Butler out doors at McLaren Park, San Francisco, during pandemic
'He Wants to Run!' -- Check in for New Dates
As Theater World Starts to Reopen
'He Wants to Run!' -- Check in for New Dates
As Theater World Starts to Reopen
DAVID, WITH T-SHIRT OF BUTLER ON HALLOWEEN
David Kleinberg is looking forward again to performing his new solo theater piece, "He Wants to Run" as the theater world slowing begins to reopen as rules begin to change as more people become vaccinated from Covid-19. Hopefully, new dates coming soon.
"He Wants to Run" is the story of a guy who hates running and dogs, and how David ended up running with his neighbor's dog for 13 years in Cloverdale and what Butler teaches David about living and dying.
The work deals with David and Butler running the river and mountain trails of Sonoma country, and how, as they both get older together, David dealing with his best buddy aging six times faster than he is.
At one point, the two are running high above Sulphur Creek in Geysers Canyon, and David tells his friend, “Hey, Butler, we’ve been running together now for 12 years, and we don’t have one single picture of us.” And Butler seems to reply: “Dave, this relationship has never been about Instagram.”
The work is directed by Mark Kenward and developed with David Ford, both prominent directors of the Bay Area’s Theatre scene.
This is Kleinberg’s fourth solo theater work following his newspaper career. His last two one-man shows dealt with the Vietnam War. The first – “Hey, Hey, LBJ!” -- charted David’s duty as an army combat correspondent in Vietnam in 1966. And his last work -- “Return to the Scene of the Crime” – followed Kleinberg’s return to Vietnam for the first time in 50 years to visit where his buddies died and try to perform “LBJ” under threat of arrest from the communist government.
Subsequently both Kleinberg’s Vietnam works received major runs at San Francisco’s prestigious Marsh Theatre, and several strong reviews: The Washington Post wrote, ‘Hey, Hey, LBJ!’ is as polished and moving a piece of theater as the Capital Fringe is likely to see (out of 119 shows).” And ex-Rolling Stone senior writer Mike Goldberg called ‘LBJ’: “Powerful, moving, must see.”
Before turning to theater, Kleinberg spent 10 years as a stand-up comedian, and appeared with five of Comedy Central Top 100 Comedians of All-Time, including Robin Williams, “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” Richard Lewis and “Saturday Night Live’s” Dana Carvey.
David also spent 34 years as an editor/writer at the San Francisco Chronicle from 1960 to 1994, the last 14 years as editor of the Sunday Datebook.
'He Wants to Run': Kid-Friendly!
Have a child at home that likes doggies? "He Wants to Run" is kid friendly -- with a surprisingly uplifting ending. Several months ago, Kleinberg did the show at McLaren Park, and precisely at starting time, the director of a summer kids outdoor program filed into the amphitheater with 35 elementary school kids, age 5 to 10. Kleinberg feared the kids might stay for a few minutes, get antsy and insist that their leader get them out of there. But the entire group stayed to the end of the hour-long show, most of the kids seemingly engaged for the majority of the ride. At one point, David asked the audience members, "How many of you currently have a doggie in your house?" and two-thirds of the kids smiled brightly as they enthusiastically waved their hands.
Reviews and Comments
“Well-written. Professionally performed. A tear-jerker. The hour flies by” –
Edmonton Journal
“A great show. So much love and heart. (It) made me laugh and brought me
to tears. Truly inspired.” – Award-winning solo performer Jill Vice
“The kind of performer that makes you believe every word -- a natural who
doesn't have a fake bone in his body." – San Francisco Theater Blog
"The best show I've ever seen!" -- Edmonton Traffic Cop. (David asked the man,
"Was that the first theater work you've ever attended?")
"He Wants to Run" is the story of a guy who hates running and dogs, and how David ended up running with his neighbor's dog for 13 years in Cloverdale and what Butler teaches David about living and dying.
The work deals with David and Butler running the river and mountain trails of Sonoma country, and how, as they both get older together, David dealing with his best buddy aging six times faster than he is.
At one point, the two are running high above Sulphur Creek in Geysers Canyon, and David tells his friend, “Hey, Butler, we’ve been running together now for 12 years, and we don’t have one single picture of us.” And Butler seems to reply: “Dave, this relationship has never been about Instagram.”
The work is directed by Mark Kenward and developed with David Ford, both prominent directors of the Bay Area’s Theatre scene.
This is Kleinberg’s fourth solo theater work following his newspaper career. His last two one-man shows dealt with the Vietnam War. The first – “Hey, Hey, LBJ!” -- charted David’s duty as an army combat correspondent in Vietnam in 1966. And his last work -- “Return to the Scene of the Crime” – followed Kleinberg’s return to Vietnam for the first time in 50 years to visit where his buddies died and try to perform “LBJ” under threat of arrest from the communist government.
Subsequently both Kleinberg’s Vietnam works received major runs at San Francisco’s prestigious Marsh Theatre, and several strong reviews: The Washington Post wrote, ‘Hey, Hey, LBJ!’ is as polished and moving a piece of theater as the Capital Fringe is likely to see (out of 119 shows).” And ex-Rolling Stone senior writer Mike Goldberg called ‘LBJ’: “Powerful, moving, must see.”
Before turning to theater, Kleinberg spent 10 years as a stand-up comedian, and appeared with five of Comedy Central Top 100 Comedians of All-Time, including Robin Williams, “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” Richard Lewis and “Saturday Night Live’s” Dana Carvey.
David also spent 34 years as an editor/writer at the San Francisco Chronicle from 1960 to 1994, the last 14 years as editor of the Sunday Datebook.
'He Wants to Run': Kid-Friendly!
Have a child at home that likes doggies? "He Wants to Run" is kid friendly -- with a surprisingly uplifting ending. Several months ago, Kleinberg did the show at McLaren Park, and precisely at starting time, the director of a summer kids outdoor program filed into the amphitheater with 35 elementary school kids, age 5 to 10. Kleinberg feared the kids might stay for a few minutes, get antsy and insist that their leader get them out of there. But the entire group stayed to the end of the hour-long show, most of the kids seemingly engaged for the majority of the ride. At one point, David asked the audience members, "How many of you currently have a doggie in your house?" and two-thirds of the kids smiled brightly as they enthusiastically waved their hands.
Reviews and Comments
“Well-written. Professionally performed. A tear-jerker. The hour flies by” –
Edmonton Journal
“A great show. So much love and heart. (It) made me laugh and brought me
to tears. Truly inspired.” – Award-winning solo performer Jill Vice
“The kind of performer that makes you believe every word -- a natural who
doesn't have a fake bone in his body." – San Francisco Theater Blog
"The best show I've ever seen!" -- Edmonton Traffic Cop. (David asked the man,
"Was that the first theater work you've ever attended?")
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