Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov Adapted by Conor McPherson Berkeley Repertory Theatre, in Co-Production with Shakespeare Theatre Company In a co-production with Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre opens a stunning, star-rich, spectacularly directed Uncle Vanya bursting with dark humor and laugh-out-loud wit, brimming with … [Read more...] about Uncle Vanya
Cuckoo Edible Magic
Cuckoo Edible Magic Reed Flores San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) It is Tumaiguini, the first month of the CHamoru year; and as the moon shifts to a new phase, something has ripped a hole in the universe, permitting a dark force to enter the world. Across the San Francisco Bay Area, imported rice cookers, elderly Tai Chi women, and dark shadowy … [Read more...] about Cuckoo Edible Magic
Bluebeard’s Castle
Bluebeard's Castle Béla Bartók, Composer; Béla Balás, Original Hungarian Libretto English Translation by Steven White and Joseph Marcheso Opera San Jose An immense, dark, dungeon-like castle with its interior dimly lit by magnificent hanging chandeliers and wall scones of flickering candles is the setting for Opera San Jose's intriguing, beguiling, and … [Read more...] about Bluebeard’s Castle
La sonnambula
La sonnambula Vincenzo Bellini, Composer; Felice Romani, Libretto West Bay Opera In the early nineteenth century for some strange reason, the height of fashion in European stage works was to include somnambulism, or sleepwalking. With Felice Romani contributing the libretto, Vincenzo Bellini followed the popular trend by premiering in 1831 a two-act opera in the … [Read more...] about La sonnambula
The Heart Sellers
The Heart Sellers Lloyd Suh Aurora Theatre Company Immigrants stand in line to show necessary papers to the waiting officer, who in turn says to each, "Now give me your heart." Each immigrant digs into their chest to present their heart. The immigrants discover the sad fact that they must sell their hearts to come to America. Luna, a recent immigrant from the … [Read more...] about The Heart Sellers
Waste
Waste Harley Granville-Barker Adapted by Carey Perloff Marin Theatre "Oh what practical, sentimental children you men are, you and your consciousness, you and your laws. You drive us to distraction and sometimes death by your stupidities. Poor women!" Is it any wonder that in an England with its toes still in the deeply moralistic waters of the recently … [Read more...] about Waste
An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People Henrik Ibsen Adaptation by Thomas Ostermeier & Florian Borchmeyer English-Language Version by Duncan Macmillan San Jose Stage Company "There are no moral billionaires. Not when millions are starving. And yet we revere them! We hope their electric cars will save the planet or, if not, that their rockets will get us to Mars. A … [Read more...] about An Enemy of the People
Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play
Exotic Deadly: Or The MSG Play Keiko Green San Francisco Playhouse In 1908, a Japanese scientist isolated and duplicated the savory taste of a particular type of seaweed, leading to a flavor enhancer that over the years became very popular in Asian cooking. In 1968, an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine by an unknown Dr. Ho Man Kwok claimed … [Read more...] about Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play
The Thing about Jellyfish
The Thing about Jellyfish Based on the Novel by Ali Benjamin Adapted for the Stage by Keith Bunin Berkeley Repertory Theatre A bright, curious, talk-a-mile-a-minute seventh-grade girl learns a life lesson that "sometimes things [even very bad things] just happen." To reach that important conclusion, Suzy must also ask herself, "What can jellyfish teach us about … [Read more...] about The Thing about Jellyfish
Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
Five Women Wearing the Same Dress Alan Ball Coastal Rep Theatre Five young women each wearing identical, bridesmaid dresses that one describes as "makes me look like a linebacker" along with little hats that "makes us look like the flying nun" find escape from the outdoor reception in the former bedroom of the bride whom all -- including her younger sister -- more … [Read more...] about Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
Queering the Masses
Queering the Mass Davóne Tines The Chan National Arts Center With background sounds of thunder and rain with a roving red spot sweeping in the otherwise darkened arena, a rich, stirring voice begins to intone, “I’m. lost, and I’m calling for my baby; I need you cause I’m so alone.” As the sole singer dressed in white top and black shorts and long stockings … [Read more...] about Queering the Masses
Daisy
Daisy Sean Devine Hillbarn Theatre & Conservatory A three-year-old, blonde girl stands in a meadow, holding a daisy and counting to ten in her sweet, high voice as she plucks off petals, charmingly making a few mistakes along the way. As she hesitates after nine, a booming male voice begins counting backwards from ten, much like heard in a rocket launch. Just as … [Read more...] about Daisy
Urinetown
Urinetown the Musical Mark Hollmann (Music & Lyrics); Greg Kotis (Book & Lyrics) South Bay Musical Theatre Capitalists who care more about cash than care of the people; legislators fawning over CEO’s and accepting bribes on the side; devastating droughts, shrinking water tables, and dubious responses by government officials; authoritarian threats and promised … [Read more...] about Urinetown
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams Los Altos Stage Company Perched outside the apartment’s open window on the fire escape where he will spend much of the upcoming play, a young man smokes and comments with little emotion, “The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted; it is sentimental; it is not realistic.” We will soon learn that this is Tom, … [Read more...] about The Glass Menagerie
In Love and Warcraft
In Love and Warcraft Madhuri Shekar City Lights Theater Company Generously peppered with words such as “damage dealers,” “mage food,” “debuffs,” and “battle rez,” the script of Madhuri Shekar’s In Love and Warcraft might appear at first bluff as a near impossible challenge for non-gamers who have never pounded the keys of their PC while playing the video superstar … [Read more...] about In Love and Warcraft
