Time for a backyard global adventure

June 25, 1:11 PMSF Theater ExaminerChad Jones

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Jeff Greenwald's "Strange Travel Suggestions" at The Marsh in
San Francisco spins out differently every night depending where his
wheel of fortune leads him. Photo courtesy of The Marsh

The weekend is fast approaching and you don’t have plans. Not to worry – there’s still time to plan a fascinating global adventure.

Jeff Greenwald’s solo show “Strange Travel Suggestions” continues through Saturday, June 28, at The Marsh in San Francisco, and it’s well worth a visit.

Greenwald, an Oakland-based author and traveler, has been doing the show in various venues since 2003, and it’s never the same twice. He stands on stage in front of a beautifully decorated spinning wheel. After a spin by an audience member, Greenwald tells a tale based on wherever the wheel takes him. Among the 30 symbols the wheel  are "The Ugly American" and "What's That Smell?"

When I saw the show in a previous incarnation, Greenwald told stories inspired by the symbol that means "Be Careful What You Wish For,” which involved Tibet – its yak butter tea, the country's non-existent hygiene, sleeping in a field of stinging nettles and a skull-shaped lake whose waters reveal visions of the future.

Another story, inspired by "Celestial Mechanics," led to an extraordinary tale of being the only American amid 50,000 Iranians in a crowded town square for the last solar eclipse of the 20th century.

The final spin landed on "The Fool." Greenwald recalled a mesmerizing trek through the far reaches of Nepal amid blood-sucking leeches and villagers who had never seen a white man.

“I want this show to evoke the thrill of a journey,” Greenwald says. “The unexpected encounters and diversions that make world travel so wild and illuminating.”

He accomplishes that and more with “Strange Travel Suggestions.” Greenwald is definitely a guide worth following.