The Addams Family: A New Musical ComedyMarshall Brickman & Rick Elice (Book); Andrew Lippa (Music & Lyrics); Based on Characters Created by Charles AddamsThe Stage Guided to our seats by a giant, grunting Lurch with the help of his friend Thing (literally a boxed-in hand with perky personality), we as audience are more than ready to see our favorite ghoulish family … [Read more...] about “The Addams Family”
“Chinglish”
ChinglishDavid Henry HwangPalo Alto PlayersPhoto credit: Joyce GoldschmidChris Mahle as Daniel Cavanaugh and Joyce F. Liu as Xi YanLanguage mix-ups and cultural misunderstandings abound, romance unexpectedly heats up, and hilarity permeates Palo Alto Players' current Chinglish. Presented with a superb ensemble, six of whom speak fluent Mandarin, Chinglish continues … [Read more...] about “Chinglish”
“Choir Boy”
Choir BoyTarell Alvin McCraneyMarin Theatre CompanyAcclaimed playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney does not lightly skirt difficult contemporary issues in any play he writes, especially those confronting African American families and their young males. Yet he often comes at these problems through a lens avoided by most modern stages: Faith and its core role in forming and … [Read more...] about “Choir Boy”
“Club Inferno”
Club InfernoKelly Kittell (Concept, Book & Lyrics)Peter Fogel (Music & Lyrics)Thrillpeddlers In full gender bending, drag queen, and divas-galore style, Thrillpeddlers revives the 2000 glam rock musical Club Inferno with gusto, glamour, and glitter. Based on Dante’s Divine Comedy and with a plot overlay of The Wizard of Oz, Club Inferno recounts the … [Read more...] about “Club Inferno”
“Fallen Angels”
Fallen AngelsNoel CowardTheatreWorks Silicon ValleyImagine in 1925 a twenty-four-old aspiring playwright writing a riotous comedy about two married women plotting together to have a weekend fling with a visiting Frenchman while their husbands are off on a golf holiday! Ninety years later, such a set-up seems a bit ho-hum; but at a time when women had just won the right to … [Read more...] about “Fallen Angels”
“The Book of Mormon”
The Book of MormonTrey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone (Book, Music & Lyrics)SHNOrpheum TheatreThe perfect musical: What constitutes such a thing? Soaring music that people are humming as they leave with some lyrics they are actually remembering and mouthing? Choreography that is letter-perfect and both traditional and up-to-the-moment current? … [Read more...] about “The Book of Mormon”
“My Fair Lady”
My Fair LadyAlan Jay Lerner (Book & Lyrics); Frederick Lowe (Music)Broadway By the BayFox Theatre, Redwood CityThrough an imaginative set, a few clever directorial touches, and inspired casting of the lead heroine, Broadway By the Bay has staged a My Fair Lady that leaves its own unique niche in the long history of this much-produced gem of the American musical genre. … [Read more...] about “My Fair Lady”
“A Little Night Music”
A Little Night MusicStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler (Book)American Conservatory Theatre“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” not only applies to Dickens’ Paris but unfortunately also describes the American Conservatory Theatre production of the Sondheim and Wheeler modern classic of A Little Night Music. So much of the evening at A.C.T. … [Read more...] about “A Little Night Music”
“This Golden State, Part One: Delano”
This Golden StatePart One: DelanoLuis AlfaroMagic TheatreBoth churches and theatres involve people (often strangers) sitting close together in an auditorium, sharing emotional experiences, and then exiting somehow more closely knit than when entering. Luis Alfaro has heightened those similarities in dramatic form in his This Golden State, Part One: Delano, now in its … [Read more...] about “This Golden State, Part One: Delano”
“Heathers: The Musical”
Heathers: The MusicalLaurence O’Keefe Y Kevin Murphy (Book, Music & Lyrics)Ray of Light Theatre Presenting at the Victoria Theatre, San FranciscoTime and again in the past few years, Ray of Light Theatre has produced quirky, exciting, new musicals that most other local theatres probably would not consider offering (Carrie the Musical, Triassic Parq, Yeast Nation, Jerry … [Read more...] about “Heathers: The Musical”
“Hookman”
HookmanLauren YeeEncore Theatre Company,In Association with Z SpaceThe scene opens innocently enough. Two seventeen-year-old girls, home in California for a holiday break from their respective colleges, banter back and forth driving toward the audience in a skeleton frame of a car as they head to a late-night movie. Their fast-paced, Twitter-like discourse where … [Read more...] about “Hookman”
Compleat Female Stage Beauty
Compleat Female Stage BeautyJeffrey HatcherNew Conservatory Theatre Center,Decker TheatreA fascinating chapter in theatre history comes to life in Jeffrey Hatcher’s Compleat Female Stage Beauty as we witness the moment when women take to the stage in 1661 Restoration England after a period where all female parts had been only played by men. Inspired by actual events and … [Read more...] about Compleat Female Stage Beauty
“Trouble Cometh”
Trouble ComethRichard DresserSan Francisco PlayhouseIntense. Frenetic. Fun(ny). Eye-popping. Richard Dresser’s Trouble Cometh in its world premiere at San Francisco Playhouse delivers this and more in its wham-bam, take-no-prisoners, seventy-five minutes. A white-walled, windowless room with a plain worktable and eye-hurting bright lights is maxed … [Read more...] about “Trouble Cometh”
“Fifth of July”
Fifth of JulyLanford WilsonAurora TheatreAn octet of family and long-time friends collect in the small living room literally at the audience’s feet in the intimate setting of the Aurora. Night has set in on July 4, 1977. Before twenty-four hours pass, a number of major transitions are going to occur, some more easily and happily than others. Hopes and … [Read more...] about “Fifth of July”
“One Man, Two Guvnors”
One Man, Two GuvnorsRichard Bean(Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo GoldoniWith songs by Grant Olding)Berkeley Repertory Theatre Roda Theatre, BerkeleyEven from the lobby of Berkeley’s Roda Theatre, delightful, fun-sounding music from some unseen band fills the air as we enter to see Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors. Once inside the auditorium, we see … [Read more...] about “One Man, Two Guvnors”
