San Jose Improv reopens after its two-month makeover
Comic Ian Bagg may have been the headliner, but the real draw was the historic Jose Theatre as the San Jose Improv reopened Thursday night after a two-month hiatus.
During the downtime, the furniture and carpeting in the auditorium were replaced, the lighting and sound systems were given an upgrade and the green rooms — where the talent hangs out when not on stage — got a makeover. Even the regal, velvet stage curtain was replaced; the club hired a seamstress to create drawstring pouches from the remnants of the old curtain and passed those out to VIP guests Thursday night.
New tables and seats, along with a new menu, are great. But what I really appreciated were the intentional nods in the lobby and elsewhere reflecting the heritage of both the long-running chain of comedy clubs and the historic Jose Theatre itself, which originally opened in 1904 as a venue for plays and later vaudeville shows. On the lobby walls framing the doors are two collections of framed photographs and newspaper clippings depicting the Jose’s evolution over a century and its last-minute rescue from the wrecking ball in 2000, when the city’s Redevelopment Agency bought the building and restored it.
The creative crowd that came by Thursday night to see the spruced-up club included Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Mighty Mike McGee, activist and stand-up comic Ato Walker, and Terry Dorsey, who hosts Heavyweight Comedy Showdown.
Garden City Construction owner Jim Salata — a guy who cherishes San Jose history as much as anyone — brought in a gift for General Manager David Williams that married the two heritages: The original calendar of shows for November/December 2002, when the Improv opened with a string of big names that included Paul Rodriguez, Kevin Pollak and Paula Poundstone.
GILROY STRONG COALITION HONORED: The Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits didn’t have to go through an exhaustive process to find the recipient of this year’s Everbody Wins! award, which began as a way to recognize leaders who understand how different parts of a community can pull together to address the needs of that community. Kyra Kazantzis, CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group, said one group immediately came to mind that fit the bill.
The Gilroy Strong coalition formed in the wake of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shootings in July — led by the Gilroy Foundation, Community Solutions, the Centre for Living with Dying Program of Bill Wilson Center, and Rebekah Children’s Services — has raised more than $1.6 million to aid victims and organized volunteers to support victims and their families.
Gilroy Foundation Executive Director Donna Pray was among more than a dozen people representing different organizations who received the award at the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ 12th annual Be Our Guest luncheon Thursday in downtown San Jose. “We say ‘Gilroy Strong,’ but we were always strong. That’s the kind of community we are,” Pray said. “I think what I was amazed at is the donations weren’t just local donations. They came in from all over the world, and they’re still coming in. We are grateful for the support.”
The Council of Nonprofits also presented its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award to Rick Williams, the retiring CEO of the Sobrato Family Foundation. “I think the reason why he stands out among us as special and unique and deserves this and any other award he gets on his road to retirement is because he always, without fail, leads with his values in everything he does,” Kazantzis said. “And his values tell him that everyone is worthy of respect and of dignity and of a fair shake.”
In a 10-minute acceptance speech, Williams talked about values that those who follow in his footsteps should keep in mind including resisting the tendency to split into tribes and working to build healthy, diverse communities.
“Continue to raise the voices of those fighting against systemic racism and discrimination. We’re afraid to use those words, but we can’t be. Not in this time,” he said. “We need to make sure we’re eliminating the barriers that are keeping other people down.”
THIS ITEM IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER P: One of the most fun parts of SVCN’s Be Our Guest luncheon is that the “celebrity servers” — nonprofit and business leaders, elected officials and media members (including yours truly) — decorate pumpkins that are both judged for creativity and auctioned to support SVCN’s programs.
The award for Best Overall pumpkin went to Nathan Ho, senior advisor for housing and homelessness in Mayor Sam Liccardo‘s office, for a pumpkin display themed around the 50th anniversary of “Sesame Street.” But Ho revealed after the lunch that all credit should actually go to another staffer in Liccardo’s office, Senior Policy Advisor Paul Pereira. “I told them I would serve but didn’t know anything about pumpkins,” Ho said. “But Paul said, ‘We have to do “Sesame Street.” ‘ He did it all.”
The audience favorite award also wound up at San Jose City Hall, going to Councilman Raul Peralez for a San Jose State football helmet pumpkin that he carved himself and wore at the event.
RAISE A GLASS: Every job has its perks and one of mine was being invited to help judge the homebrew competition at the 25th annual Oktoberfest celebration in Campbell last weekend. And the pressure was on because I had to measure up to my fellow judge, Gordon Biersch co-founder Dan Gordon. The winning beer was “Moxie’s Marzen,” brewed by Chet Simocko.
Now, this was a blind testing, but I might have guessed Simocko would win if I knew about him beforehand. He’s a chemistry professor at San Jose State, and one of the classes he taught in 2018 was on the chemistry of beer.