December 1999

Wednesday, December 1st
Wesla Whitfield at the Plush Room

One of the world's best cabaret singers, the incomparable Wesla Whitfield will be performing with Mike Greensill on piano at 8:00PM in the intimate atmosphere of the Plush Room in the York Hotel (940 Sutter St. between Leavenworth and Hyde). They just finished editing their thirteenth recording, "With A Song In My Heart," the songs of Hart and Rodgers, and will perform some soulful tunes by these masters of the American ballad. Tickets are $20 for members and $22 for guests. An additional 2 drink minimum is required. An optional dinner will precede the show. Reserve online or call David at  333.2212.

Wednesday, December 1st
Hosting a Holiday Party

Hors d'oeuvres at their best!
Guest chefs reveal the holiday secrets that kept Martha Stewart from sleeping with trolls under a bridge to attain her success. On Wednesday, December 1, from 7:30 to 9:30pm, enjoy Mark & Glen's kitchen in El Cerrito while three surprise chefs show you how to rise above chips and dip and create fabulous little somethings that'll make your holiday gatherings memorable. The cost is just $20 for members, $25 for guests. Make your reservation online or contact Mark Cecil at  752.9851 to reserve your spot. Move over, tired old shrimp cocktail!

Saturday, December 4th
Holiday Gala at the Green Room

The official MAX Holiday extravaganza, the Green Room Gala, will open its doors at 7:00PM on the first Saturday evening in December. Inaugurate the 1999 holiday season with an incandescent evening of live music, sumptuous food, and free (read:FREE) flowing spirits of every imagination, all in the glimmering setting of the War Memorial Green Room.

For a mere $50 suggested donation, you are party to a fabulous event: 1999 will see the 45th running of this Holiday Gala, which provides funds for holiday gifts and expressions of help to the abandoned, abused, and HIV+ children of San Francisco under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court. The Gala is 100% underwritten by its Hosts and Sponsors, and all administration of the program is 100% volunteer effort, so 100% of your check goes to the children.

This is no “pre-party,” boys! This is a destination event! You will be wined, dined, and danced the evening long. Seagrams will host its famous Cosmos Bar, as well as a full-service complimentary bar. Complimentary wines and soft drinks will be abundantly available, and turkey and beef carving stations, appetizers, holiday fare and desserts will sustain you for the irresistible need to dance to Libby McLarin’s incredible swing band. Send your donation of $50, or more (come on, Santa Claus) to MAX with the notation of “Green Room Gala” and you will be afforded a streamlined VIP entry to the Gala. If you would like to join the Hosts and Sponsors in underwriting the party, please call Randy Bailey at  332.2005. If you would like to volunteer to help set up the party, or help serve, greet, or most fun of all, clean up, please call Jeff Nigh at  752.7340. (We are a very merry bunch of party elves, and it actually is a lot of fun.)

Monday, December 6th
Just In Time For The Holidays

This 1999 Holiday Cabaret benefits the Children's AIDS Charities, and will be held at The Lenore & Ira Gershwin Theater at USF (Turk at Masonic). The cabaret is at 7:30PM, and is presented by the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation and Star Classics. It also benefits the Pediatric AIDS/HIV Program at Children's Hospital Oakland and the HIV Education Program at the New Conservatory Theater Complex. There will be tons of stars and fabulous sponsors. Tickets: $25-$75 ($50 reserved & $75 "Angels" sections). A special reception with the cast following the performance is also an option for an additional $25. "Angels" ticketholders will be listed in the program. Reserve online or call Bill Funke at  431.2928 for special MAX seating sections.

Thursday, December 9th       SOLD OUT
Beach Blanket Babylon Holiday Show

We've reserved 32 balcony seats for the 8 PM performance of BBB's zany musical comedy revue at the Club Fugazi (678 Green St) in North Beach. Follow Snow White in her search for true love during the holiday season. Tickets are $42 for members and $45 for guests. Reserve your ticket online or call Vince at  337.1914 for reservations and information. We'll get together for an optional dinner at Capp's Corner (1600 Powell) at 6pm before the show. For only $27 including tax, tip, and a glass of wine you will get minestrone soup, a green salad, vegetables, pasta marinara and a choice of fresh fish, roast half chicken with garlic and herbs, roast pork loin, or egglplant parmesan, and spumoni.

Saturday, December 11th
Chanticleer Christmas Concert

Don your gay apparel for A Chanticleer Christmas at St. Ignatius Church at 8:00PM. The Bay Area's most beloved holiday concert returns with Chanticleer's traditional mix of medieval and Renaissance sacred music, joyful spirituals and unique arrangements of seasonal songs performed at the exquisite St. Ignatius Church. Contact Bob Bolton at  282.8453 for your $33 member or $35 guest tickets.

Wednesday, December 15th
Ice Skating at Yerba Buena

Join the MAXSports committee for an evening of ice skating at 7:00PM on Wednesday, December 15th, at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating Center located at 750 Folsom Street in San Francisco. There is no rental fee for the ice skates, and the admission price is $6.00 payable at the door. Reserve online or contact MAXSports director Vince Beaudet at  337.1914 to sign up.

Thursday, December 16th
Cabaret at the Curran Theater   sold out

What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play at the infamous Kit Kat Klub.  Joely Fisher plays the divinely decadent Sally Bowles in Broadway's recent smash production.  Reserve your $70 orchestra tickets for members and $75 for guests by calling Dennis Baker at  821-9363.

Saturday, December 18th
Tree-trimming and Caroling Party

Add your voice to the MAX chorus of carolers, all singing abilities welcome! Get your scarf out of mothballs,  don your ski cap, and join a fun afternoon and evening with your MAX friends. The fun begins at 3:30PM when we'll meet at the Metro bar at Noe & Market. We'll be caroling around the Castro, and at 6:00PM, we head to our chairman's house to trim his tree! $5 payable at the door defrays refreshment expenses. Make your reservation by calling the MAXParty hotline at  436.0976. Please bring a cap and scarf to make us look ever-so-festive, and a small ornament for Mark's tree.