current EVENTS
“It was funny, moving, witty, and informative. The music, lyrics, and performances were all first-rate. You Wild Women collaborators all did a great job. Thank you for creating it!”
— Gary Kamiya, Author, Cool Gray City of Love
The Best Bad Things
Tales of the Barbary Coast’s Most Famous Women
Meet the Cast and Crew of Tales of the Barbary Coast’s Most Famous Women
The Cast
Allison Lovejoy – Pianist/Composer
Allison Lovejoy, award-winning concert pianist, composer and cabaret artist, has performed internationally as a soloist with groups including Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Sohrab Pournazeri and The Graves Brothers Deluxe. The 7 Deadly Pleasures, her nouveau cabaret, premiered with the Golden Gate Symphony at Herbst Theatre and her music direction for The Red Virgin was nominated for a Theatre Bay Area award. Solo piano recordings include Allison Lovejoy Piano, Nocturnes and New Nocturnes. Allison played accordion on a recent Ringo Starr recording of John Lennon’s song, Grow Old With Me. www.allisonlovejoy.com
Photo by David Rozelle
Angela LaFlamme – Big Alma/Ensemble
Angela LaFlamme is known for her passionate edgy performances of everything from vintage jazz to Tom Waits. Leading her band at San Francisco’s premiere venues and special events like the Edwardian Ball and Flower Piano, Angela’s music and stories create an unforgettable atmosphere. Her unique siren shows have entranced audiences internationally as well, where she has performed from Paris to Istanbul. https://megaflameband.com/about
Allegra Bandy – Mary Ellen Pleasant/Ensemble
Allegra Bandy has performed with some of the best Jazz, Latin, Rock, Country and Western, Reggae and Soul musicians in the SF Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New York. She is an in-demand vocalist, bandleader, voiceover actress, composer, conductor, and educator. Stanford Jazz Festival called her “one of the most exciting voices on the scene!” Allegra writes and performs music challenging the social and societal norms, as well as music that inspires self-expression, self-preservation and transformation. Allegra is dedicated to performing music that promotes love, joy, equality, and self-care. https://allegrabandy.com/
Lua Hadar – The Barker/The Bartender/Sally Stanford
Lua Hadar's signature “jazz without borders” brings songs from different styles and languages into the jazz idiom. She peppers her cosmopolitan jazz with funny stories, connecting the global dots between her cultural and theatrical influences and her songs. Lua has charmed audiences at the finest venues from San Francisco to Hollywood, New York to Paris and Italy to Bangkok. Lua’s Concert Film with her band Twist, Like A Bridge, her albums and original music videos appear on iTunes, Youtube, Google Play, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora and most digital services. www.luahadar.com
Photo by Kingmond Young
Alexis Lane Jensen – Big Bertha/Sally Stanford/Madame Moustache/Ensemble
Bay Area native Alexis Lane Jensen is a classically trained singer who is at home on many different stages, from Opera to Musical Theater to Concert and Cabaret. She performs a wide variety of musical genres; Jazz, Gospel, Pop, Rock, Art Songs, A Cappella Harmony, New Music.. you name it, she's probably done it. She is a great admirer of the music of Kurt Weill and his contemporaries and also enjoys singing standards from the American Songbook. She's performed works by many local composers, and has been honored to be a part of the Best Bad Things project for many years. www.alexislanejensen.com
Photo by David Rozelle
Melinda Marinez Becker – Juana Briones/Ensemble
Melinda Martinez Becker’s New Mexican heritage has shaped her career as an interpreter of Spanish Art song and chamber music. Classically trained with a Master’s degree from the SF Conservatory of Music, Melinda studied Spanish chamber music and art song in Madrid and Santiago de Compostela. She is a champion of new music, working with many contemporary composers. Melinda is on the music faculty of Dominican University of California. https://www.melindabecker.com/
The Crew
Candace Forest – Composer/Writer/Producer/Stage Manager
Candace “Candy” Forest is a musician, composer writer/producer creating vocal and instrumental music for soloists, chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras. She’s a 3-time winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award. She produced a film of her chamber musical, Viva Concha! Rose of the Presidio. Full-length dance compositions include The Wizdom of Oz, commissioned by Canada’s Mountain Dance Theatre. Her symphonic score, All In This Together was premiered by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003. All her recordings are available on major digital platforms. www.livingroomtunes.com, www.bestbadthings.com
Photo by Ken Sakatani
Kelly Lacy – Staging/choreography
Educated and trained in New York City, Kelly Lacy has been the English/Drama teacher at San Francisco Waldorf High School for 17 years during which time she has directed a wide variety of plays and musicals. Her association with composer/musician Candace Forest began nearly a decade ago when Kelly engaged Candace to music direct Oliver. They have been working together ever since. Kelly recently was the acting coach for a 2022 feature film entitled “Fairyland.”
Sneak Preview of Lua Hadar as Sally Stanford from The Best Bad Things
Past Events
Best Bad Things is part of Women Rising Exhibition, 780 Valencia Street, April 14 at 7 pm.
Nika Antuanette in the role of Lola Montez with Choreography by Sarah Berges of Sarah Berges Dance, dancing to music by Allison Lovejoy & Candace Forest. Lua Hadar, Beth Wilmurt, and special guests, Angela LaFlamme and Melinda Becker complete the cast.
The Best Bad Things Takes to the High Seas!
Allison Lovejoy Highlights Best Bad Things on Recent Bay Cruise
Historian/author Gary Kamiya invited Allison Lovejoy to join him on his Cruising Through History Bay tours. She presented songs from The Best Bad Things while Kamiya told stories of the Gold Rush and its long-lasting effect on San Francisco.
Follow this link for all the details and get onboard!
Covid-19 Safety Protocols will be observed.
Barbary Coast Walkabout with Author/Historian Paul Drexler
The Wild Women creative team recently went on a Barbary Coast Walkabout with San Francisco historian and author, Paul Drexler (“Notorious San Francisco: True Tales of Crime, Passion and Murder”), visiting North Beach haunts of some of the women immortalized in The Best Bad Things. The tour included a chilling look at "Auction Alley," where thousands of young Chinese Women entered a nightmare existence, often leading to their premature deaths. Over 3000 of them were rescued by Donaldina Cameron, founder of Cameron House and one of the women of The Best Bad Things.
