"Museum" from Boxcar Theatre Opens at SF's Wax Museum November 2

It's A Night at the Museum meets House of Wax. It's a movable theatrical feast from San Francisco's edgiest and most creative ensemble, Boxcar Theatre (www.boxcartheatre.org). It's Tina Howe's acclaimed play Museum brought to life at venues around San Francisco from November 2 - 21 in a unique "fourth wall" breaking audience-and-cast interactive tableau. First stop: San Francisco's internationally acclaimed tourist must-see: The Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf (www.waxmuseum.com).

"Our mission is to create theatre that moves people," said Boxcar Co-Artistic Director Nick A. Olivero. "So, for Museum, we're moving people: all around the Bay."

Howe's Museum brings together art aficionados, culture snobs, obnoxious college co-eds, and a disgruntled security guard to scrutinize a modern art exhibit on its final day. Performed in actual museums throughout San Francisco, 38 actors grace the "stage" prodding conceptual art as they observe three seemingly blank canvases and paper human figures hanging from a clothesline accompanied by a bowl of clothespins, which no one can seem to keep their hands off of.

"President Obama is looking forward to taking part," quipped opening night host and Wax Museum owner Rodney Fong, mentioning his venue's most-famous and most-recent resident. "Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are looking for sitters so they can take part too. Everyone is waxing enthusiastic about this production."

"Where else can our audiences be greeted by both Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe," said Boxcar Co-Artistic Director Peter Matthews: "With over 230 historic and famous figures making it one of the largest wax museums in the world, and with only four performances occurring here -- surely this will be one of the most unique and absurd performances we have."

Dedicated to high visual concepts and transformative theatre, Olivero and Matthews provide San Francisco with its most innovative and thought-provoking theatrical experiences through its "Boxcar" and "Sidecar" productions. Boxcar's commitment is to produce "Experiential Theatre" and is proud to be known as a "Directors' Theatre." This next season Boxcar re-imagines the familiar by taking well-known plays and turning them on their head. "You have to hand it to Boxcar; as other companies scale back and tighten belts, it steps forward and belts out scales." (Rob Avila, SF Bay Guardian)

Museum is among Tina Howe's most important plays along with Birth and After, Birth The Art of Dining, Painting Churches, Coastal Disturbances, Approaching Zanzibar, One Shoe Off, Pride's Crossing, Rembrandt's Gift, Chasing Manet, and translations of Eugène Ionesco's The Bald Soprano and The Lesson, in addition to a host of shorter plays. Among her many awards are an Obie for Distinguished play writing, a Tony nomination for best Play, an Outer Circle Critics Award, a Rockefeller Grant, two N.E.A. Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, the Sidney Kingsley Award, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, two honorary degrees and the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre. She has also taught master classes at NYU, UCLA, Columbia and Carnegie Mellon and she currently teaches play writing at Hunter College in New York City and has been a member of the council of The Dramatists Guild of America since 1990.Her works can be read in numerous anthologies as well as in Coastal Disturbances: Four Plays by Tina Howe, and Approaching Zanzibar and Other Plays, published by Theatre Communications Group. Her translations of Ionesco's The Bald Soprano and The Lesson, are published by Grove Press.

Tickets for Museum are $19 -- $21 and may be purchased online at www.boxcartheatre.org, onsite at each location day-of-performance (pending availability) or by calling 1-800-838-3006.