Sporting a pig snout and coke bottle Dr. Magoo glasses, theater artist Cynthia Hopkins plays the accordion and sings poignantly about loss and mortality on micro- and macrocosmic levels. An intergalactic space epic marked by immersive videoscapes, song, and text, The Success of Failure blends silver spacesuit-clad sci-fi and the random happenstance of the universe (if the dinosaurs hadn't been wiped out, we would be breathing through gills right now) with the deeply personal - addiction, the loss of her mother, and her dying father.
Hopkins delves into her fascination with astrophysics to tell the story of a secret mission to save the world and why saving the world might mean the end of the universe. With a groundbreaking blend of elements, Hopkins exorcises demons and reinvents the way she views the world, entwining her lonely voyage with moments of beauty and joy.
November 18-20. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street. Tickets are $20-25 at 415-978-2787 or ybca.org.
