Homeward Bound: An Orphan Train JourneyCathy Spielberger CassettaThe Tabard Theatre CompanyGinger Hurley, Ashley Wilson, Sarah Dorsey, Emily Anne Goes, Samantha Goes, and Chloe AllenBetween 1854 and 1929, over 250,000, mostly immigrant children were removed from the streets of New York and shipped on “orphan trains” to small town and farming community families all throughout … [Read more...] about “Homeward Bound: An Orphan Train Journey”
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“Top Girls”
Top GirlsCaryl ChurchillShotgun Players Rosie Hallett as Angie. Photo by Pak Han.Marlene has just been promoted to Managing Director of an employment agency, and she decides to give herself a celebratory dinner – at least in her dreams. The dinner that consumes Act One of Caryl Churhill’s Obie-winning Top Girls is a feast like none most has ever seen, on stage or … [Read more...] about “Top Girls”
“West Side Story”
West Side StoryArthur Laurents (Book); Leonard Bernstein (Music); Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)City Lights Theater CompanyPhoto by Susan Mah With a Maria (Katherine Dela Cruz) who alone is worth the price of the ticket, City Lights Theatre Company (San Jose) stages West Side Story through August 23. Other women in the cast as well as the excellent choreography … [Read more...] about “West Side Story”
“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”
“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”
“My Fair Lady”
My Fair LadyAlan Jay Lerner (Book & Lyrics); Frederick Lowe (Music)Broadway By the BayFox Theatre, Redwood CityThrough an imaginative set, a few clever directorial touches, and inspired casting of the lead heroine, Broadway By the Bay has staged a My Fair Lady that leaves its own unique niche in the long history of this much-produced gem of the American musical genre. … [Read more...] about “My Fair Lady”
Compleat Female Stage Beauty
Compleat Female Stage BeautyJeffrey HatcherNew Conservatory Theatre Center,Decker TheatreA fascinating chapter in theatre history comes to life in Jeffrey Hatcher’s Compleat Female Stage Beauty as we witness the moment when women take to the stage in 1661 Restoration England after a period where all female parts had been only played by men. Inspired by actual events and … [Read more...] about Compleat Female Stage Beauty
“Max Understood”
Max UnderstoodPaul Dresher EnsembleNancy Carlin (Book & Lyrics); Michael Rasbury (Music & Lyrics)The first two minutes of the new musical, Max Understood, are two of the most captivating minutes I have ever seen in live theatre. Against a white wall on darkened stage with one spotlight on him, a small boy silently and erratically shakes, twists, smiles, and … [Read more...] about “Max Understood”
“The Star without a Name”
The Star without a NameTranslated & Adapted by Ana-Catrina Buchser from Mihail Sebastian’sSteaua fara numeDragon 2nd StagesIn a small Romanian, 1942 town, life is as routine and predictable as the trains that daily speed by, only occasionally pausing just long enough to drop off passenger and package at its tiny, one-desk station. On one otherwise normal evening, a … [Read more...] about “The Star without a Name”
“Nick & Nora”
Nick & NoraArthur Laurents, Book; Charles Strouse, Music; Richard Maltby, Jr., Lyrics42ndStreet Moon Theatre 42ndStreet Moon prides itself in making “great musicals sing again by finding (and often painstakingly restoring) ‘lost’ classics” -- or in the case of Nick and Nora, forgotten flops. Based on Dashiell Hammett’s … [Read more...] about “Nick & Nora”
“Present Tense”
Present TenseAlan OlejniczakAt Last Productions and Playwrights Center of San FranciscoOver a 24-hour period, the world premiere Present Tense gives us slice-of-life glimpses into five family situations – all unrelated, but all highly similar thematically. Each takes place real-time for fifteen or so minutes, with the ‘present tense’ of each highly shadowed by histories … [Read more...] about “Present Tense”
“Jewels of Paris: A Revolutionary New Musical Review”
Jewels of Paris: A Revolutionary New Musical ReviewScrumbly Koldewyn (original music & lyrics); Rob Keefe & Martin Worman (additional lyrics); Keefe, Koldewyn, Alex Kinney & Andy Wenger (sketches)ThrillpeddlersWalking into the green, wooden Hypnodrome next to a Highway 80 overpass, audience members are greeted by variously clad and semi-clad characters with … [Read more...] about “Jewels of Paris: A Revolutionary New Musical Review”
“Abundance”
AbundanceBeth HenleyShelton TheatreTwo women arrive at a remote rail station in 1860s Wyoming Territory, drawn there as mail-order brides to start lives anew in this wind-howling, big-sky frontier. Upon meeting, they immediately become best friends, confidents, and sources of support -- not the typical beginning of most epics of the old West. But Abundance, as told … [Read more...] about “Abundance”
“Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play”
Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric PlayAnne WashburnAmerican Conservatory TheatreImagine a world where an unnamed epidemic has wiped out most of the population, where un-staffed nuclear plants have emitted their deadly powers in meltdown, and where desperate survivors roam the countryside looking for loved ones and defending themselves against roaming terrorists. Thus is the … [Read more...] about “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play”
