The Monster-BuilderAmy FreedAurora Theatre CompanyDanny Scheie & Tracy HazasSometimes, no matter the play, seeing one particular actor’s performance is well worth the price of the ticket and the effort of the outing. And while there is much to like in the total cast and production of Aurora Theatre Company’s The Monster-Builder, the absolutely wicked architect … [Read more...] about “The Monster-Builder”
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“In Love and Warcraft”
In Love and WarcraftMadhuri ShekarThe Custom Made Theatre Company Ed Berkeley & Monica HoHormones are racing; hearts are pumping; and bodies are gyrating up and down with sweat dripping freely from head to toe as four SoCal college types (two men, two women) go at it. But these four are not having a raging sex party in some campus frat or dorm (at least not at this … [Read more...] about “In Love and Warcraft”
“Tribes”
TribesNina RainePear TheatreMorgan Dayley & Greg AndersonA returning adult son is welcomed at the dinner table by his Dad: “Welcome back … Join in and have an argument.” So starts Pear Theatre’s current production of the 2012 Drams Desk Outstanding Play winner, Tribes, by Nina Raine; and so begins an often riveting, sometimes hilarious, always … [Read more...] about “Tribes”
“Shakespeare Goes to War”
"Shakespeare Goes to War"John FisherTheatre RhinocerosJesse F. Vaughn, Gabriel A. Ross, John Fisher & Sean KeehanSubtitled “Everything I needed to know about Shakespeare I learned from my high school English teacher,” John Fisher’s latest play, "Shakespeare Goes to War," is clearly his personal homage to one or more teachers who pointed him toward his career in … [Read more...] about “Shakespeare Goes to War”
“Awake and Sing”
Awake and SingClifford OdetsSanta Clara University Theatre DepartmentThree generations of a working-class Jewish family are crammed into a Bronx flat where a suitcase can serve as a combined bureau and closet, Yiddish-rich accents from Eastern Europe fill the air, and escape from Depression-era struggles is variously sought via Caruso recordings, frequent visits to the silver … [Read more...] about “Awake and Sing”
“Sail Away”
Sail AwayNoel Coward42nd Street Moon Theatre Nathaniel Rothrock, Khalia Davis, Allison F. Rich, Jordan Martin & Darlene PopovicLooking for love in the next ten days? Or, do you just want to have a merry ol’ time with people you’ll probably never want to see again? Got your bags all packed? Then head to 42nd … [Read more...] about “Sail Away”
“The Rover”
The RoverAphra BehnShotgun Players Justin Gillman, Dan Saski, Jeremy Kahn & Alex LydonShotgun Players boldly brings a pioneering playwright’s play of yesteryear to a 21stCentury audience where we discover her writing about our own current issues of sexual assaults against college coeds, difficulties of women to be given deserved equality in the workplace, … [Read more...] about “The Rover”
“Star Trek Live! Mudd’s Women”
Star Trek Live! Mudd’s WomenGene Roddenberry (Original Story); Stephen Kandel (Original Teleplay)D’Arcy Drollinger & Laurie Bushman (Co-Directors, Oasis Production)OasisAmber Sommerfield as Spock, Leigh Crow asJames T Kirk and Honey Mahogany as UhuraAs the stage lights come up on the Enterprise deck with Captain Jim Kirk in his command chair and all other key crew … [Read more...] about “Star Trek Live! Mudd’s Women”
“Or,”
Or,Liz Duffy AdamsDragon Productions Theatre Company Kathryn HanThe plague has ravaged, a fire has leveled, and seemingly endless wars have demoralized a late 1660s London that is also still trying to recover from eleven years of so-called moral cleansing by anti-monarchist Oliver Cromwell. Like a Phoenix rising from the flames and ashes, the … [Read more...] about “Or,”
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeAdapted by Jeffrey HatcherFrom the Novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis StevensonCity Lights Theatre CompanyAdam Magill as Mr. HydeRobert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) has spawned seemingly countless movies (silent and sound), cartoons, TV specials, plays, and a major Broadway … [Read more...] about “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
“Moments of Truth”
Moments of TruthPatricia Milton (Book); Caroline Altman (Music & Lyrics)3 Girls TheatreDanielle Thys, Tyler McKenna, Bekka Fink & Douglas GiorgisIn a living room setting with studio to the side where walls are adorned with numerous abstract paintings in washed-out colors, our eyes cannot help but go to schlocky portrait of a smiling cow with big ears and soulful … [Read more...] about “Moments of Truth”
“The Oldest Boy”
The Oldest BoySarah RuhlMarin Theatre CompanyWayne Lee, Jinn S. Kim & Christine AlbrightIn the past few years, stages all across the Bay Area have had a love affair with Sarah Ruhl, offering acclaimed and often multiple productions of A Clean House; Dead Man’s Cell Phone; Eurydice; Orlando; Late: a cowboy song; and In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play. Marin Theatre … [Read more...] about “The Oldest Boy”
“The Voice of the Prairie”
The Voice of the PrairieJohn OliveDragon Productions Theatre CompanyMaria Giere Marquis and Robert Sean Campbell“The world is a strange world, isn’t it, where wooden boxes can pull ghosts out of the sky.” And in the 1923 world of John Olive’s The Voice of the Prairie,” these radio boxes provide a wonderful medium to relate a nostalgic story chocked full of many other … [Read more...] about “The Voice of the Prairie”
“Mud Blue Sky”
Mud Blue SkyMarisa WegrzynAurora Theatre CompanySam (c. l, Rebecca Dines) sends Jonathan (c. r, Devin O’Brien) on an errand as Angie (r, Laura Jane Bailey) watches and Beth (l, Jamie Jones) pours herself another drink in Aurora Theatre Company’s Mud Blue SkyIn case there is any audience member still hanging onto idealized visions of how glamorous traveling the skies is for … [Read more...] about “Mud Blue Sky”
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (Hillbarn Theatre)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart (Book)Based on the Plays of PlautusHillbarn Theatre David Blackburn (Hero) & Dan Demers (Pseudolus) The cast and co-directors of the current Forum at Hillbarn Theatre clearly understand why they and we are there spending yet another evening with … [Read more...] about “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (Hillbarn Theatre)
