Life Is a DreamPedro Calderón de la BarcaTranslated & Adapted by Nilo CruzCalifornia Shakespeare Company The Full Cast of Life Is a Dream; Photo by Kevin BerneBetrayal of love. Sought revenge. Family conflicts. Royal rivalries. Cross-dressing. The differences between dream and reality a blur. The loyal servant with a sharp, … [Read more...] about “Life Is a Dream”
“Company”
CompanyStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics) & George Furth (Book)San Francisco PlayhouseAll Photos by Jessica Palopoli Expectations for a great evening of musical theatre immediately rise to the top of the scale walking into San Francisco Playhouse’s auditorium with the Bill English and Jacqueline Scott sophisticated, New York, multi-apartment set … [Read more...] about “Company”
“Call Me Miss Bird’s Eye”
Call Me Miss Birds EyeJack TinkerAcoustic VoicesTouted in upfront advertising as “a pre-Broadway run” for “the only acoustic theatre company in the world” (Acoustic Voices), Call Me Miss Birds Eye has opened its North American premiere, playing in the otherwise dark-for--summer American Conservatory Theatre. Based on audience response (including those many who chose not … [Read more...] about “Call Me Miss Bird’s Eye”
“Gruesome Playground Injuries”
Gruesome Playground InjuriesRajiv JosephMade Up Theatre A boy and girl, each 8 years old and in the nurse's station of their school, begin a 30-year journey, punctuated by infrequent but significant encounters that usually involve one or both of them in life-altering accidents and/or self-induced trauma. Along the way, they will fast develop and long keep … [Read more...] about “Gruesome Playground Injuries”
“Love and Information”
Love and InformationCaryl ChurchillAmerican Conservatory TheatreFifty-seven disparate scenes, lasting a few seconds to a few minutes, pass before us with little pause in American Conservatory Theatre’s Love and Information by much-celebrated Caryl Churhill. They are divided with no apparent logic into six groupings that are introduced on a large, background screen by … [Read more...] about “Love and Information”
“Each and Every Thing”
Photo by Peter Prado Each and EverythingWritten and Performed by Dan HoyleDeveloped with Charlie Varon & Marueen Towey; Origianl Music by Mars TodayThe MarshSpanning several decades and landing in cities around the globe, Dan Hoyle’s latest one-person show, Each and Everything, is a virtual romp through disconnected scenes of many ethnicities, beginning with the … [Read more...] about “Each and Every Thing”
“Irene”
IreneHarry Tierney (Music); Joseph McCarthy (Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler & Joseph Stein (Book)Based on the Original Play by James MontgomeryWVLO Musical Theatre Company In the tradition of New York’s Encore Theatre or San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon, WVLO has bravely stepped forward to showcase a musical now largely ignored by most stages. Enough wonderful moments are … [Read more...] about “Irene”
“Detroit”
DetroitLisa D’AmourAurora Theatre CompanyPhoto by David AllenThings are clearly amiss at Mary’s and Ben’s suburban home as they welcome new, next-door neighbors to a back-yard grill-over in Lisa D’Amour’s Pulitzer-nominated, Obie award-winning Detriot. The patio table’s umbrella keeps collapsing, the sliding glass door stubbornly sticks, Ben’s just become a victim of bank … [Read more...] about “Detroit”
“Freedomland”
FreedomlandMichael Gene Sullivan (Book); Ira Marlowe (Music & Lyrics); Michael Bello (Additional Lyrics)San Francisco Mime Troupe Photo by David Allen StudioFor 56 summers, the parks of San Francisco Bay Area have been the stages for the political satire dreamed up by the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Once again, the San Francisco Mime Troupe has produced an … [Read more...] about “Freedomland”
“Black Virgins Are Not for Hipsters”
Black Virgins Are Not for HipstersWritten & Performed by Echo BrownDeveloped with David FordThe Marsh, San FranciscoPhoto by Alexis Keenan Echo Brown lures us in with funny stories and interesting characters; and once we are fully engaged, then shatters many of our preconceptions and stereotypes that both Whites and Blacks have about women of color. … [Read more...] about “Black Virgins Are Not for Hipsters”
“Arcadia”
ArcadiaTom StoppardThe Pear Theatre With the help of Thomas Stoppard’s challenging script, the astute direction of Jeanie K. Smith, and the astounding interpretation and skill of this excellent cast, The Pear Theatre presents an outstanding production of the now-classic Arcadia. This less-than-50-seat theatre stages the somewhat dense play with … [Read more...] about “Arcadia”
“The Addams Family”
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”
