A fabulous tale

Patrick Burns' autobiographical “musical extravaganza” solo performance, From Foster Care to Fabulous, carries the audience through his life as an Oakland teen falling in and out of foster care.

“It's all truth,” says Burns. “Sometimes the truth is horrifying; sometimes it's hilarious. But it's never cliché. It's never preachy. It's just the truth.”

That's what we're ready to see this weekend (and only this weekend) in Burns' two performances hosted by Sacramento's Graham-a-Rama.

According to a press release, one local viewer, Ryan Imhoff says:

“Hysterical, terribly politically incorrect characterizations and anecdotes bounce off the walls between songs and soliloquies that touch on our collective humanity. Only a handful of performers could yank tears out of an audience's eyes with a speech about penguins. Burns is one of them.”

If there's anything we associate with foster care, it's penguins.

From Foster Care to Fabulous, 8 p.m. Friday, August 30, and Saturday, August 31; $20. New Helvetia Theatre, 1028 R Street; (916) 469-9850; www.fostercare.brownpapertickets.com.