A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart (Book)Based on the Plays of PlautusFoothill Music Theatre Photo by David AllenFoothill Music Theatre has provided us with a pleasant venture into ancient Rome in its A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, but I fear the trip will be … [Read more...] about “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
Archives for July 2015
“Champagne White and the Temple of Poon”
Champagne White and the Temple of PoonD’Arcy DrollingerOasis Welcome to the Sha Boom Boom Room where the fabulously blonde Champagne Horowitz Jones Dickerson White (she’s been married a lot … and they’re all dead) is about to grind her big, sexy body to audience howls and delight. Only tonight, our action heroine from Oasis’s previous hit show S—t and Champagne has lost … [Read more...] about “Champagne White and the Temple of Poon”
“Top Girls”
Top GirlsCaryl ChurchillShotgun Players Rosie Hallett as Angie. Photo by Pak Han.Marlene has just been promoted to Managing Director of an employment agency, and she decides to give herself a celebratory dinner – at least in her dreams. The dinner that consumes Act One of Caryl Churhill’s Obie-winning Top Girls is a feast like none most has ever seen, on stage or … [Read more...] about “Top Girls”
“West Side Story”
West Side StoryArthur Laurents (Book); Leonard Bernstein (Music); Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)City Lights Theater CompanyPhoto by Susan Mah With a Maria (Katherine Dela Cruz) who alone is worth the price of the ticket, City Lights Theatre Company (San Jose) stages West Side Story through August 23. Other women in the cast as well as the excellent choreography … [Read more...] about “West Side Story”
“Hay Fever”
Hay FeverNoël CowardStanford Repertory Theater Photo by Stanford Repertory TheaterWhile most plays an audience ventures to see usually have within them serious messages and deep meanings of the playwright to convey, Noël Coward's Hay Fever clearly exits and continues to be popular in performance for one and only one reason: for sheer enjoyment and a chance to forget … [Read more...] about “Hay Fever”
“Triangle”
TriangleCurtis Moore (Music); Thomas Mizer (Lyrics)Thomas Mizer, Curtis Moore & Joshua Scher (Book)TheatreWorks Silicon Valley “Say a name, and you can never forget.Say a name, and it’s not over yet.Maybe no one’s ever gone.” Hauntingly, beautifully sung in the opening moments as audience has barely settled into their seats, these lyrics by Thomas Mizer set to the … [Read more...] about “Triangle”
“Life Is a Dream”
Life Is a DreamPedro Calderón de la BarcaTranslated & Adapted by Nilo CruzCalifornia Shakespeare Company The Full Cast of Life Is a Dream; Photo by Kevin BerneBetrayal of love. Sought revenge. Family conflicts. Royal rivalries. Cross-dressing. The differences between dream and reality a blur. The loyal servant with a sharp, … [Read more...] about “Life Is a Dream”
“Company”
CompanyStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics) & George Furth (Book)San Francisco PlayhouseAll Photos by Jessica Palopoli Expectations for a great evening of musical theatre immediately rise to the top of the scale walking into San Francisco Playhouse’s auditorium with the Bill English and Jacqueline Scott sophisticated, New York, multi-apartment set … [Read more...] about “Company”
“Call Me Miss Bird’s Eye”
Call Me Miss Birds EyeJack TinkerAcoustic VoicesTouted in upfront advertising as “a pre-Broadway run” for “the only acoustic theatre company in the world” (Acoustic Voices), Call Me Miss Birds Eye has opened its North American premiere, playing in the otherwise dark-for--summer American Conservatory Theatre. Based on audience response (including those many who chose not … [Read more...] about “Call Me Miss Bird’s Eye”
“Gruesome Playground Injuries”
Gruesome Playground InjuriesRajiv JosephMade Up Theatre A boy and girl, each 8 years old and in the nurse's station of their school, begin a 30-year journey, punctuated by infrequent but significant encounters that usually involve one or both of them in life-altering accidents and/or self-induced trauma. Along the way, they will fast develop and long keep … [Read more...] about “Gruesome Playground Injuries”
“Love and Information”
Love and InformationCaryl ChurchillAmerican Conservatory TheatreFifty-seven disparate scenes, lasting a few seconds to a few minutes, pass before us with little pause in American Conservatory Theatre’s Love and Information by much-celebrated Caryl Churhill. They are divided with no apparent logic into six groupings that are introduced on a large, background screen by … [Read more...] about “Love and Information”
“Each and Every Thing”
Photo by Peter Prado Each and EverythingWritten and Performed by Dan HoyleDeveloped with Charlie Varon & Marueen Towey; Origianl Music by Mars TodayThe MarshSpanning several decades and landing in cities around the globe, Dan Hoyle’s latest one-person show, Each and Everything, is a virtual romp through disconnected scenes of many ethnicities, beginning with the … [Read more...] about “Each and Every Thing”
“Irene”
IreneHarry Tierney (Music); Joseph McCarthy (Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler & Joseph Stein (Book)Based on the Original Play by James MontgomeryWVLO Musical Theatre Company In the tradition of New York’s Encore Theatre or San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon, WVLO has bravely stepped forward to showcase a musical now largely ignored by most stages. Enough wonderful moments are … [Read more...] about “Irene”
“Detroit”
DetroitLisa D’AmourAurora Theatre CompanyPhoto by David AllenThings are clearly amiss at Mary’s and Ben’s suburban home as they welcome new, next-door neighbors to a back-yard grill-over in Lisa D’Amour’s Pulitzer-nominated, Obie award-winning Detriot. The patio table’s umbrella keeps collapsing, the sliding glass door stubbornly sticks, Ben’s just become a victim of bank … [Read more...] about “Detroit”
“Freedomland”
FreedomlandMichael Gene Sullivan (Book); Ira Marlowe (Music & Lyrics); Michael Bello (Additional Lyrics)San Francisco Mime Troupe Photo by David Allen StudioFor 56 summers, the parks of San Francisco Bay Area have been the stages for the political satire dreamed up by the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Once again, the San Francisco Mime Troupe has produced an … [Read more...] about “Freedomland”
