SF-style patriotism on stage this weekend

July 3, 12:18 PMSF Theater ExaminerChad Jones

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If it’s the Fourth of July, that can mean only one thing: the San Francisco Mime Troupe is opening a new show amid the grassy knolls of Dolores Park.

Sure enough, the Mime Troupe’s “Red State” is at 2 p.m. Friday, July 4 and continues its tour through mid-September throughout the Bay Area and Northern California. This year’s show will even travel all the way to Denver at the end of August for the Democratic National Convention.

This weekend’s performances are at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Dolores Park, with live music beginning at 1:30 p.m. The show moves to Oakland’s Mosswood Park July 12 and San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens July 13. Click here for a complete schedule.

Written by Michael Gene Sullivan, “Red State” is about a red-state small town that is about to disappear from the map. Due to a voting glitch, however, the little town is somehow holding the nation’s presidential election hostage. Music and lyrics are by Pat Moran, and the cast includes Velina Brown, Lisa Hori Garcia, Noah James Butler, Lizzie Calogero, Bob Ernst and Adrian Mejia.

Admission is free. Bring a picnic and sunscreen and blankets. Visit www.sfmt.org for information.

Over at The Marsh, Liza Raynal is exploring the war in Afghanistan in a very personal way in her solo show “American Joe.” Last November, Raynal’s 19-year-old brother Joe enlisted in the U.S. Army. Raynal tells the story from her perspective as Joe works his way from boot camp to imminent deployment. He’s a soldier and she’s a pacifist. He’s a warrior, she’s a writer. Both come from the same Bay Area liberal parents, and each exercises personal rights: his Second Amendment, her First Amendment. How does an older sister remain protective of her little brother in the face of his entry into war?

Well, one way she can help him is to ensure he has good shoes and not the standard-issue horrible Army boots that cost $38 and have canvas sides and steel shanks. In a previous performance of “American Joe,” Raynal raised $1,000 in her “Bucks for Boots” program, which bought proper boots for five members of Joe’s platoon.

“American Joe” opens Thursday, July 3 and continues through Aug. 15 at The Marsh Studio Theater, 1074 Valencia St., San Francisco. Tickets are $15-$35 on a sliding scale. Call 800-838-3006 or visit www.themarsh.org for information.

Between the Mime Troupe and Liza Raynal, I think that’s what you call patriotism San Francisco style.