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
3.5 E
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
Cloud Nine
1880, South Africa: The Queen’s flag flies high and proudly; Victorian roles of men and women are clearly defined; classes are correctly divided; whites rule and those of color serve; social norms are clear, and proper manners are strictly followed. Well, that is at least true until Caryl Churchill paints a bit different picture of what that supposedly blissful life is … [Read more...] about Cloud Nine
“Gandhi”
Gandhi Sujit Saraf Naatak Natraj Kumar & Dancers October 2, 2019 is the 150th birth anniversary of the man born with the first name Mohandas but whom the world now remembers as Mahatma (“venerable”) Gandhi. To honor this occasion, the nation’s largest Indian theatre company, Naatak, is producing a world-premiere play, Gandhi, written and directed by the company’s … [Read more...] about “Gandhi”
“Rhinoceros”
RhinocerosEugène IonescoTranslated by Derek ProuseAmerican Conservatory TheaterMatt Decaro & David BreitbarthAs a middle-aged, single man who works in a French village’s newspaper office, Berenger “just can’t get used to life,” has “barely got the strength to go on living,” and tells his friend Gene as he readies himself for a mid-day cognac, “I feel out of place in life, … [Read more...] about “Rhinoceros”
“The View Upstairs”
The View UpstairsMax VernonNew Conservatory Theatre CenterNick Rodrigues & Ensemble MembersAs the fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall fast approaches and as we in San Francisco also recall in honor the drag and transgender heroes of the Compton Cafeteria riots of 1966, what better time for us to take every chance to remember those who came before us, to celebrate how far we … [Read more...] about “The View Upstairs”
Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryDavid Grieg (Book); Marc Shaiman (Music); Scott Wittiman & Marc Shaiman (Lyrics)SHNHenry Boshart & Noah WeisbergCurrently at SHN’s Golden Gate Theatre, there are two one-act musicals appearing, both under the same title as Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – or at least it feels that way sitting through … [Read more...] about Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
“American Hero”
American HeroBess WohlThe Custom Made Theatre Co.Paul Stout, Devon deGroot & Laura EspinoDay-by-day, the slices of turkey, pastrami, and cheddar dwindle away. Already there are no more chips and no more Dr. Pepper. But at Toasty Subs that just recently celebrated its grand opening, the three “sandwich artists” continue to spread what mustard is left on the few … [Read more...] about “American Hero”
“Marie and Rosetta”
Marie and RosettaGeorge BrantTheatreWorks Silicon ValleyMichelle E Jordan and Marissa RuddGeorge Brant’s Marie and Rosetta receives its foot-tapping, spirit-arousing, and raise-the-roof production at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, returning to its birthplace of sorts where in 2015 the musical was first featured in the company’s annual New Works Festival. The music and … [Read more...] about “Marie and Rosetta”
