9 to 5 The MusicalDolly Parton (Music & Lyrics): Patricia Resnick (Book)Foothill Musical TheatreThe Cast of 9 to 5 The Musical Dolly Parton’s premiere of 9 to 5 The Musical may have had a short run on Broadway in 2009; but in 2018, the trimmed, tongue-in-cheek comedy takes on new and pointed relevance in the Foothill Musical Theatre production, given the ongoing … [Read more...] about “9 to 5 The Musical”
“Office Hour”
Office HourJulia ChoBerkeley Repertory TheatreDaniel ChungConsider this: Since Julia Cho’s Office Hour premiered in April 2016 – a play dealing head-on with the threat of gun violence in schools – 28 shootings have occurred in U.S. schools, resulting in at least 44 deaths and 80+ injuries. The event that the playwright says in the Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s program … [Read more...] about “Office Hour”
“Weightless”
WeightlessThe Kilbanes (Music, Lyrics & Book)Z Space Kate Kilbane & Lila BlueIn the beginning, everything looks and sounds like a rock concert in an intimate space where audience members tiered on either side of the stage will sit on cushions and sip wine from the bar nearby. Two women, one straddling a bass guitar, face each other and begin singing a somewhat … [Read more...] about “Weightless”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler (Book)The StageNoel Anthony The Stage takes the Sondheim favorite, Sweeney Todd, that has graced Broadway three times, the West End four, and grand opera stages in at least ten countries worldwide and strips the musical down to a bare minimum of cast, set, and orchestra, putting … [Read more...] about “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“The King and I”
The King and IRichard Rodgers (Music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (Lyrics & Book)Based upon the novel Anna and the King by Margaret LandonBroadway San JoseLaura Michelle Kelly When a gloriously played overture pours forth hit after hit right out of the Great American Songbook, there is no doubt that the musical to follow is likely to be an evening to be savored. If the … [Read more...] about “The King and I”
“Lucia Berlin: Stories”
Lucia Berlin: StoriesFrom A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia BerlinWord for Word, Z SpaceJeri Lynn CohenEach of five stories by an author who once claimed, “Everything I write is autobiographical” offers independently a glimpse of one salient moment in her rollercoaster life. When presented together, the five provide a heart-warming, inspirational journey from … [Read more...] about “Lucia Berlin: Stories”
“Non-Player Character”
Non-Player CharacterWalt McGoughSan Francisco Playhouse, Sandbox SeriesDevin O'Brien, Annemaria Rajala, Tyler McKenna & Emily RadosevichAs #MeToo revelations proliferate from the worlds of business, entertainment, politics, education, and beyond and as stories continue to emerge of high school and college students being harassed online by jealous and spiteful classmates, … [Read more...] about “Non-Player Character”
“At the Statue of Venus” and “Trouble in Tahiti”
At the Statue of VenusJake Heggie (Music); Terrence McNally (Libretto)&Trouble in TahitiLeonard Bernstein (Music & Libretto)Opera ParallèleSteffi CheongThe familiar opening notes of West Side Story rise in a percussion-piano duet, jazzier and with more edge than the Broadway version. The evening’s prelude transitions into a probing, vibrating, and emotional … [Read more...] about “At the Statue of Venus” and “Trouble in Tahiti”
“Reel to Reel”
Reel to ReelJohn KolvenbachMagic TheatreWill Marchetti & Carla SpindtWhat does a marriage of fifty-five years sound like? Her middle of the night mumbles, snorts, and snores? His habit of opening a squeaky cabinet ever so slowly to hear each tick? Her end of day footstep that is “like a sack of flour dropped off a three-inch cliff”? His upset voice … [Read more...] about “Reel to Reel”
“The Road to Mecca”
The Road to MeccaAthol FugardPear TheatreDiane Tasca & Brianna Mitchell Under the sensitive, gentle, and highly intuitive-driven direction of Elizabeth Kruse Craig, Pear Theatre presents a staging of The Road to Mecca that boasts a cast of three that could hardly be more perfect to tell this beautifully moving and yet importantly challenging story of a woman who … [Read more...] about “The Road to Mecca”
“Insignificance”
InsignificanceTerry JohnsonDragon Productions TheatreJim Johnson & Jessica Lea Risco Terry Johnson’s 1982 play, Insignificance, imagines that in a cheap hotel four people come together for a few short hours – people so universally recognizable that they are only referenced as The Professor, The Senator, The Actress, and The Ballplayer. Their … [Read more...] about “Insignificance”
“The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria”
The Gondoliers or, The King of BaratariaWilliam S. Gilbert (Lyrics); Arthur Sullivan (Music)Lamplighters Music TheatreMichael Desnoyers & Samuel RabinowitzAs the orchestra’s “Overture” spreads notes that prance in joyful processions up and down hills and valleys of light-hearted scales, toes tap and heads nod with the beat. Beaming smiles throughout the audience … [Read more...] about “The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria”
“Widowers’ Houses”
Widowers’ HousesGeorge Bernard ShawAurora Theatre CompanyDan Hoyle, Michael Gene Sullivan, Megan Trout & Warren David KeithOne of the greatest forces in modern, Western literature who wrote over sixty plays during his long career on subjects from religion to politics to social justice began his career with a play just as relevant in the housing strapped Bay Area of 2018 as … [Read more...] about “Widowers’ Houses”
“Born Yesterday”
Born YesterdayGarson KaninSan Francisco PlayhouseThe Cast of Born YesterdayLaughs galore abound inside San Francisco Playhouse these days; and the majority of them are due to one of the oldest, now most politically incorrect of stereotypes: the ditsy, dumb blonde. But somehow under the tongue-in-cheek yet sophisticated direction of Susi Damilano, there is not a moment’s … [Read more...] about “Born Yesterday”
“Skeleton Crew”
Skeleton CrewDominique MorisseauMarin Theatre CompanyMargo Hall, Lance Gardner & Christian ThompsonFAYE: “You ‘fraid of ghosts?”DEZ: “Them assembly line ghosts? Hell yeah. ...Say them empty plants a breeding ground for ‘em.”The winter of 2008 was more than just cold and windy for Detroit. It was a time when the year-old Great Recession was blowing hard through … [Read more...] about “Skeleton Crew”
