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”
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“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”
“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”
Disney’s Beauty and the BeastAlan Menken (Music); Howard Ashman & Tim Rice (Lyrics); Linda Woolverton (Book)Broadway San JoseBrooke Quintana & Sam HartleyThe first time I saw Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on the big screen as an animated film, I immediately pictured the opening number “Belle” as made for the big stage. As the song’s angelic-looking namesake roams … [Read more...] about “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”
“An Act of God”
An Act of GodDavid JaverbaumSHNSean Hayes as GodDeclaring, “Tonight I have chosen to appear in the form of hallowed star of film and stage Sean Hayes (a description neither smiling Sean nor the cheering audience seemed at all interested in disputing), God has decided to plop himself “right here in the Tenderloin’s glamor of San Francisco” for the next couple of weeks. … [Read more...] about “An Act of God”
“Too Much, Too Much, Too Many”
Too Much, Too Much, Too ManyMeghan KennedyDragon Productions Theatre CompanyMary Price Moore & Kelly BattcherPresented with just the right mix of smiles and tears, silliness and seriousness, bittersweet and bitterness, Dragon Productions Theatre Company has assembled four outstandingly cast actors in a staging of the Off Broadway, 2013 Roundabout … [Read more...] about “Too Much, Too Much, Too Many”
“The How and the Why”
The How and the WhySarah TreemAurora Theatre CompanyMartha Brigham & Nancy CarlinFirst nervously fidgeting, then just staring blankly at her laptop with obvious, undefined anxiety, she sits in an office that has a feel of a holy sanctuary with its church-like window and beautiful cherry-wood floors. Minutes pass before a young woman with her own look of stressful … [Read more...] about “The How and the Why”
“The Realistic Joneses”
The Realistic JonesesWill EnoAmerican Conservatory TheatreAllison Jean White, James Wagner, Rebecca Watson & Rod GnappUnder a massive, darkened sky full of twinkling stars “where you can almost hear the clouds go by” and “in one of those little towns near the mountains,” two neighboring couples sit out in their backyards talking a lot and often not saying very much. … [Read more...] about “The Realistic Joneses”
“The Elephant Man”
The Elephant ManBernard PomeranceCity Lights Theater Company George Psarras, Max Tachis & Kristin BrownstoneWithin minutes of the play’s beginning, it is clear to the hushed audience that City Lights Theater Company has cast a John Merrick who can stand up to the best of those who have won accolades and awards in the past 25+ years for this most difficult stage … [Read more...] about “The Elephant Man”
“Talking Heads”
Talking HeadsAlan BennettSpare Stage Laylah Muran De Assereto as CeliaAnnie Larson as Miss FozzardSusan Maeder as SusanRenowned British essayist, storywriter, actor, and playwright Alan Bennett (probably best known for The History Boys and The Madness of King George) wrote – and even starred in some – two series of dramatic monologues entitled Talking Heads that played on the … [Read more...] about “Talking Heads”
“Mothers and Sons”
Mothers and SonsTerrence McNallyNew Conservatory Theatre CenterVelina Brown & Andrew NanceShe stands in rigid posture with her luxurious mink coat wrapped so tightly as to allow only a glimpse of her designer two-piece suit that is crowned by a single strand of pearls. Clutching with clinched fists her purse as if the startled man before her might grab it at any … [Read more...] about “Mothers and Sons”
