Legally BlondeLaurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin (Music & Lyrics); Heather Hach (Book)Hillbarn Theatre Courtney Hatcher and the Cast of Legally BlondeDare it be said that anyone who enters with a built-in dislike for high-pitched, somewhat shrill, and overly enthusiastic female voices still is a sure-fire bet to be infected with the catchy, contagious earworm of “Omigod … [Read more...] about “Legally Blonde”
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“American Idiot”
American IdiotGreen Day (Music); Billie Joe Armstrong (Lyrics); Billie Joe Armstrong & Michael Mayer (Book); Tom Kitt (Musical Arrangements & Orchestrations)City Lights Theater Company The Cast of "American Idiot"Onto the stage of City Lights Theater Company bursts a vigorous, heart-pumping, invigorating American Idiot with a cast that gives and gives … [Read more...] about “American Idiot”
“John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons”
John Leguizamo: Latin History for MoronsJohn LeguizamoBerkeley Repertory Theatre(In co-production with The Public Theatre)John LeguizamoArriving in coat, vest, and tie (but also jeans and sneakers) to hoots and hollers of an already-adoring audience, John Leguizamo immediately announces, “Settle down, settle down ... We have a lot of work to do ... I got to reboot you about … [Read more...] about “John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons”
“Present Laughter”
Present LaughterNoël CowardTheatre RhinocerosThe Cast of Theatre Rhino's "Present Laughter"Intriguing plot? No, not much there. New theatrical grounds explored? No, why break what has already worked for the playwright? Redeeming social value and food for thought? Ha, are you kidding? A rip-roaringly fun night of theatre? Bingo! … [Read more...] about “Present Laughter”
“August: Osage County”
August: Osage CountyTracy LettsPear Theatre Betsy Kruse Craig (as Barbara) Comforts Diane Tasca (as Violet)Pear Theatre jumps in heads over heels into the muck and dirt of the Westons with a cast that proves they all have the mettle to do what it takes to bring Tracy Letts’ script of August: Osage County to full, rambunctious, no-holes-barred life – be it … [Read more...] about “August: Osage County”
“The Village Bike”
The Village BikePenelope SkinnerShotgun PlayersEliss Stebbins as Becky & Nick Medina as JohnWhen one spouse makes amorous moves in bed for some late-night hanky-panky and the other spouse responds to each approach, “Not tonight ... I’ve got an early start... I’ve got to make lasagna tomorrow... It’s a bit hot ... It’s the weather,” a natural inclination would be to assume … [Read more...] about “The Village Bike”
“Maggie’s Riff”
Maggie’s RiffJon LipskyFaultline TheaterPaul Rodriguez as Jack KerouacIn wrinkled, open trench coat and smoking like a fiend, he wanders up to the 1950s-era mike in a fog-filled room and starts to ramble a story in his Northeastern way of forming his words. Some of what he says in the beginning is a bit cryptic (“Been doing a bit of babble since I had this flip”), but … [Read more...] about “Maggie’s Riff”
“Robert Louis Stevenson: Jekyll and Hyde”
Robert Louis Stevenson: Jekyll and HydeGary GravesCentral WorksBrian Herndon as Lewis & Danielle Levin as FannyWith labored breathing behind a black, leather mask and through thick, green-glassed goggles, a reclining, night-gowned man wrapped in knitted blanket writes furiously on his lap desk. Stripping off the 19th-century respirator and goggles, in socked … [Read more...] about “Robert Louis Stevenson: Jekyll and Hyde”
“Gypsy”
GypsyArthur Laurents (Book); Julie Styne (Music); Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)South Bay Musical Theatre Molly Thornton as Gypsy Rose LeeWhenever attending what NY Times critic Ben Brantley has referred as “what may be the greatest of all American musicals,” "Gypsy," I sit with both hope and skepticism until I hear Rose sing those first few notes of “Some People.” … [Read more...] about “Gypsy”
“Grey Matter”
Grey MatterJulie KatzThe MarshJulie KatzLike a melding of a daily comic strip come to life and of snippets of a TV sitcom, a parade of caricatured, corporate types pass before us as they go about their daily lives at The Company. Led by “the new guy who will change things” to carry out the highly unique mission to “make our aspect of the industry better,” The Company is a … [Read more...] about “Grey Matter”
“Kinky Boots”
Kinky BootsCyndi Lauper (Music & Lyrics); Harvey Fierstein (Book)SHN The Cast of "Kinky Boots"Sometimes it just feels right to start with dessert. When a musical ends with a stage full of people of every shape, size, race, sex, and sexual orientation all dancing in stiletto-heeled boots that rise to hug their hips, it is difficult not to start there with the … [Read more...] about “Kinky Boots”
“Sweet Charity”
Sweet CharityNeil Simon (Book), Cy Coleman (Music), Dorothy Fields (Lyrics)Hillbarn TheatreMonique Hafan as Charity With a cast of twenty-plus who know how to dance and to sell a story full of heart and laughs, Hillbarn Theatre presents a Sweet Charity whose title character rarely leaves the stage and thoroughly steals the show.Please click this link to read my full review … [Read more...] about “Sweet Charity”
“When the Rain Stops Falling”
When the Rain Stops FallingAndrew BovellDragon Productions Theatre Felix AbidorEpic in scope of time, place, and theme but intimate in focus on individual pain, loss, and loneliness, When the Rain Stops Falling is Australian playwright Andrew Bovell’s 2010 complex, multi-layered family saga proclaimed by Time Magazine as ‘Best New Play of the Year’ and … [Read more...] about “When the Rain Stops Falling”
“Into the Woods”
Into the WoodsStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)Palo Alto PlayersAdrienne Walters, Timothy Sanders, Chris Janssen & Elizabeth SantanaContinuing its 85th Anniversary, touted the “Toniest Season Ever,” Palo Alto Players ventures into a forest previously much traveled by many of its sister Bay Area stages. What more can possibly be squeezed out of … [Read more...] about “Into the Woods”
“Sojourners”
SojournersMfoniso UdofiaMagic TheatreKatherine Turner as AbasiamaIn the mid-to-late 1960s, the neighborhoods and streets of urban America were too often in flames with lives and property destroyed as African Americans protested white America’s prejudiced resistance to their voting and economic rights. An ocean and a world away, Nigerian Africans were at the same time … [Read more...] about “Sojourners”
