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About Artfull Circle Theatre
"Hey, kids! I've got a barn…let's do a show!"
In November of 1992, with the ghost of Andy Hardy looking over their shoulders, four partners rented an old San Francisco Fire Department horse barn, built a living, working theatre within it, and began the company known as Artfull Circle Theatre. The rest, as they say, is history, at least for theatre lovers and their friends in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Wayne Buidens and David Bussey had come from Chicago the year before, bringing with them the hit show that was to start it all on the West Coast, "What Ever Happened to B. B. Jane?". It ran for a phenomenal nine months beginning in January of 1992 and created an audience who appreciated the very special elements that make Artfull Circle Theatre what it is. Namely, love of musical comedy and classic Hollywood movies, combined with theatrical production values and drag performance. In partnership with Mark Sargent and Richard Winchester, a number of critically acclaimed shows ensued in this vein, many with original music and lyrics. These include the perennial holiday hit Christmas with the Crawfords, a take on the famous 1940s Christmas Eve radio broadcast from Joan Crawford's Brentwood home, Psycho the Musical, Jungle Red (a parody of The Women), Way Out West (a tribute to Mae West and W. C. Fields), Women's Prison Christmas, The Andrews Sisters' Hollywood Canteen, and Eve, a musical take on the 1950 movie All About Eve. In 1999, Artfull Circle Theatre celebrated its eighth year with the holiday hit White Trash Compactor - A Cul-de-Sac Christmas which took the company into the present with a satiric and hilarious look at life in the suburbs for four bored housewives. Christmas with the Crawfords has taken on a life of its own; there have been productions in Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland, as well as the last three years in New York City where it received a Drama Desk nomination for best costumes. The current production at Theatre Rhino brings Christmas with the Crawfords home to the Bay Area for the first time since 1998, and there are productions opening soon in Omaha and Wichita. In all these shows, throughout all the years, Artfull Circle Theatre has taken pride in its work, and has striven to provide audiences with a unique theatrical experience, a rewarding evening of musical comedy entertainment and value for their money.
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