14 Mar Passing By The Castro

Passing the Castro Theatre is a part of my daily routine. I remember seeing the place the first few times being surreal, because I watched the film Milk on the plane on the way over here. For anyone who doesn’t know, Milk is a film starring Sean Penn, who plays Harvey Milk, a politician who during the 1970s became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office, winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was very deeply involved in gay rights activism, and most of his campaigning for equality happened in the Castro District. In the film, the theatre is depicted as a meeting point for the political rallies hosted by the equality advocate and his cohorts.

The Castro is the kind of place that makes me feel as if cool stuff is happening inside every time I pass by. I guess that’s the point I think it’s because it’s normally at night that I’m waiting for the bus beneath the glow of its iconic sign. I’m a sucker for neon lights. The place has a definite allure about it and I knew I’d have to get some tickets happening before heading back to Melbourne. A local friend and I did just that last weekend. The show we saw is called Mister Act. It’s a production put together by a famous drag performer named Peaches Christ, and as you might have guessed, is based on the Whoopi Goldberg film from 1992.

We had an excellent time. The inside of the theatre is old fashioned and beautiful, and the atmosphere was made even more exciting by the many people who had dressed up, letting the film inspire their costumes for the evening. The show was funny, clever, risqué, and very entertaining overall. My only complaint is that we were too far from the stage, but that’s out own fault for getting there a few minutes after the door opened. The even played the film on the big screen after the performance had ended, sticking around for that was fun too. Anyway, if you haven’t already been to the Castro Theatre, check it out sometime. It’s an iconic place and it seems there’s always something interesting and exciting happening there.