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”
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“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”
“Aunt Lakie’s Not Coming to Dinner”
Aunt Lakie’s Not Coming to DinnerSusan RabinWindy City Productions at The Phoenix TheatreThe table is set for company, and cookies are coming out the oven as two, elderly, Jewish sisters prepare to welcome an aunt and uncle for dinner. However, that is not to be since Aunt Lakie has just left this world for the beyond; and it is that unfortunate surprise that springs open … [Read more...] about “Aunt Lakie’s Not Coming to Dinner”
“The Libation Bearers”
The Libation BearersAeschylusDragon Productions TheatreWhile The Libation Bearers is one of the earliest full dramas ever performed (458 BCE, as part of the trilogy The Oresteia), its center theme of violence begetting violence as a vicious, unending circle still unfortunately resounds and describes what we see all too often two and half centuries later. This is the … [Read more...] about “The Libation Bearers”
“Late: A Cowboy Song”
Late: A Cowboy SongSarah RuhlCustom Made TheatreOne of our currently most prolific and recently most-produced-in-the-Bay-Area playwrights, Sarah Ruhl, returns to a local stage in a production of an early play that foreshadows the themes, the aura, and women of her later, now-well-known/loved works (e.g., In the Next Room, Eurydice, Clean House, Dead Man's Cell Phone). … [Read more...] about “Late: A Cowboy Song”
“Promises, Promises”
Promises, PromisesMusic by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David; Book by Neil SimonSF PlayhouseCatching this show near the end of its 8+-week run and having seen the excellent, recent Broadway revival (2010-11) with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth (among others), I was both excited and skeptical as the show began. This 1968 musical about a ambitious insurance junior … [Read more...] about “Promises, Promises”
