Falsettos William Finn (Music & Lyrics); William Finn & James Lapine (Book) The Pear Theatre For me as an avid theatregoer and a critic, nothing is more upsetting than to see the applaudable efforts of a talented cast squandered by the choices and/or oversights by those who direct the production, both stage and musical. Unfortunately, such was the case in … [Read more...] about Falsettos
3.5 E
The Dignity Circle
The Dignity Circle Lauren Smerkanich Central Works “Hi, y’all. I’m Angela. I work in real estate. I live in Westlake, Sacramento, California. … I have a question for you. What would you do if right now I handed you forty thousand dollars? In cash. No strings attached?” Maybe “a trip, a new car, a new guest bathroom, a new forehead?” Or how about just “a way to … [Read more...] about The Dignity Circle
Yerma
Yerma Melinda Lopez (Adaptation & Translation) Based on the Play by Federico García Lorca Shotgun Players An opening scene of passionate lovemaking; a happy realization of a late period; and a pregnant, young woman singing sweetly a mesmerizing lullaby are still not enough to belie the feeling that all is not going as well as it at first seems. The fact that the … [Read more...] about Yerma
By Georges! A Day in the Life of the Legendary Chevalier de Saint-Georges
By Georges! A Day in the Life of the Legendary Chevalier de Saint-Georges James D Sasser (Book & Lyrics); Charles Vincent Burwell (Music & Lyrics) Lamplighters Music Theatre As with so many accomplished people of color, the incredible life, achievements, and legacy of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, has largely been forgotten since his 1799 death … [Read more...] about By Georges! A Day in the Life of the Legendary Chevalier de Saint-Georges
The SpongeBob Musical
The SpongeBob Musical Kyle Jarrow (Book) Based on the Series by Stephen Hillenburg Original Songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Shape & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain Whites T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., David … [Read more...] about The SpongeBob Musical
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Music); Lorenzo Da Ponte (Libretto) West Bay Opera How can an opera about an arrogant, despicable rake who travels throughout Europe seducing women for pure sport and then leaving them often after having promised marriage continue to be one of the most popular, most produced operas of all times? Why in this particular era of “Me … [Read more...] about Don Giovanni
Getting There
Getting There Dipika Guha New Conservatory Theatre Center As a young woman sits on a bench alone, each of four other women of varied generations approach her with highly dramatic outreach motions, lip-singing Edith Piaf’s “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien,” or in English translation, “No, I Don’t Feel Sorry about Nothing.” As they continue to bombard her with their … [Read more...] about Getting There
Wives
Wives Jaclyn Backhaus Aurora Theatre Company “He wrote our history not for us, for himself,” eulogizes the first wife of Ernest Hemingway as Wife 2 and Wife 3 nod in agreement. In Wives – Jacklyn Backhaus’ time-traveling, boundary-breaking script packed with playful yet powerful punches aimed at patriarchally told history – women once married to the rich and famous … [Read more...] about Wives
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha Mitch Leigh (Music); Joe Darion (Lyrics); Dale Wasserman (Book) San Jose Playhouse Before even a word is spoken, Scott Evan Guggenheim directs one of the most gripping, disturbing, and memorable scenes of the evening’s production of Man of La Mancha by San Jose Playhouse. Before us is Julie Engelbrecht’s jarring set design that is too similar to … [Read more...] about Man of La Mancha
Romeo y Juliet
Romeo y Juliet Karen Zacarías Adapted by KJ Sanchez & Karen Zacarías Based on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare California Shakespeare Theater Upfront we are advised, “What you may not comprehend with your ears, you will understand with your heart.” What audience members at California Shakespeare Theater’s Romeo y Juliet may or may not be prepared for in … [Read more...] about Romeo y Juliet
Pique Dame
Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky West Bay Opera Woodwinds and strings sing in gentle, back-and-forth conversation before other instruments begin to join, building into rolling climaxes of commanding brass and timpani and all leading to a sense of foreboding as projected on the walls before us are splashed, red blotches mingled in a flurried mix … [Read more...] about Pique Dame
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change Joe DiPietro (Book & Lyrics); Jimmy Roberts (Music); Doug Katsaros (Orchestrations) Hillbarn Theatre & Conservatory For someone who has seen well over 150 live theatre shows every, pre-COVID year for at least the past twenty years, how is it I have missed seeing the 1996-premiering, second-longest-running Off-Broadway … [Read more...] about I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
Talk to Your People
Talk to Your People Dan Hoyle The Marsh Celebrated creator and performer of solo shows about such topics as Nigerian oil scandals (Tings Dey Happen), Red States folks telling their side of the story (The Real Americans), and heart-wrenching yet funny portrayals of men and women from minority races and cultures (The Border People), Oakland … [Read more...] about Talk to Your People
Princess Ida
An operetta from the conservative Victorian Age that satirizes feminism and women’s education and sets up a battle between the sexes that the men are destined to win is not exactly a winning formula for most 2020 audiences. But the operetta is by the perennially loved W.S. Gilbert (libretto) and Albert Sullivan (music); and there are many, modern aficionados of the famed pair … [Read more...] about Princess Ida
Taking Steps
A three-story, crumbling mansion that was once a notorious, London brothel and is said still to be haunted by its former mistress, “Scarlet Lucy,” is the setting of Alan Ayckbourn’s 1979 farce, Taking Steps. The house that is described as “drafty, leaky, and it smells” by its current mistress, Elizabeth Crabbe, is up for sale, becoming a major character and source of much … [Read more...] about Taking Steps
