HEART in the ‘HOOD
“One man, 17 characters, a true story!!”
Brief description
“Gritty, sensitive, hilarious and moving! The best show I’ve seen in a long time!”*
An autobiographical true story by one of San Francisco’s finest character actors. Michael Sommers (Sense8- NETFLIX) moved from small town Vermont to inner-city West Oakland… and came to love it! Sommers plays all 17 beloved characters!
“Spellbinding! I didn’t itch, I didn’t move the entire time!"*
Through Sommers body, voice and harmonica, we hear the words, laugh with the optimism and begin to understand Mike’s neighbors, the misunderstood and beautiful people of 22nd Street!
“Just go see this!”*
HEART in the HOOD was a multiple Award Winner including BEST OF FRINGE at the San Francisco Fringe Festival!
Michael Sommers’ is “Bug” in NETFLIX’s acclaimed series, Sense8! He replaced Jeremy Irons in the title role of “Chopin and George Sand…” (Ensemble for the Romantic Century – NYC).
Sommers’ solo plays have received multiple awards and standing ovations in San Francisco, Fresno, Vermont, Bolinas, Berkeley and beyond!
The characters Sommers portrays are real people that he personally knows and loves.
“Sommers embodies each character with so much soul and life that you forget it’s an act.”
Acclaimed for his authenticity, courage, honesty and his heart, Sommers infuses his dramatic storytelling with playful comedy, music, song, mime and dance.
For more information contact Michael Sommers (415)794-8014. [email protected]
What reviewers are saying about Michael Sommers -
“Sommers takes the audience on a trip that makes you see that world in a whole new light. A beautiful light.
This show touches your heart, and makes you think–one of my favorite kinds of shows.”
KING’S RIVER LIFE MAGAZINE (March, 2016)
Review by Lorie Ham
“Convincingly hilarious, sad, dramatic and deeply touching… an evening of delightful entertainment.”
Jim Lowe, Arts Editor, Montpelier Times Argus (Vermont)
All photos taken by David Korman
All captions could read – HEART in the ‘HOOD pictured – Michael Sommers
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What audience members are saying about HEART in the HOOD:
“Mesmerizing! It’s the best show I’ve seen in a long time!” – Meredith
“I have seen many plays at Fringe Festivals and many more at The Marsh on Valencia in San Francisco and can honestly say this was one of the best one-man shows in a long while.
Having an actor assume the voice-identities of a dozen or so people is hard enough, but the real reward is in being transported into their personalities. And with a wide range of emotions. A riveting and warmly felt performance!” – Arnie
“I have seen Michael Sommers perform HEART in the HOOD three times now. I keep bringing friends, one or two of whom are returns themselves. This is a unique performance that’s gritty, sensitive, hilarious and moving.
Michael is one of those gifted performers who dominates the stage with such skill that you can just relax and get swept up into the story. He embodies each character with so much soul and life that you forget it’s an act. In fact, by the end, you feel like you’ve made new friends, and somehow knowing these friends now makes you experience and view the world in a surprisingly different way.” – Abigail
“What a storyteller, what a singer – and harmonica, too! The images stay with me. The song about the sounds that the recycling trucks and the people with shopping carts full of cans make when they go past his house every morning… making music out of what people do to survive – so playful, so funny, and in the end deep. Just go see this.” – Teresa
“Why no one has mentioned that Michael Sommers plays a mean blues harmonica is beyond me, because it’s the first thing that grabs you in this show. From there he befriends and embodies both the volatile “Purple Man” and his neighbor, but he doesn’t just build these characters, he builds his neighborhood at the same time, so that by the end he is portraying an entire church service with intrinsic interaction and many variants of eulogy, so that you want to know and love these people too. He is that rare tour de force, his mission (and accomplishment) is to present the truth of those around him.” – Randall
