I and YouLauren GundersonCity Lights Theater Company Ivette Deltoro & Davied Morales Once again, City Lights Theater Company has chosen a winning script, a superb production team, and an exciting duet of actors to present to its audience a gift that will continue to give for a long time. Not only will I and You lead to both self-reflection and conversations … [Read more...] about “I and You”
“Grey Matter”
Grey MatterJulie KatzThe MarshJulie KatzLike a melding of a daily comic strip come to life and of snippets of a TV sitcom, a parade of caricatured, corporate types pass before us as they go about their daily lives at The Company. Led by “the new guy who will change things” to carry out the highly unique mission to “make our aspect of the industry better,” The Company is a … [Read more...] about “Grey Matter”
“The Wild Party”
The Wild PartyAndrew Lippa (Book, Music & Lyrics)Ray of Light TheatreJocelyn Pickett as Queenie Held on HighIn case there were any remaining doubts that the most consistently exciting, exuberant, and excelling musical theatre being staged in San Francisco was not coming from Ray of Light Theatre, then the company’s current production of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party will … [Read more...] about “The Wild Party”
“The Last Five Years”
The Last Five YearsJason Robert Brown (music & lyrics)AmericanConservatory TheatreZak Resnick (Jamie) & Margo Seibert (Cathy)Fourteen months ago, social media in the San Francisco Bay Area lit up like a Times Square explosion with messages like “Drop everything ... You must not miss this” and “Hurry up ... It’s only here a few days!” The reference was to a brief … [Read more...] about “The Last Five Years”
“Red Velvet”
Red VelvetLolita ChakrabartiSan Francisco PlayhouseThe Cast of "Red Velvet"A play a decade in the writing about a story of a Shakespeare actor nine score years in the telling bursts onto the stage with fever, fervor, and fury that the Bard himself would surely admire. That this classical actor is a black American, son of a straw-farming preacher and a floor-scrubbing … [Read more...] about “Red Velvet”
“The Empty Nesters”
The Empty NestersGarret Jon GroenveldFlown the Coop ProductionsJW Walker & Pamela Gaye WalkerShe: “We’re going to have to start to have grown-up conversations.”He: “About what?”She: “Grown up things.”He: “Then let’s talk.”She: “About what.”He: “I don’t know.”Such back-and-forth, circle exchanges often make the interactions of wife Frannie and husband Greg sound like scenes … [Read more...] about “The Empty Nesters”
“Kinky Boots”
Kinky BootsCyndi Lauper (Music & Lyrics); Harvey Fierstein (Book)SHN The Cast of "Kinky Boots"Sometimes it just feels right to start with dessert. When a musical ends with a stage full of people of every shape, size, race, sex, and sexual orientation all dancing in stiletto-heeled boots that rise to hug their hips, it is difficult not to start there with the … [Read more...] about “Kinky Boots”
“Disney’s Newsies”
Disney’s NewsiesAlan Menken (Music); Jack Feldman (Lyrics); Harvey Fierstein (Book)Broadway San JoseThe Newsies in FlightHow better to get a packed audience, from first row to last seat in the balcony, rip-roaring excited about a little-told piece of history than through a stage full of high-jumping, midair-flipping, split-legging, fist-pumping guys in perfectly coordinated … [Read more...] about “Disney’s Newsies”
“Sweet Charity”
Sweet CharityNeil Simon (Book), Cy Coleman (Music), Dorothy Fields (Lyrics)Hillbarn TheatreMonique Hafan as Charity With a cast of twenty-plus who know how to dance and to sell a story full of heart and laughs, Hillbarn Theatre presents a Sweet Charity whose title character rarely leaves the stage and thoroughly steals the show.Please click this link to read my full review … [Read more...] about “Sweet Charity”
“When the Rain Stops Falling”
When the Rain Stops FallingAndrew BovellDragon Productions Theatre Felix AbidorEpic in scope of time, place, and theme but intimate in focus on individual pain, loss, and loneliness, When the Rain Stops Falling is Australian playwright Andrew Bovell’s 2010 complex, multi-layered family saga proclaimed by Time Magazine as ‘Best New Play of the Year’ and … [Read more...] about “When the Rain Stops Falling”
“Rodger + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CinderellaRichard Rodgers (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and original book),Douglas Carter Beane (new book)SHNAndy Huntington Jones as Prince Topher & Kaitlyn Davidson as Cinderella with CastOnce upon a time originated a now-centuries-old tale with origins both East and West about a little girl in unfortunate, oppressive home circumstances who … [Read more...] about “Rodger + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
“The Heir Apparent”
The Heir ApparentDavid IvesAdapted from Le Légataire universel by Jean-François RegnardAurora Theatre CompanyLisette, (Katie Rubin*), Madame Argonte (Elizabeth Carter*), Eraste (Kenny Toll), and Isabelle (Khalia Davis*) watch Geronte’s imposter (c. Patrick Kelly Jones*) sign his will in Aurora’s Bay Area Premiere of The Heir ApparentPandora’s Box has tumbled open at Aurora … [Read more...] about “The Heir Apparent”
“Treasure Island”
Treasure IslandAdapted by Mary ZimmermanFrom the Novel by Robert Louis StevensonBerkeley Repertory Theatre Demetrios Troy as Israel Hands & John Babbo as Jim HawkinsBouncing balls as cannon shot, a wooden box pulled on a rope as a boat crossing the sea, and cut branches to dodge as trees in a thick jungle. Gnarly pirates full of “Arrrrgh,” wild chases and fierce … [Read more...] about “Treasure Island”
“The Most Happy Fella”
The Most Happy FellaFrank Loesser (Book, Music & Lyrics)Based on Sidney Howard’s They Knew What They Wanted42nd Street Moon Martin Rojas Dietrich as Tony & Amanda Johnson as RosabellaWhen a musical begins with a waitress on stage’s edge taking off her shoes, rubbing her tired toes, and singing nasally in Texas drawl (addressing each of her toes, one by one, as if an old … [Read more...] about “The Most Happy Fella”
“Into the Woods”
Into the WoodsStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)Palo Alto PlayersAdrienne Walters, Timothy Sanders, Chris Janssen & Elizabeth SantanaContinuing its 85th Anniversary, touted the “Toniest Season Ever,” Palo Alto Players ventures into a forest previously much traveled by many of its sister Bay Area stages. What more can possibly be squeezed out of … [Read more...] about “Into the Woods”
