We’ve turned the corner into the holiday season, so last week Out There attended shows perfect for this time of year. On Saturday night we made a long overdue visit to Beach Blanket Babylon’s holiday edition, and earlier in the week, we were in the house for opening night of San Francisco Playhouse’s “Mary Poppins.”

Surely you know the BBB story by now. Snow White (sometimes called Snow Tires) searches the world for her Prince Charming, hot dudes available to young ladies being in short supply in San Francisco. Pop culture is sent up courtesy of musical riffs, outrageous caricatures, extravagant costumes and sky-high hats. As always, there are up-to-the-moment topical references galore, from Keebler elf Jeff Sessions still smarting from his ignominious end, to Vladimir Putin (“on the Ritz”), Kim Jong Un and other global villains. The Trump Crime Family gets a number, too, a la the Von Trapps; the Criminal-in-Chief remembers golden showers, while Melania reprises her famous Marie Antoinette line, “I really don’t care, do you?”

There’s Kanye, there’s Kim, there’s tired old Caitlyn Jenner, but the most current event of all is the holiday season, and the end-of-year BBB offers plenty of Xmas cheer, including Xmas King Louis, Mr. Peanut Santa, and a chorus line of Tap-Dancing Xmas Trees. The gigantic Yuletide Hat is a winter wonderland, complete with chugging toy train. The SF skyline hat now boasts a Salesforce tower, but it’s still the Transamerica pyramid that gets a rise out of all the excitement.

It’s been a while since OT visited BBB, and we’re happy to report the Old Girl still has it in her to amuse, delight and surprise, much like SF itself. Treat out-of-towners, family and loved ones for fail-safe holiday fun. “Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon Holiday Extravaganza” holds the Club Fugazi stage through Dec. 31. Tickets ($30-$155): www.beachblanketbabylon.com, (415) 421-4222, or at the box office, 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd., formerly Green St., SF.

Oh, Mary!

SF Playhouse’s “Mary Poppins” is a musical based both on the stories of openly bisexual author P.L. Travers and on the Walt Disney film she resisted and reviled. As artistic director Bill English points out in his program note, “The original Mary, like Ms. Travers, an immigrant from Australia, was from the underclass of London deplorables,” not posh like Julie Andrews’ version. The musical offers an intriguing and quite un-Disneylike critique of the English class structure. The heroes are lower-class sorceress Mary and the dirt-under-his-fingernails, working-class chimney sweep Bert. Upper-class banker Mr. Banks and out-of-touch Mrs. Banks need more than a spoonful of sugar to catch a clue on child-raising.

The show, with its typically-for-Playhouse elaborate set design and high production values, never fails to delight. Bay Area stage veteran El Beh makes for a formidable Mary, Wiley Naman Strasser is a spry and appealing Bert, and the entire cast, including two very game child actors, fill their characters with life and song. Special note must be made of trouper Katrina Lauren McGraw, who makes a meal out of two quite dissimilar parts: the nasty nanny Miss Andrew, always ready to inflict poisonous “Brimstone and Treacle” on misbehaving children; and the rumpled bag-lady Bird Woman, offering her cruddy parcels of crumbs for “tuppence a bag.” Exclaim the Banks children, “Oh, there’s that horrible woman Daddy warned us about!” But she, too, becomes a lower-class hero in this passion play.

So a most populist Mary Poppins and all sorts of fantastical San Francisco Beach Blanket characters await you this holiday season. Take the plunge and book some tickets! sfplayhouse.org

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We turned the corner for the holiday season so Out There attended shows last week that are perfect for this time of year. On Saturday night we made a long overdue visit to the Christmas edition of Beach Blanket Babylon, and earlier that week we were in the house to open the night of “Mary Poppins” from the San Francisco Playhouse.

I’m sure you know the BBB story by now. Snow White (sometimes called Snow Tire) searches the world for her Prince Charming, hot guys available to young ladies who are in short supply in San Francisco. Pop culture is sent courtesy of musical riffs, outrageous cartoons, flamboyant costumes, and sky-high hats. As always, there are plenty of current references, from Keebler elf Jeff Sessions, who are still convinced of its shameful end, to Vladimir Putin (“at the Ritz”), Kim Jong Un and other global villains. The Trump Crime Family also gets a number, a la the Von Trapps; The Supreme Criminal remembers golden showers as Melania repeats her famous Marie Antoinette line: “I really don’t care, right?”

There’s Kanye, there’s Kim, there’s tired old Caitlyn Jenner, but the most topical event of all is the holiday season, and year-end BBB has lots of Christmas cheer, including Christmas King Louis, Mr. Peanut Santa, and a line of Tap-Dancing Xmas choirs Trees. The gigantic Christmas hat is a winter wonderland with a chugging toy train. The SF skyline hat now features a Salesforce tower, but it’s still the Transamerica pyramid that makes all the excitement an ascent.

Mary Poppins (El Beh), Bert (Wiley Naman Strasser) and parking cars (Rudy Guerrero, Sophia LaPaglia) in Mary Poppins at the San Francisco Playhouse. Photo: Jessica Palopoli

It has been a while since OT visited BBB and we are happy to report that the old girl still has what it takes to amuse, please and surprise, much like SF itself. Treat yourself to Out -of-Towers, family members and loved ones a fail-safe vacation fun. “Steve Silvers Beach Blanket Babylon Holiday Extravaganza” will host the Club Fugazi stage through December 31st. Tickets ($ 30 to $ 155): www.beachblanketbabylon.com, (415) 421-4222, or at the box office at 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. ., formerly Green St., SF.

Oh mary!

SF Playhouse’s “Mary Poppins” is a musical based on both the stories of the openly bisexual writer PL Travers and the Walt Disney film she resisted and berated. As Artistic Director Bill English points out in his program note, “The original Mary, like Ms. Travers, an immigrant from Australia, was from the lower class of deplorable Londoners,” not as chic as Julie Andrews’ version. The musical offers an intriguing and fairly disney-like critique of the English class structure. The heroes are lower class sorceress Mary and working class chimney sweep Bert. It takes more than a spoonful of sugar for the upper class banker, Mr. Banks, and the contactless Mrs. Banks to get a clue about parenting.

The show, with its elaborate stage design typical of the Playhouse and the high production values, inspires again and again. Bay Area stage veteran El Beh is a formidable Mary, Wiley Naman Strasser is a lively and engaging Bert, and the entire cast, including two very playful child actors, fill their characters with life and song. Particularly noteworthy is the trouper Katrina Lauren McGraw, who prepares a meal from two very different parts: the evil nanny Miss Andrew, who is always ready to add toxic “sulfur and treacle” to badly behaved children; and the crumpled pocket lady Bird Woman, who sells her crumbly crumb packages for “Tuppence a Bag”. Call out to the Banks kids, “Oh, there’s that awful woman Daddy warned us about!” But she, too, becomes a lower-class heroine in this Passion Play.

A populist Mary Poppins and all sorts of awesome San Francisco Beach Blanket characters are waiting for you this holiday season. Dive in and book tickets! sfplayhouse.org

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