| Beach Blanket Babylon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 30th Anniversary poster | |
| Productions | San Francisco 1974–2019 London 1994 Las Vegas 1999 |
Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon was the world's longest-running musical revue. The show began its run in 1974, at the Savoy Tivoli and later moved to the larger Club Fugazi in the North Beach district of San Francisco.
The show was created by Steve Silver (1944–1995) along with sisters, native San Franciscans, Roberta and Nancy Bleiweiss. The three started on the streets of San Francisco. Nancy was the star of the show, created her characters and wrote all her own dialogue for all her characters for The Valentine Show (which preceded BBB at the Savoy Tivoli) in Beach Blanket Babylon and Beach Blanket Babylon Goes Bananas, Roberta was the show's manager, Associate Director, Promotion and Publicity Director, Box Office Manager (She made the original tickets for the show (that performed at the Savoy Tivoli) on a copy machine, cut them with scissors and sold the tickets for $2.50 from her home, as a make-shift box office. She then took the tickets to the Tivoli and sold tickets at the door before getting ready to also be a performer in the original show), procured sponsors for the original shows, did the accounting and wrote checks and also performed in the original shows at Savoy Tivoli, Olympus, Dance Your Ass Off and Club Fugazi.
The character of Snow White did not appear in the original shows. It wasn't until the two sisters were no longer in the show that the show title changed to Beach Blanket Babylon Goes to the Stars. [1][2] and continued since 1995 under the direction of his widow, Jo Schuman Silver,[3] with frequent changes and spoofs of pop and political culture. Performers wear disproportionately large hats/wigs and gaudy costumes while performing satirical renditions of popular songs.
On April 17, 2019, Jo Schuman Silver announced to the staff that the show would be closing on New Year's Eve.[4]
- ^ "Steve Silver, 51, Creator of Revue That Captivated San Francisco". The New York Times. 14 June 1995. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ Staff, Times; Reports, Wire (16 June 1995). "Steve Silver; was an artist and a Producer. 'Beach Blanket Babylon' Revue". Retrieved 27 December 2016 – via LA Times.
- ^ "Hats off to Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon - San Francisco History - Guidelines Newsletter". sfcityguides.org. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ Janiak, Lily (April 17, 2019). "SF treasure 'Beach Blanket Babylon' to close after 45 years". Datebook.