Boeing BoeingMarc CamolettiTranslation by Beverly Cross & Francis EvansThe StageJoshua Hollister, Halsey Varady & Michael Barrett AustinSeeing seven doors across the stage wall can only mean one thing: Buckle your seat belt because it’s going to be a wild and wooly night of loud slams, just misses, surprise comings, and split-second goings. And be prepared … [Read more...] about “Boeing Boeing”
“Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls”
Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra ShowgirlsD’Arcy Drollinger (Book) Enrique (Music & Lyrics); Steve Bolinger (Additional Music)OasisD'Arcy Drollinger, Nancy French & John Paul GonzalezHard rock, drug overdoses, murder, lots (and lots) of T & A, miracles from heaven, space invaders, and of course wild and wooly sex. What else would we expect from D’Arcy … [Read more...] about “Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls”
“Enchanted April”
Enchanted AprilRichard B. Evans (Music); Charles Leipart (Book & Lyrics)Pacific Coast Repertory TheatreAmy Franklin Leonards, Joy Sherratt & Rachel Powers Two wives find themselves dodging raindrops on the streets of dark and dreary London and being ignored in small, equally dreary apartments by husbands much more focused on themselves than on … [Read more...] about “Enchanted April”
“Sojourners”
SojournersMfoniso UdofiaMagic TheatreKatherine Turner as AbasiamaIn the mid-to-late 1960s, the neighborhoods and streets of urban America were too often in flames with lives and property destroyed as African Americans protested white America’s prejudiced resistance to their voting and economic rights. An ocean and a world away, Nigerian Africans were at the same time … [Read more...] about “Sojourners”
“Anne Boleyn”
Anne BoleynHoward BrentonMarin Theatre CompanyCraig Marker as Henry VIII & Liz Sklar as Anne BolyenShe was Queen of England, yet there is no portrait of her since her husband and King scoured the country to destroy all traces of her very existence. She was decapitated, but exactly what she did to warrant (or not) such vile punishment is still an argument among … [Read more...] about “Anne Boleyn”
“The Untamed Stage”
The Untamed StageScrumbly KoldewynWith Additional Material by Terance Bennan, Damien Chacona, Cab Covay, Andy Wegner, Martin Worman, and Alex KinneyThrillpeddlersScrumbly Koldewyn“You are here to see things you haven’t seen,And feel things you haven’t felt.”And thus are we greeted in a café setting reminiscent of an underground Berlin kabarett during those sultry and sensuous … [Read more...] about “The Untamed Stage”
“Hamlet”
HamletWilliam ShakespeareShotgun PlayersThe Cast of "Hamlet" Awaits Their Roles for the NightOne definition of “shotgun” is, “Aimed at a wide range of things, with no particular target.” Shotgun Players, a company that played in forty-four different venues before landing in its permanent spot on Ashby Avenue in Berkeley in 2004, once again lives up to its name by opening … [Read more...] about “Hamlet”
“Catch 22”
Catch 22Joseph HellerLos Altos Stage Company Bryan Moriarty, Gary Landis, and Joe AntonicelliWith brave intentions and a cast of enthusiastic actors giving it their best, Los Altos Stage Company takes on the troubled script of Catch 22, hoping to reverse it troubled history to stage a winner. Unfortunately, Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 novel-turned-script … [Read more...] about “Catch 22”
“Colette Uncensored”
Colette UncensoredZack Rogow and Lorri HoltThe MarshLorri Holt as ColetteThe pupils dance in excitement across the surface of her eyes. Her hands clasp in tiny balls, grasp at unseen objects, and then fly in five directions at once. Lips move with well-formed purpose with a slight quiver on the right side as her life story unfolds, and then they suddenly freeze in … [Read more...] about “Colette Uncensored”
“Dominion”
DominionAlan OlejniczakAt Last TheatreDon Wood as Hammon & Genevieve Perdue as MaraThe cross-shaped, raised, plywood stage with four, single-paned door frames guarding each of its legs sets the stark scene, accentuated by a few background, skeletal trees and sustained, plaintive chords from a string trio in the shadows. With no props save one bucket of black stones … [Read more...] about “Dominion”
Six Mini Reviews from the Philadelphia Theatre Scene
While at the annual meeting of the American Theatre Critics Association, I was able to attend six plays with my colleagues from across the nation. Following are six short reviews I wrote about each of the productions. What I learned loud and clear is that the theatre scene of Philadelphia is extremely rich and exciting and is well worth a trip to the city just … [Read more...] about Six Mini Reviews from the Philadelphia Theatre Scene
“On Clover Road”
On Clover RoadSteven DietzSan Francisco Playhouse Sally Dana as KateThe cloak of the film noir genre drapes over everything. The motel room is cheap, barren, and covered in carpet that looks dirty. She enters in a brown trench coat clutching a purse for dear life; he is in a scuffed-up leather coat with a black bag, latched and secretive-looking. The lighting … [Read more...] about “On Clover Road”
“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”
Disney’s Beauty and the BeastAlan Menken (Music); Howard Ashman & Tim Rice (Lyrics); Linda Woolverton (Book)Broadway San JoseBrooke Quintana & Sam HartleyThe first time I saw Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on the big screen as an animated film, I immediately pictured the opening number “Belle” as made for the big stage. As the song’s angelic-looking namesake roams … [Read more...] about “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”
“An Act of God”
An Act of GodDavid JaverbaumSHNSean Hayes as GodDeclaring, “Tonight I have chosen to appear in the form of hallowed star of film and stage Sean Hayes (a description neither smiling Sean nor the cheering audience seemed at all interested in disputing), God has decided to plop himself “right here in the Tenderloin’s glamor of San Francisco” for the next couple of weeks. … [Read more...] about “An Act of God”
“Buyer and Cellar”
Buyer and CellarJonathan TolinsNew Conservatory Theatre Center J. Conrad FrankIt all begins with a whole slew of animated disclaimers. What we are about to hear is “all fiction,” that “I am just an actor.” (But the part about the fake shopping mall under her house, all true as outlined in her one published book, My Passion for Design.) With flashing hands, he … [Read more...] about “Buyer and Cellar”
