Mime activism

The Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe, still outrageous after 55 years, visits Sacramento on Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3, at 4 p.m. for two free outdoor performances in Sacramento's Southside Park (Sixth and T streets). It'll be performing a new political-satire musical titled Ripple Effect. The show depicts the loss of neighborhood diversity as the tech industry's Google Glass-wearing nouveau riche get rid of longtime low-income renters by buying apartments and evicting the occupants, in what amounts to a “war on the poor.” It's barbed political street theater with no holds barred, and no sacred cows spared. The San Francisco Mime Troupe started in 1959 during the Eisenhower era, and has staged shows addressing issues including civil rights, the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, and the power of the oil industry. And this troupe talks, sings and dances—it's not the silent-mime type, like Marcel Marceau. For info, visit www.sfmt.org.