats because there is no assigned seating, but don't worry, even if you don't make it an hour early, the place is not very big and you will see reasonably well from wherever you are seated.
They don't allow photography anywhere in the club and it's very difficult to find good material online, but I did find the cast of Beach Blanket Babylon singing "San Francisco" (from the 1936 movie of the same name) at the baseball park, right after the earthquake of 1989 that shook the Bay Area pretty badly at the time. You might enjoy this quick video, which also shows the city skyline as it was at the time (although the quality isn't the best).
UPDATE 8/18/09:
Thanks for the tip, PhotoADay. I didn't find anything when I first drafted the post a few weeks ago, probably because I was looking for the last act. Here's a clip of BBB that gives you just a little glimpse of the show (we don't want to reveal everything, now do we! :)
enjoy!
* * *
Links and Resources
Beach Blanket Babylon's official website here
Additional pictures and information about the hats here
A good review of Beach Blanket Babylon here
I came across this exhibit at the San Francisco International airport when I was on my way to France 2 months ago (that's the Air France counter in the back), and it reminded me that I've never mentioned Steve Silver's acclaimed musical review, Beach Blanket Babylon, on this blog, which a huge omission on my part.
The Silver Anniversary Skyline Hat (above) is "15 feet wide, 10 feet deep and 29 feet tall. At 300 pounds, the brim alone required 60 yards of taffeta and 200 ostrich feathers." said Jo Schuman Silver, producer of BBB
Beach Blanket Babylon is a musical review that has been running in San Francisco for 35 years, and shows no sign of slowing down. Under the same premise (Snow White goes around the world to find her Prince), the cast pokes fun at celebrities, politicians, and current local issues of San Francisco. The events change every year, but the basic premise remains the same.
And while Snow White goes looking for her prince, there is music, singing, dancing, and incredible, colorful costumes.
The elaborate, beautiful, oversized hats are the signature of Beach Blanket Babylon and the hats alone, in my opinion, are worth the price of admission. My favorite hat is the huge one they show at the end, with the whole city of San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge, on top of it. Be sure to click here to see more hats and get some background on them.
The cast will make you laugh out loud but don't underestimate their talent; they can really sing (Renée Lubin especially comes to mind) and dance.
If you want to see the show, be sure to book your tickets early. People customarily show up outside the club an hour or two early to make sure they get good seats because there is no assigned seating, but don't worry, even if you don't make it an hour early, the place is not very big and you will see reasonably well from wherever you are seated.
They don't allow photography anywhere in the club and it's very difficult to find good material online, but I did find the cast of Beach Blanket Babylon singing "San Francisco" (from the 1936 movie of the same name) at the baseball park, right after the earthquake of 1989 that shook the Bay Area pretty badly at the time. You might enjoy this quick video, which also shows the city skyline as it was at the time (although the quality isn't the best).
UPDATE 8/18/09:
Thanks for the tip, PhotoADay. I didn't find anything when I first drafted the post a few weeks ago, probably because I was looking for the last act. Here's a clip of BBB that gives you just a little glimpse of the show (we don't want to reveal everything, now do we! :)
enjoy!
* * *
Links and Resources
Beach Blanket Babylon's official website here
Additional pictures and information about the hats here
A good review of Beach Blanket Babylon here
Labels: Beach Blanket Babylon, San Francisco culture, SFO Internatinal
posted by Tomate Farcie at 9:24 PM
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