Aunt Lakie’s Not Coming to DinnerSusan RabinWindy City Productions at The Phoenix TheatreThe table is set for company, and cookies are coming out the oven as two, elderly, Jewish sisters prepare to welcome an aunt and uncle for dinner. However, that is not to be since Aunt Lakie has just left this world for the beyond; and it is that unfortunate surprise that springs open … [Read more...] about “Aunt Lakie’s Not Coming to Dinner”
“Harbor”
HarborChad BeguelinNew Conservatory Theatre CenterSometimes, an unexpected event stimulates further events that probably are going to happen anyway but maybe not as quickly and not quite in the way that the trigger ignites them. In this West Coast premiere of Beguelin’s Harbor, the seemingly bucolic life of two gay men -- Ted the architect and Kevin the writer -- is … [Read more...] about “Harbor”
“Tree”
TreeJulie HebertSan Francisco PlayhouseWalking into the auditorium, all eyes immediately notice the scores of multi-sized, tied cardboard boxes that litter the entire two-level, modest home before us. We then notice a front porch with a rowboat docked in what appears to be the dry road in front. Mystery? Secrets? Revelations? What else could be in … [Read more...] about “Tree”
“Candide”
CandideMusic, Leonard BernsteinBook Adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler in New Version by John CairdLyrics by Richard Wilbur (& Sondheim, Latouche, Hellman, Parker & Bernstein)Lamplighters Music TheatreAfter being worked and re-worked for 33 years with many collaborators coming and going (and some now dead) and with some 97 total musical numbers/revisions having been … [Read more...] about “Candide”
“Indian Ink”
Indian InkTom StoppardAmerican Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.)When there is a deep, emotional bond created between the artist and the spectator, third century Hindu sages termed that bridge rasa. A..C.T.’s Indian Inknot only explores in a beautiful, moving symphony of words and scenes what it takes to create a state of rasa; but as directed by Carey Perloff and acted by a … [Read more...] about “Indian Ink”
“X’s and O’s (A Football Love Story)”
X’s and O’s (A Football Love Story)KJ Sanchez with Jenny MerceinBerkeley Repertory TheatreFor the past year or so, newspaper headlines, op-ed columns, and in-depth articles in magazines have been full of the mounting woes of America’s favorite sport, football. We have all read of the early-induced Alzheimer’s, the dangers of repeated concussions, the wife abuses, the … [Read more...] about “X’s and O’s (A Football Love Story)”
“The Libation Bearers”
The Libation BearersAeschylusDragon Productions TheatreWhile The Libation Bearers is one of the earliest full dramas ever performed (458 BCE, as part of the trilogy The Oresteia), its center theme of violence begetting violence as a vicious, unending circle still unfortunately resounds and describes what we see all too often two and half centuries later. This is the … [Read more...] about “The Libation Bearers”
“2 Pianos, 4 Hands”
2 Pianos, 4 Hands Ted Dykstra & Richard GreenblattTheatreWorksEntering the theatre and seeing the two, ‘stretch’ Steinways fill the wide Mountain View stage, I wondered if I were the last person in the Bay Area finally to see this much-produced Canadian play since it had already appeared on several other, Bay Area stages (e.g., ACT, San Jose Rep, Center Rep) as well as over … [Read more...] about “2 Pianos, 4 Hands”
“Our Town”
Our TownThornton WilderShotgun PlayersPerformed every day somewhere in the world, Our Town to me is the quintessential American play, is the play I have seen performed the most times in my life, and is the play that still moves me to tears each time I see it. I try not to miss a chance to see it performed, especially when done so by a group as consistently excellent and … [Read more...] about “Our Town”
“Late: A Cowboy Song”
Late: A Cowboy SongSarah RuhlCustom Made TheatreOne of our currently most prolific and recently most-produced-in-the-Bay-Area playwrights, Sarah Ruhl, returns to a local stage in a production of an early play that foreshadows the themes, the aura, and women of her later, now-well-known/loved works (e.g., In the Next Room, Eurydice, Clean House, Dead Man's Cell Phone). … [Read more...] about “Late: A Cowboy Song”
“Love, Sex, and the IRS”
Love, Sex, and the IRSBilly Van Zandt and Jane MilmoreTribe Productions at the Bindlestiff StudioA 70s sitcom-like comedy, Love, Sex, and the IRS tries so hard to be the great comedy that it is not. Everything but the kitchen sink is employed for wished-for laughs: mistaken identities, cross-dressing, slapstick falls and slaps, slippage off the 4th-floor onto an … [Read more...] about “Love, Sex, and the IRS”
“Lift Up Your Skirt”
Lift Up Your SkirtKathy NajimyFeinstein's at the NikkoThis one-woman created and performed 'play' is a delight and a heart-warmer. Kathy Najimy tells not the story of her life but, as she says, 'stories of my life.' These stories are funny, intriguing, and usually with a message. They sometimes linger a bit too long in the telling; but the laughter they … [Read more...] about “Lift Up Your Skirt”
“Shit & Champagne”
Shit & ChampagneD'Arcy Drollinger OasisOpening the new Oasis nightclub, the revival of Shit & Champagne brings the excitement and energy that should launch this venue into a long life of fun and frolic. Drollinger's farce of the low-budget, 70s 'exploitation' films for the most part hits its mark at every turn. With super-hero-like drag queens; bumbling … [Read more...] about “Shit & Champagne”
“Promises, Promises”
Promises, PromisesMusic by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David; Book by Neil SimonSF PlayhouseCatching this show near the end of its 8+-week run and having seen the excellent, recent Broadway revival (2010-11) with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth (among others), I was both excited and skeptical as the show began. This 1968 musical about a ambitious insurance junior … [Read more...] about “Promises, Promises”
Announcing the 2014 Theatre Eddys
Eddie on stage.ED’S & EDDIE’S 2014 TOP-RATEDPLAYS, MUSICALS, & OPERASIn 2014 and in spite of Ed's six months of intense chemotherapy, we saw 112 plays, musicals, and operas (not to mention a full season of ballet and several nights at the symphony). Once again, this was an outstanding year for plays in the Bay Area.. Narrowing our top-rated plays to … [Read more...] about Announcing the 2014 Theatre Eddys
