Slaughter CityNaomi WallaceStanford Repertory TheaterLouis McWilliams as Brandon & Leontyne Mbele-Mbong as Roach American playwright, university professor, and social activist Naomi Wallace creates in her Slaughter City a play that rips open the doors of one of the more gruesome workplaces to reveal the injustice, the suffering, and the inequalities … [Read more...] about “Slaughter City”
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“The Gathering”
The GatheringArje ShawThe Live Oak TheatreKahlil Leneus, Tracy Camp, Edward Nattenberg & Arje ShawPlays about a Holocaust survivor rarely open with an elderly man swapping Yiddish-filled pokes and jokes with his thirteen-year-old, African-American grandson, whom he calls ‘boychick.’ The grandfather tries half-heartedly to cajole the boy to practice his haftorah … [Read more...] about “The Gathering”
“Stale Magnolias”
Stale MagnoliasSean Owens (Book & Lyrics); Don Seaver (Music)OasisJef Valentine as Raven Looney & Robert Molossi as Spuvina FetlockIt’s a feverish 102º in Rectal, TX, where the most shocking sight is “Texas women in 80s couture.” The radio announcer on local KWHY has just announced the town’s oldest citizen, Miss Vita Brevits, has passed on to her heavenly reward … [Read more...] about “Stale Magnolias”
“Schooled”
SchooledMichael Gene Sullivan & Eugenie Chan (Book); Ira Marlowe (Music & Lyrics) (with additional music by Daniel Savio)San Francisco Mime Troupe Lisa Hori-Garcia, Rotimi Agbabiaka, Velina Brown & Keiko Shimosato CarreiroSchooled, San Francisco Mime Troupe’s 2016 contribution to its tome of political parodies, is the Company’s fairly simplistic, somewhat … [Read more...] about “Schooled”
“The Rules”
The RulesDipika GuhaSan Francisco PlayhouseAmy Lazardo as Mehr, Karen Offereins as Julia & Sarah Moser as AnaWhat are some of the dos and don’ts many of us carry around about dating, committing, or even marrying? How deeply engrained in our subconscious and thus our habits, even in this era long past the ‘70s women’s liberation movement, are the norms of our parents … [Read more...] about “The Rules”
“Lightning in the Brain”
Lightning in the BrainCorey Fischer (Writer, Composer, Performer)The Marsh Corey FischerWhen spending time as a young man in New York, Corey Fischer says it was like “walking through layers of history that were sliced as thin as pastrami.” While his new work, Lightning in the Brain -- now at The Marsh in San Francisco -- is a pleasant, harmless hour of … [Read more...] about “Lightning in the Brain”
“On a Clear Day You Can See Forever”
On a Clear Day You Can See ForeverBurton Lane (Music); Alan Jay Lerner (Lyrics); Peter Parnell (Book)Based on the Original Book by Alan Jay LernerNew Conservatory Theatre CenterChris Morrell, Melissa O'Keefe & William GiammonaDespite its title, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is one musical that has had a stormy past. The much-touted 1965 opening with music by … [Read more...] about “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever”
“Elect to Laugh”
Elect to LaughWill DurstThe MarshWill DurstSoon after I first arrived in the Bay Area in late 1978, my newly wed spouse and I started checking out the bountiful comedy club scene that existed in San Francisco at venues like The Other Café, The Holy City Zoo, and Cobb’s Comedy Club. One of our favorite stand-ups soon became Will Durst, and almost forty years later this … [Read more...] about “Elect to Laugh”
“The Empty Nesters”
The Empty NestersGarret Jon GroenveldFlown the Coop ProductionsJW Walker & Pamela Gaye WalkerShe: “We’re going to have to start to have grown-up conversations.”He: “About what?”She: “Grown up things.”He: “Then let’s talk.”She: “About what.”He: “I don’t know.”Such back-and-forth, circle exchanges often make the interactions of wife Frannie and husband Greg sound like scenes … [Read more...] about “The Empty Nesters”
“The Heir Apparent”
The Heir ApparentDavid IvesAdapted from Le Légataire universel by Jean-François RegnardAurora Theatre CompanyLisette, (Katie Rubin*), Madame Argonte (Elizabeth Carter*), Eraste (Kenny Toll), and Isabelle (Khalia Davis*) watch Geronte’s imposter (c. Patrick Kelly Jones*) sign his will in Aurora’s Bay Area Premiere of The Heir ApparentPandora’s Box has tumbled open at Aurora … [Read more...] about “The Heir Apparent”
“Enchanted April”
Enchanted AprilRichard B. Evans (Music); Charles Leipart (Book & Lyrics)Pacific Coast Repertory TheatreAmy Franklin Leonards, Joy Sherratt & Rachel Powers Two wives find themselves dodging raindrops on the streets of dark and dreary London and being ignored in small, equally dreary apartments by husbands much more focused on themselves than on … [Read more...] about “Enchanted April”
“The Untamed Stage”
The Untamed StageScrumbly KoldewynWith Additional Material by Terance Bennan, Damien Chacona, Cab Covay, Andy Wegner, Martin Worman, and Alex KinneyThrillpeddlersScrumbly Koldewyn“You are here to see things you haven’t seen,And feel things you haven’t felt.”And thus are we greeted in a café setting reminiscent of an underground Berlin kabarett during those sultry and sensuous … [Read more...] about “The Untamed Stage”
“On Clover Road”
On Clover RoadSteven DietzSan Francisco Playhouse Sally Dana as KateThe cloak of the film noir genre drapes over everything. The motel room is cheap, barren, and covered in carpet that looks dirty. She enters in a brown trench coat clutching a purse for dear life; he is in a scuffed-up leather coat with a black bag, latched and secretive-looking. The lighting … [Read more...] about “On Clover Road”
“Second Time Around: A Duet for Cello and Storyteller”
Second Time Around: A Duet for Cello and StorytellerCharlie Varon (monologue) and Joan Jeanrenaud (score)The MarshCharlie Varon & Joan JeanrenaudPlaintive, lower chords merge into slowly picked notes that then give way to faster rhythms and phrases higher on the scale of the cello’s strings. All the while, a bearded man watches the cellist with a look of reverent … [Read more...] about “Second Time Around: A Duet for Cello and Storyteller”
“The Call”
The CallTanya BarfieldTheatre RhinocerosAlexaendrai Bond, Nkechi Emeruwa, Melissa Keith, Darryl V. Jones & Hawlan NgAs more and more women delay having their first babies in order to finish school, pursue careers, and/or trek the world on one last grand adventure before settling down to parenting, they and their spouses/partners also face increasing issues of fertility … [Read more...] about “The Call”
