Me and My GirlNoel Gray (Music); Douglas Furber & L. Arthur Rose (Book & Lyrics)Stephen Fry (Book Revisions); Mike Ockrent (Further Book Contributions)42nd Street MoonMelissa WolkKlain & Keith PintoRing the sirens; clang the bells; light the neon marquee; turn on the sky-roving spotlights. Do whatever necessary to tell the San Francisco Bay Area to head to the … [Read more...] about “Me and My Girl”
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“Two Minds”
Two MindsLynne KaufmanThe MarshBrian Herndon & Jackson Davis“Together, we had a goose that would lay a golden egg; and when we didn’t, we had an omelet.” Such is the memory of his many years in collaborative relationship with his thinking and research partner, Amos Tversky, that Daniel Kahneman recounts as he receives the 2002 Nobel Prize for Economics on both of … [Read more...] about “Two Minds”
“The Color Purple”
The Color PurpleMarsha Norman (Book); Brenda Russell, Allee Willis & Stephen Bray (Music & Lyrics); Based on the Novel by Alice WalkerSHNAdrianna Hicks & The Cast of The Color PurpleEntering the SHN’s Orpheum Theatre to see the latest revival of Marsha Norman’s (book) The Color Purple, I immediately recalled July 5, 2006, when I first saw the musical at The Broadway … [Read more...] about “The Color Purple”
“Father Comes Home from the Wars: Parts I, II III”
Father Comes Home from the Wars: Parts I, II, IIISuzan-Lori ParksAmerican Conservatory TheatreSteven Anthony Jones, Rotima Agbabiaka, Safiya Fredericks, Julian Elijah Martinez, Chivas MichaelWith their arms raised in front of them, hands forming an “L” shape with thumb extended, the four strain to see the first rays of the next morning’s dawn. All the while, they place … [Read more...] about “Father Comes Home from the Wars: Parts I, II III”
“Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes”
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National ThemesPart One: Millennium ApproachesPart Two: PerestroikaTony KushnerBerkeley Repertory TheatreFrancesca Faridany & Randy Harrison1985. Gay men are dying by the thousands while a president refuses to acknowledge their plight. Some hospitals turn them away untreated; the rubber glove and facial mask industry is … [Read more...] about “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes”
“The People in the Picture”
The People in the PictureIris Rainer Dart (Book & Lyrics); Mike Stoller & Artie Butler (Music)3 Below Theaters & LoungeThe Cast of The People in the PictureThat there will be an eternity through our living in the memories of those we leave behind is the uplifting promise of the inspiring, engaging, and thoroughly entertaining musical, The People in the Picture, now … [Read more...] about “The People in the Picture”
“Head Over Heels”
Head Over HeelsThe Go-Gos (Songs); Jeff Whitty (Book); James Magruder (Adapter of Book)Inspired by The Arcadia by Sir Philip SidneyCurran TheatreThe Cast of Head Over Heels"What happens when a Renaissance tale of royal romance written in iambic pentameter collides head-on with the jukebox music of the 1980s all-female group, the Go-Go’s? And what if twists and turns of … [Read more...] about “Head Over Heels”
“A Fatal Step”
A Fatal StepJill ViceThe MarshJill ViceMaybe the archetype goes all the way back to Eve and the apple. Ancient models can be traced to Jezebel, Delilah, and Salome in the biblical era or Aphrodite, Helen of Troy, or Medea from the Greek and Roman myths. Jumping millennia ahead into the 1930s and ‘40s Hollywood, the great femme fatales – “fatal women,” sometimes … [Read more...] about “A Fatal Step”
“The Bridges of Madison County”
The Bridges of Madison CountyMarsha Norman (Book); Jason Robert Brown (Music & Lyrics)Based on the Novel by Robert James WallerTheatreWorks Silicon Valley Rob Robertson & Joan HessAnyone coming to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s The Bridges of Madison County fearing the evening could drip with sappiness certainly left thinking anything but. … [Read more...] about “The Bridges of Madison County”
“Timon of Athens”
Timon of AthensWilliam ShakespeareCutting Ball TheaterDavid Sinaiko & Cast Members of Timon of AthensIn the heart of the troubled Tenderloin with its camped-out homeless and strewn needles and not far from the world headquarters of Twitter with its techy, invading Millennials with pocketbooks often bulging, Cutting Ball Theater opens a tragic tale written over four hundred … [Read more...] about “Timon of Athens”
“Heisenberg”
HeisenbergSimon StephensAmerican Conservatory TheatreJames Carpenter & Sarah Grace Wilson“If you watch something close enough, you never knew where it’s going or how fast you’re getting there.”That observation made by one of the two principles in Simon Stephens’ 2015 play, Heisenberg, describes the inability to predict something, even and perhaps especially if one closely … [Read more...] about “Heisenberg”
“Weightless”
WeightlessThe Kilbanes (Music, Lyrics & Book)Z Space Kate Kilbane & Lila BlueIn the beginning, everything looks and sounds like a rock concert in an intimate space where audience members tiered on either side of the stage will sit on cushions and sip wine from the bar nearby. Two women, one straddling a bass guitar, face each other and begin singing a somewhat … [Read more...] about “Weightless”
“The King and I”
The King and IRichard Rodgers (Music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (Lyrics & Book)Based upon the novel Anna and the King by Margaret LandonBroadway San JoseLaura Michelle Kelly When a gloriously played overture pours forth hit after hit right out of the Great American Songbook, there is no doubt that the musical to follow is likely to be an evening to be savored. If the … [Read more...] about “The King and I”
“Lucia Berlin: Stories”
Lucia Berlin: StoriesFrom A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia BerlinWord for Word, Z SpaceJeri Lynn CohenEach of five stories by an author who once claimed, “Everything I write is autobiographical” offers independently a glimpse of one salient moment in her rollercoaster life. When presented together, the five provide a heart-warming, inspirational journey from … [Read more...] about “Lucia Berlin: Stories”
“Reel to Reel”
Reel to ReelJohn KolvenbachMagic TheatreWill Marchetti & Carla SpindtWhat does a marriage of fifty-five years sound like? Her middle of the night mumbles, snorts, and snores? His habit of opening a squeaky cabinet ever so slowly to hear each tick? Her end of day footstep that is “like a sack of flour dropped off a three-inch cliff”? His upset voice … [Read more...] about “Reel to Reel”
