Get Eddie’s recommendations for shows on stage now that you should be sure not to miss.
How Shakespeare Saved My Life
While it clearly has taken a theatrical village’s collaboration to launch a world premiere of How Shakespeare Saved My Life that should have long legs beyond Berkeley Rep in terms of future performances on many other stages, it is the huge smiles, sparkling eyes, and big gestures that often feel like virtual hugs of Jacob Ming-Trent whose story of salvation has captivated our rapt attention, drawn us in as full participants, and left us inspired and maybe even ready to be a bit more forgiving in a ‘us vs. them’ world that exists outside the theater’s sanctuary of togetherness.
Spanish Stew
The generous mixture of references to Latin culture with both Cuban and Puerto Rican flavors, lesbian life as a recently-out twenty-year-old, and a San Francisco that mostly now exists only in her and our memories makes Marga Gomez’s Spanish Stew a delicious dish just begging to be savored.
The Cherry Orchard
Put Anton Chekhov’s globally popular, much-adapted play, The Cherry Orchard, in the bold, directorial hands of the much-accomplished Carey Perloff and provide her with a Bay Area, all-star cast, and it is an easy-money bet that Marin Theater has a sure-fire hit in the making.
Sunday in the Park with George
Shotgun Players presents a beautifully conceived, thoroughly engaging, emotionally captivating, and timely themed Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine (book). Already in its third month of many sold-out audiences, so popular is the production that it is now in extension, running until February 15.
Little Women
South Bay Musical Theatre’s Little Women is a revisit to an American classic tale that should not be missed. There is much to be newly harvested from this magnificently sung and staged story that has already been told countless times in read pages and/or seen on screen and stage.
Hershey Felder: The Piano and Me
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the world premiere of Hershey Felder: The Piano and Me — a music-infused, intimate sharing of his life-long, love relationship with the eighty-eight white and black keys along with the people who have enabled and supported his making of extraordinary art. The result is another must-see for Bay Area audiences by this man who clearly and deservedly has captured for many years their enduring adoration.
