By Ishita Srivastava For Dailymail.Com

16:59 28 Oct 2023, updated 17:16 28 Oct 2023

• Robin Williams ‘ seven-bedroom family mansion in Sea Cliff was built in 1926 
• The Italian Renaissance-style villa boasts seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms on 17,149 square feet of land
• It is the city’s largest and most private walled gated residential lots 
• Breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands can be seen from the house 

Robin Williams’ seven-bedroom family mansion in San Francisco has been put up for sale for almost $25 million. 

The villa, located in the exclusive Sea Cliff neighborhood in El Camino Del Mar, was initially built by architect Earle B. Bertz in 1926.

Williams bought the villa while shooting for Steven Spielberg’s movie, Hook in 1991.

His then-wife Marsha and three kids lived there with him till the pair’s divorce in 2010. 

Now Marsha is selling the sprawling property to downsize as all their kids have ‘grown up’. 

She told the Wall Street Journal: ‘It’s a beautiful, happy house. We had many, many fantastic years of fun and play and joy there.’

The villa, which is located in El Camino Del Mar, the exclusive Sea Cliff neighborhood, was initially built by architect Earle B. Bertz in 1926 The Italian Renaissance-style villa boasts seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms on 17,149 square feet of land, making it among the city’s largest and most private walled gated residential lots Compass agent Steven Mavromihalis explained that while renovating the house to modern standards, the pair made great effort to preserve the original rare and valuable building materials

The Italian Renaissance-style villa boasts seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms on 17,149 square feet of land, making it among the city’s largest and most private walled gated residential lots.

The house’s true value is found in its details, such as ornate moldings, wide plank hardwood flooring, patterned terracotta tiles, and exposed beams.

Right before the pair divorced, they renovated the home. 

The new updates included a movie theatre with a drop-down projector, an eat-in kitchen, a ‘prohibition-era’ bar hidden behind wood wall paneling and a secret passageway connecting the children’s bedrooms.

Compass agent Steven Mavromihalis explained that while renovating the house to modern standards, the pair made great effort to preserve the original rare and valuable building materials. 

‘It is everything you imagine Robin Williams to be,’ said Mavromihalis.

‘True master chefs will appreciate the spectacular eat-in Kitchen and adjoining Butler’s Pantry, with a center island, triple sinks, abundant counter space and the finest quality materials and appliances including brands such as La Cornue, Sub-Zero, Miele and timelessly designed Custom cabinets with intricate wood inlay, by Britain’s Smallbone Design Studio.’

Wooden beams line the ceiling in the living area, which also includes a wood-burning fireplace and French doors with access to the terrace The house’s true value is found in its details, such as ornate moldings, wide plank hardwood flooring, patterned terracotta tiles, and exposed beams New updates include a movie theatre with a drop-down projector, an eat-in kitchen, a Prohibition-era bar hidden behind wood wall paneling and a secret passageway connecting the children’s bedrooms An all-wood dining table with wooden tiles and wood-paneled French doors also make up a critical part of the house. True master chefs will appreciate the spectacular eat-in Kitchen and adjoining Butler’s Pantry, with a center island, triple sinks and abundant counter space

Wooden beams line the ceiling in the living area, which also includes a wood-burning fireplace and French doors with access to the terrace. 

The primary bedroom features panoramic views of the ocean and bridge, a Japanese-inspired bathroom, built-in vanities and a walk-in shower with decorative glass.

The listing reads: ‘The Japanese themed Primary Bath also features direct Golden Gate Bridge views, with an enormous dressing room, custom made built-in vanities and furniture pieces and a platform soaking tub with separate walk-in shower enclosed with decorative glass paneling.

‘On the garden level there is a one bedroom Guest Apartment with separate entrance, as well as a Fitness Center with a Full Bath and Helo Sauna made in Finland.

‘Also located on the garden level is the Wine Cellar, Pantry, and inexhaustible Storage Closets.’

The property listing also states that breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands can be seen from the house. 

‘In the immediate vicinity of China Beach and in close proximity to Baker Beach. Minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio of San Francisco with its nearly 1500 acres of open space, hiking trails, bike paths, and other attractions; as well as being just minutes away from Land’s End, the renowned Lincoln Park Golf Course, The Legion of Honor Museum, and neighborhood shops and restaurants just blocks to the South.

The primary bedroom features panoramic views of the ocean and bridge, a Japanese-inspired bathroom, built-in vanities, and a walk-in shower with decorative glass The Japanese themed Primary Bath also features direct Golden Gate Bridge views, with an enormous dressing room, custom made built-in vanities and furniture pieces The walk-in closet, a crucial part of the primary bedroom The property listing also states that breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands can be seen from the bathroom On the garden level there is a one bedroom Guest Apartment with separate entrance, as well as a Fitness Center with a Full Bath and Helo Sauna made in Finland

‘With easy access to the Peninsula and Silicon Valley, the Sea Cliff neighborhood also boasts many of San Francisco’s finest public and private schools,’ the listing reads. 

Williams’ son Cody married Maria Flores at this villa on his father’s birthday in 2019.

The couple had guests hold up yellow roses and a candle with three wicks was lit in honor of his dad and other family members who had passed away.  

A recording of Maria singing ‘Never Enough’ played in the background. 

The Oscar-winning actor and comedian lost his battle with depression and took his own life at his home in Tiburon on August 11, 2014. 

His wife Susan Schneider revealed after his death that he had been suffering from the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. 

The incurable disease causes brain nerve cell damage, leading to a drop in dopamine levels. It can affect movement and often includes tremors.

The post Robin Williams’ former San Francisco household mansion hits the marketplace for $25million as his ex-wife displays the ‘on improbable years of enjoyable and pleasure’ within the seven-bedroom property appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Laura Groffman, right, of Oakland, a member of the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS), is removed from a Hansa Liberty sailboat Saturday, April 22, 2023 by volunteers Katherine Scannell, far left, of Oakland, and Joseph Hurst, of San Francisco, at South Beach Harbor in downtown San Francisco, California. Groffman uses a wheelchair for everyday use. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Alex Hruzewicz mentally juggles dozens of ever-changing questions as he captains a 41-foot keelboat called the Believe through San Francisco Bay.

When is the best time to unfurl the sails in 15 knots of wind? How fast are the currents moving? Is there enough clearance for the rudder? Is there a ferry heading towards the boat? Will the tide be high enough to dock? Is there sufficient pressure on the lines?

“It’s a dance with Mother Nature,” Hruzewicz said, using the boat’s electric winches to navigate the changing squalls as he sailed back to Pier 40 on the Embarcadero. “You can play with wind and waves. There’s an adrenaline rush and a calm – there’s not much like it.”

Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) member Nettie Wijsman of Menlo Park sits while Alex Hruzewicz, boatswain, prepares the sailboat “Believe” for “Sunday Keelboat Sailing” in South Beach Harbor in downtown San Francisco, California on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Wijsman uses a wheelchair for everyday use. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

After growing up around boats in Poland, he worked for years on commercial waters along the east coast taking on sail supply jobs. But after breaking his spine and both legs in a serious accident, he wondered if he would ever be able to sail again.

Luckily, the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) makes sure the answer is always yes.

Since 1989, the not-for-profit organization at the Port of South Beach Marina has offered hundreds of rides on specialty boats designed and customized for different sailing abilities. By 1992, the organization had adopted a new pirate mascot, taking on the legacy of the ‘original handicapped seafarers’ who used eye patches, pegged legs and hooks for lost hands.

Laura Groffman, right, of Oakland, a member of the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS), is removed from a Hansa Liberty sailboat Saturday, April 22, 2023 by volunteers Katherine Scannell, far left, of Oakland, and Joseph Hurst, of San Francisco, at South Beach Harbor in downtown San Francisco, California. Groffman uses a wheelchair for everyday use. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Whether someone is paralyzed, blind, amputee or struggling with neurological disabilities, BAADS has an abundance of electric servos, winches and joysticks to help control the boat’s mainsheet and boom. There are harnesses and rocker lifts to get sailors into the boats, as well as gimballed seats and cushions to soften the toll of the windy ride. And capable volunteers and guests help coordinate and set up the sailboats. The organization’s events are free to the public and compensated by $60 annual voluntary memberships.

Kathi Pugh, the current Commodore of BAADS, grew up swimming, playing water polo and sailing with her father. After a skiing accident left her paralyzed from the chest down, sailing with BAADS to the middle of the bay was an exhilarating escape from everyday life and the limitations that can come with using a power chair – something she previously thought there was “no way” to deal with.

“For someone like me, there were very few recreational opportunities and nothing that was adventurous, a little dangerous or exciting, and also required skill,” Pugh said. “After my first sailing trip around Angel Island, I thought, ‘Oh my god, my world has been rocked and it will never be the same again.’

She wanted to help share that same feeling with as many people as possible and make all aspects of sailing accessible. Despite the popular belief that sailing is reserved for the wealthy, privileged, and able-bodied, BAADS’ mission is simple: “Get butts in boats,” Pugh said.

Are you curious about a leisurely cruise under the Bay Bridge, where the noise of traffic above you will be silenced and you might even spot the troll hidden by ironworkers to protect the structure from earthquakes? Five different keelboats are available for this excursion on Sundays – including the Believe, the Flying Fog and the Tashi.

Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) member Laura Groffman of Oakland sails in a Hansa Liberty sailboat near Pier 30 on Saturday, April 22, 2023 for Saturday Small Boat Sailing near downtown San Francisco, California. Groffman uses a wheelchair for everyday use. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

How about a more hands-on sailing experience, where you steer a boat yourself and get up close and personal with the salt water? More than two dozen dinghies are available on Saturdays, all designed and tested to heel but not tip over in the strongest of winds.

BAADS’ capabilities have evolved greatly since the program first started in Oakland as it operates as the open-water branch of the Lake Merritt Adapted Boating Program. Since then, the organization has trained numerous skippers, sponsored racing teams and hosted national championship races on the bay.

A series of personal donations of converted sailboats—often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars—and grants have helped BAADS stay afloat and allow its more than 200 members and newcomers to feel the freedom of the open water almost every weekend.

“I just leave my disability in the dock with the wheelchair,” Pugh said. “When I’m out there, I’m just so free. It’s just a thrill and a whole different challenge. Being both a Pisces and an adrenaline junkie makes me feel so connected to the water that being able to sail is just wonderful.”

Both sailors and novices come to boating from across the bay, as well as from Fresno and Sacramento, many of whom have never sailed before.

“But we also have a really good core group that’s committed to sailing every weekend that they can,” Pugh said. “One really great thing about sailing is that you can do it if you really want to take it to a new level. Once you start educating yourself and gaining more experience, the world is truly your oyster. It’s really fun to do a sport that’s also intellectually stimulating.”

Cisco Ramos took this to heart and, so to speak, plunged headfirst into several opportunities that he would never have had without BAADS.

As of 2010, Ramos was experiencing symptoms of what was later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. This eventually forced him to quit his heavy maintenance job in San Francisco and move into his new normal of early retirement.

While the idea of ​​even being on the water used to scare Ramos, a Facebook invite to a BAADS outing eventually pushed him out of his comfort zone — a life-changing decision. Since then he has sailed to Mexico, co-founded Sail MS, managed small boat trips from Richmond Yacht Club and sailed internationally with Oceans of Hope.

Since his first journey with BAADS, sailing has become a source of both mental and physical therapy – helping him settle into a ‘new normal’, find strength and courage, listen to his body’s intuition, connect with the community and find relief from the pain of living with MS.

“I urge myself to go to the docks, get on the boat and sail alone for a while; By the time I head home, all my symptoms are gone,” Ramos said. “A few years ago I had never been on a sailboat and I could barely swim, but when I had the opportunity I was like, ‘What do I have to lose?'”

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The ‘Joy Ride’ stars called their latest film “liberating” and “the first of its kind” at the red carpet screening in San Francisco on Thursday.

Ashley Park, who plays one of the film’s main characters, was in attendance and told SFGATE that it was her third time seeing the film in front of an audience. She said each time the crowd left energetically.

“We love everything in this genre, and at least what I’ve personally seen is that everyone leaves the theater happy, horny, seen or heard and just full of life,” she said.

The film, which officially hits theaters July 7, is a comedy about four Asian-American girlfriends, played by Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu, who travel across different parts of Asia to meet one of their birth mothers to find. The comedy is like a cross between ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ with hilarious moments including lots of cocaine, a very ‘interesting’ sex scene with a messy threesome montage and an appearance by a fake K-pop group.

Directed by Adele Lim, “Joy Ride” had a nearly full hall with 1,400 spectators screaming and bursting with laughter at almost every moment of the San Franciscremiere.

“[‘Joy Ride’] “Everyone is in a good mood and can relate to one, if not all, of the characters and situations – and we were just all Asian,” Park said before the premiere.

According to its website, the studio comedy premiered in San Francisco during CAAMFest, the world’s largest festival for Asian-American films. The film festival takes place from May 11th to 21st in San Francisco and Oakland.

Wu, a comedian and actor who notably wrote for the Disney+ series Doogie Kamealoha, declared her appreciation for San Francisco on the red carpet at the historic Castro Theater.

“San Francisco is so beautiful right now, and living in Michigan with my gay friends, we always thought, ‘One day we’re all going to escape to California. We’re going to move to the gay west coast,” they said. “I guess it’s exactly what I imagined being here on this street with a rainbow flag flying every ten feet.”

Thuy Tran, festival and exhibition director of CAAMFest, said in a recorded video shown at the premiere that the story of “Joy Ride” propels the industry and the Asian American community forward with its “taboo” but groundbreaking topics.

“‘Joy Ride’ is so emphatic about Asian-American joy,” Tran said. “It’s so uncompromising about our desires, period.”

In the film, the four characters, most notably Park’s character Audrey, struggle with their sense of self and personal identity. Audrey, who works in a law firm, ignores the seemingly “wild” aspects of life that make her happy and struggles with her cultural identity as an Asian American. The film does a great job of depicting the characters’ breakthroughs in their self-discovery while also capturing their pure and diverse friendship, without missing out on hilarious moments that will make you laugh.

During a question-and-answer session after the premiere, the cast said they were grateful for the film’s writers’ ability to assemble such a diverse cast with distinctly different personalities and identities. The cast also mentioned that much like their on-screen characters, they felt that their identities as Asian Americans limited their opportunities, and “Joy Ride” was a major breakthrough in their professional careers.

“I actually think sometimes that I had such low expectations of myself because I didn’t see a way forward,” said Hsu, who plays Kat, during the Q&A session. Hsu recently played several supporting roles in blockbusters like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Marvel’s Shang-Chi.

Park, who also played Mindy Chen in Emily in Paris, said she felt the similar experiences of all the leading actors in the film industry created a bond between the four.

“If you’ve only had a handful of supporting role opportunities, you’ve got a really supporting cast,” she said during the Q&A session.

“Joy Ride” was a fantastic portrayal of a life without shame, and if the reception at the Castro was any indication, it will be a revolutionary film for the talented cohort of actors and an important chapter in the next wave of Asian-American cinema.

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San Francisco Ballet is back – with a vengeance! The first program of their 2022 season concludes with arguably the most joyous 35 minutes of dance ever created, George Balanchine’s neoclassical masterpiece Symphony in C. Set to Bizet’s fizzy first symphony, composed when he was only 17, the entire ballet is a delight, but it reaches its apex in the final movement as dozens and dozens of dancers fill the stage, their stark white and black costumes standing in sharp relief against the sky-blue backdrop. As the dancers dive into the challenging choreography with gusto, it feels as if the stage erupts in a burst of fireworks. Yes, this is exactly what we’ve been missing for the past two years, this feeling of rapturous joy that simply cannot be transmitted via a video screen.Max Cauthorn and Sasha De Sola at San Francisco Ballet’s
production of Helgi Tomasson’s Trio

Program 1 opens with Trio, an attractive ballet by SFB’s soon-to-retire Artistic Director, Helgi Tomasson, and it’s what I would call a patented Tomasson piece – decent choreography set to gorgeous music with ample opportunity for terrific dancing. It’s not the kind of ballet that’s going to set the world on fire, or that you’ll likely remember a year from now, but it is very pleasant to watch in the moment and shows off the depth of talent in this remarkable company. In this case, Tomasson has chosen Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous Souvenir de Florence, which surprisingly wanders from Italy to Russia over the course of its four movements, the latter two combined into one (thus giving the ballet its name). A playful pas de deux opens the piece before giving way to a melancholic trio with undertones of a plot involving death conquering love, and the ballet concludes with a folk-dancy romp. Tomasson’s movement is consistently attentive to the shifts in the music, even as he cribs from Balanchine along the way. But as they say – if you’re going to steal, steal from the best.

(L to R) Daniel Deivison-Oliveira, Dores André and Luke Ingham in
San Francisco Ballet’s production of Helgi Tomasson’s Trio

The opening night cast was terrific top to bottom. Sasha De Sola and Max Cauthorn danced beautifully together in the first movement. She astonished with her spitfire turns and languorous balances, and he seemed perpetually airborne. Doris André, Luke Ingham and Daniel Deivison-Olivera made a nicely understated trio in the sorrowful second movement, letting the choreography speak for itself without piling on the pathos. Angelo Greco and Misa Kuranaga injected the finale with a spritz of playful energy that brought the ballet to a rousing close. And the corps de ballet of 10 dancers gave beautiful support to the principal dancers throughout, most notably the duo of Estéban Cuadrado and Mingxuan Wang, two dancers of different physiques and temperaments who somehow met in the middle through the perfectly matched elegance and lightness of their dancing.

Sarah Van Patten as the title character in Cathy Marston’s Mrs. Robinson, flanked by the corps de ballet

The middle piece of the program was the much-anticipated world premiere of Cathy Marston’s Mrs. Robinson, based on the source novel for the celebrated film The Graduate. Marston’s fresh idea is to tell the well-known story from the perspective of the middle-aged title character. This sounded fascinating in concept, but in execution, not so much. Working closely with dramaturg Edward Kemp and composer Terry Davies, Marston knows how to tell a story through dance – this is not one of those narrative ballets that leaves the audience mystified as to what they have just seen – but she does not have a feel for devising distinctive movement that illuminates character. Yes, there are odd sparks of this along the way, like the way Benjamin’s signature gesture of running his hand upwards over his face speaks to his discofiture in the world, but those moments are way too few and far between. Instead, we get multiple sequences of women in aprons miming household chores and falling to the floor. It’s a choreographic notion about the stultifying life of a housewife, but it’s not a novel or interesting one so it goes nowhere, even as it is repeated over and over again during the overlong ballet’s 45-minute running time. Sure, we get the concept, but we don’t feel it.

The central tries between Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin are equally lacking in imagination and, more problematically, real passion. There are some easy visual jokes about his awkwardness, including unfortunately broad allusions to his erection, but we never feel the couple’s true connection. This ultimately robs Mrs. Robinson’s emotional journey of any real impact. When she meets her unhappy end, it is mystifyingly abrupt and vaguely reminiscent of The Stepford Wives. What we really need is a culminating solo for Mrs. Robinson that delineates through movement her emotional state. Instead, we get a non-ending ending that leaves the audience perplexed.Joseph Walsh as Benjamin Braddock and Sarah Van Patten
as the title character in Cathy Marston’s Mrs. Robinson

Marston is not helped by her creative team. Patrick Kinmonth’s costumes seem oddly stuck in the staid 1950’s rather than the hip 1960’s and his sets look cheap and ill-constructed, rather than spare and stylized as I presume was intended. The lighting design by the usually terrific Jim French only calls attention to those deficiencies. I even began to wonder if this was on purpose, that the point was to shine a light on the shoddiness of the society it depicted. On the plus side, the dancers in the huge cast of 36 uniformly danced with commitment and style. I felt badly for Sarah Van Patten and Joseph Walsh in the leading roles. They are two of SFB’s most accomplished dancing actors and they complemented each other beautifully. Even with her beguiling opacity and his emotional transparency, though, hard as they tried they simply could not make their characters register for the audience. Oh how I would love to see them both dance a much better version of this same story!

After the low-key bewilderment of Mrs. Robinson, SFB came roaring back with the infinite glories of Symphony in C. Featuring an enormous cast of 52, including no less than four leading couples, there are simply too many moving parts for any ballet company to give a perfect performance of Symphony in C, but SFB gives it their considerable best. The corps women were stunningly light and crisp in the opening allegro movement, with a standout Julia Rowe in a demi-solo role. A playful yet regal Sasha De Sola and Aaron Robison, astonishing in the height of his jumps, led their ranks with dash and panache. The achingly gorgeous adagio second movement showed off just what Sarah Van Patten can do with a role worthy of her talents, as she alternated swoony melancholy in her pas de deux with Ulrik Birkkjaer with crisp changes of direction, mid-leap mind you, in her solo. Dores André and Max Cauthorn brought impish high spirits to the third movement before Henry Sidford and Jennifer Stahl kicked off the final section with spritely command.

(L to R) Elizabeth Mateer, Anatalia Hordov and Tyla Steinbach backed by the corps de ballet in George Balanchine’s Symphony in C

That last movement becomes a sort of balletic relay race as the tempo speeds up and teams of dancers from each of the proceeding movements dash onstage, performing brief flashes of intricate movement before ceding the stage to the next team. And there are delicious moments of unison dancing for the leading ballerinas, and then the leading men, that allow us the pleasure of watching these artists dance in synch with each other while still expressing their individuality. When the ballet ends with a celebratory whoosh of all 52 dancers filling the stage tutu to tutu in a kaleidoscope of geometry, jumping and twirling in delight, it is a distillation of pure joy.

[All photos by Erik Tomasson]

Live performances of San Francisco Ballet’s Program 1 continue through Saturday, February 12th at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA. Running time is approximately 2:40, including two intermissions. Proof of full COVID vaccination and wearing of masks while in the building are required. For tickets and additional information, visit www.sfballet.org or call (415) 865-2000, MF 10am-4pm.

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ON STAGE El Beh, who plays the title role in Mary Poppins of the San Francisco Playhouse (through January 12), never thought of playing the no-nonsense nanny who blows her parrot-headed umbrella and the Banks family in Brings shape.

They got the role when Susi Damilano, the director, came across her on the street and asked Beh to just take on the role. Beh, who, in addition to singing, dancing and acting, also teaches theater and small children movement and music to middle school students, decided to do it. Part of the reason was representation.

“It really meant something to me to have a strange colored person in that role,” they said. “I’ve been thinking about my kids seeing this and how much that would mean, so I thought I can’t walk away from it – I have to be brave enough to think about it. My social justice has to match my art or it’s just not worth it. And I’ve decided that it is. “

From the SF Playhouse production of ‘Mary Poppins’. Photo by Jessica Palopoli.

PL Travers wrote a series of books about Mary Poppins, the nanny who joined the Banks family after two children, Jane and Michael, evicted their other nannies. Her father works in the bank and has little time for his children during the play – her mother used to be an actress, but is now trying to meet her husband’s high demands on the house and children.

Mary Poppins, who has a high regard for herself and sniffs a lot to signify disapproval, takes the children on magical adventures. Bill English, co-founder of the Playhouse with Damilano, writes in the program that the books have attracted unexpected fans like Sylvia Plath and TS Eliot. According to English, the Australian immigrant Travers wrote the books as a commentary on the lessons: Mary Poppins teaches empathy and compassion for the poor.

Beh’s first encounter with Mary Poppins was in the Disney film starring Julie Andrews (whom Travers allegedly hated) when she was very young. They liked it but weren’t swept away. But they found it rich and interesting to play the role of the enigmatic nanny.

“She is single-handedly dismantling patriarchy in this world,” said Beh. “And she doesn’t tell them fascistically how to do it. There is one line that I love that you can play your tongue on the cheek, but I think it’s absolutely her truth: when you go to the bank and Michael says she put it in her dad’s head, says Mary: “The insolence! I would never put ideas in anyone’s head. “I think she’d be horrified at the idea of ​​putting ideas in someone’s head – she could guide them, but you have to get to it yourself.”

Breaking down patriarchy is exactly what Beh expects from her art, and Mary Poppins does it in a loving way, they think.

“I alternate between being able to do this work through love – and feeling like ‘burning everything down’. It’s good to sit with it and do it through love, and I’ve burned it all down to the mood for a while, ”they said. “The thing about love is that it lasts longer. She does real moderation, so the other characters join in on their own. “

From the SF Playhouse production of ‘Mary Poppins’. Photo by Jessica Palopoli.

Beh finds a lot of joy in the role. For one, there is the reaction of children in the audience. Then they can play with their best friend, Wiley Naman Strasser, who plays Bert, the chimney sweep who dances across the rooftops.

Beh’s numerous productions include Black Rider, Our Town and Hamlet at the Shotgun Players, Into the Woods and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Playhouse, playing the cello and singing in Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music. Beh grew up singing and dancing – and her mother made sure they see plays from a young age. It was her theater studies at UC Berkeley that made her choose this as a career.

“That’s where I learned how my art changes the world,” said Beh. “And what it could do as activism.”

MARY POPPINS: THE BROADWAY MUSIC
Until January 12th
San Francisco Playhouse
Tickets and more information here

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