Red Scare on SunsetCharles BuschNew Conservatory Theatre CenterJ. Conrad Frank & Nancy FrenchWith the red-headed, red-lipped looks and antics when she’s happy of Lucille Ball’s Lucy and the snarls and evil eyes of Bette Davis’s Sweet Charlotte when she’s not, Hollywood starlet of 1951 Mary Dale swishes about in petticoat-packed skirts that Donna Reed would have died to … [Read more...] about “Red Scare on Sunset”
Archives for September 2018
“You Mean to Do Me Harm”
You Mean to Do Me HarmChristopher ChenSan Francisco PlayhouseKatie Rubin, Jomar Tagatac, Charisse Loriaux & Cassidy BrownWhen during a dinner party between two married couple a memory is shared of a camping trip (somehow involving a log, three squirrels, and Harry Potter) between the husband of one pairing and the wife of another, the seeds of “the camping incident” are … [Read more...] about “You Mean to Do Me Harm”
“God of Carnage”
God of CarnageYasmina RezaCity Lights Theater CompanyAvondina Wills, Karyn Rondeau, Erik Gandolfi & April GreenDirector Virginia Drake has pulled no punches in ensuring that the uproariously funny and furiously outrageous City Lights Theater Company production of God of Carnage will both delight and shock its audience with a terrific take on this dark drama/comedy … [Read more...] about “God of Carnage”
“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Hedwig and the Angry InchJohn Cameron Mitchell (Book); Stephen Trask (Music & Lyrics)Ray of Light TheatreColeton SchmittoIn the past few years, Ray of Light Theatre has garnered a wildly enthusiastic and loyal audience that will pack night after night the cavernous Victoria Theatre for excellent, high-quality, and often quite bizarre musicals that the company … [Read more...] about “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
“A Doll’s House, Part 2”
A Doll’s House, Part 2Lucas HnathBerkeley Repertory Theatre, in a co-production with Huntington Theatre Company Mary Beth Fisher & Nancy E. CarrollAnyone who has ever seen, read, or even heard of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 classic play, A Doll’s House, has probably created some internal scenario of what happens in the weeks, months, and/or years after young wife/mother Nora Helmer … [Read more...] about “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
“The Legend of Georgia McBride”
The Legend of Georgia McBrideMatthew LopezLos Altos Stage Company Michael Weiland, Jeffrey Scott Adair & Michael SaenzLos Altos Stage Company opens its season with Matthew Lopez’s 2015 rib-tickling, heart-warming comedy, The Legend of Georgia McBride -- a play brimming with multi-colored wigs, false eyelashes, and size 13 high heels. With the kind of frivolity and … [Read more...] about “The Legend of Georgia McBride”
“Tarzan’
TarzanPhil Collins (Music & Lyrics); David Henry Hwang (Book)Palo Alto PlayersJimmy Mason, Jessica LaFever & the Cast of TarzanEven before the first note of the Phil Collins (music and lyrics) and David Henry Hwang (book) musical Tarzan is sounded, Director Patrick Klein and his cast – one that includes a dozen or so gorillas of all sizes, shapes, and ages -- have … [Read more...] about “Tarzan’
“Detroit ’67”
Detroit ‘67Dominique MorisseauAurora Theatre CompanyHalili Knox & Akilah A. WalkerLast year, many celebrations and exhibitions packed the San Francisco calendar to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of 1967, known here and beyond as “The Summer of Love.” While so-called hippies roamed with peace signs and tie-dyes the streets and parks of The City with their … [Read more...] about “Detroit ’67”
“Kiss”
KissGuillermo CalderónShotgun PlayersRasha Mohamed, Roneet Aliza Rahamin, Elissa Beth Stebbins, Wiley Naman Strasser & Phil Wong How many of us gloss over the almost daily headlines that have been on the inner pages of our newspapers or deep in the online news feeds for the past five years about the civil war in Syria? How many of us hardly notice any more a … [Read more...] about “Kiss”
“Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey”
Jane Austen’s Northanger AbbeyAdapted by Diane TascaPear TheatreLeslie Ivy & the Cast of Northanger AbbeyIn her first novel written for publication in 1803 but not published until after her death, Jane Austen satirizes in Northanger Abbey the then-popular Gothic novels which overflow with dark, stormy nights in damp, spooky castles and where murder and romance often go … [Read more...] about “Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey”
“West Side Story”
West Side StoryArthur Laurents (Book); Leonard Bernstein (Music); Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)Hillbarn TheatreJeffrey Brian Adams & Ana Paula Malagón With a cast of thirty and an orchestra of fourteen, Hillbarn Theatre kicks off its seventy-eighth consecutive season with a West Side Story that proves that the sixty-plus-year-old musical is as current, relevant, … [Read more...] about “West Side Story”
