CabaretJoe Masteroff (Book); John Kander (Music); Fred Ebb (Lyrics)San Francisco PlayhouseJohn Paul Gonzalez & the Kit Kat DancersSince its 1966 Broadway debut and its initial eight Tonys, Cabaret has continued to evolve through several major, award-winning revivals in both New York and London, becoming ever darker, starker, and rawer with each new production during its … [Read more...] about “Cabaret”
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“Indecent”: Day 8, Play 9, TheatreEddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Indecent Paula Vogel Oregon Shakespeare Theatre The Cast of Indecent As a violin hauntingly plays a song unknown but still quickly familiar in its sounds and rhythms as Eastern European Jewish, we see eight pairs of shoes at the stage’s edge – eerily reminiscent for any of us who have been to Budapest and have seen the moving memorial there to … [Read more...] about “Indecent”: Day 8, Play 9, TheatreEddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“Cambodian Rock Band”: Day 5, Play 6, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Cambodian Rock BandLauren Yee, with Songs by Dengue FeverOregon Shakespeare FestivalJoe Ngo, Abraham Kim, Brooke Ishibashi, Jane Lui & Moses VillaramaA play about family displacement, trauma, and massive genocide is not a play one would normally expect often to laugh, to tap one’s foot to rock music, or to walk out feeling uplifted and inspired. But when the play is … [Read more...] about “Cambodian Rock Band”: Day 5, Play 6, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“All’s Well That Ends Well”: Day 4, Play 4, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
All’s Well That Ends WellWilliam ShakespeareOregon Shakespeare FestivalRoyer BokusCan anything actually end well in a play where for every good, there is a bad; for every show of trust, there is a betrayal of deceit; for every wise counsel, there is an insult full of biting cynicism. Opposites meet, blend, clash, fight, make love, make war, make peace. The sexes pit … [Read more...] about “All’s Well That Ends Well”: Day 4, Play 4, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“Mother Road”: Day Two, Play Two, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Mother RoadOctavio SolisOregon Shakespeare FestivalMark Murphey & Tony SanchoSeventy-plus years have past since the Joad family of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath joined a parade of desperate migrant farmers, all leaving their starving lives in Dust-Bowl-ravaged and looking for the lush life they saw painted on fruit crates from California. Two Joads – a mother and her … [Read more...] about “Mother Road”: Day Two, Play Two, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“Passion”
PassionStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)Custom Made Theatre CompanyJuliana Lustenader & John MelisTwo voices intertwine as their beautifully sung notes erotically embrace in an opening song that mirrors the locked eyes, the probing hands, and the lip-to-lip brushes of two lovers singing “Happiness” in duet:“I’ve never known what love was ...But now, … [Read more...] about “Passion”
“Once”
OnceEnda Walsh (Book); Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglov (Music & Lyrics)(Based on the Movie by John Carney)42nd Street Moon The Ensemble of OnceEven if the pre-show were the show, how could one not rush to pocket a ticket for 42nd Street Moon’s regional premiere of Once? Thirteen hand-clapping, body-swaying, and foot-stomping singers – all also musicians – fill the … [Read more...] about “Once”
“One Man, Two Guvnors”
One Man, Two GuvnorsRichard Bean(Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo GoldoniWith songs by Grant Olding)Palo AltoPlayers The Cast It only takes the stumbling entrance of Doug Santana onto the stage in the persona of Francis Henshall – the servant of two ‘guvnors’ – to ascertain immediately that Palo Alto Players has a rollicking, riotous hit on its … [Read more...] about “One Man, Two Guvnors”
“Oedipus El Rey”
Oedipus El ReyLuis AlfaroMagic TheatreGendell Hing-Hernandez, Armando Rodriguez, Esteban Carmona & Juan Amador“Do we lay down and take what the world has given us?Or do we break down the cycle, the system, and tell new stories?Can we live the story not yet told and the possibility not yet imagined?Or are we fated?”Ten years ago, Magic Theatre staged the world premiere of … [Read more...] about “Oedipus El Rey”
“Kiss My Aztec!”
Kiss My Aztec!John Leguizamo and Tony Taccone (Book)Benjamin Velez (Music and Arrangements)David Kemp, Benjamin Velez & John Leguizamo (Lyrics)Berkeley Repertory Theater KC de la Cruz, Chad Carastarphen & Angelica BeliardElectricity sparks through the air as the arriving audience is already in full abuzz. After all, big red balloons are bouncing off their … [Read more...] about “Kiss My Aztec!”
“Silent Sky”
Silent SkyLauren GundersonCity Lights Theater CompanyMaria Giere Marquis Maria Giere Marquis’s stunning portrayal of astronomy pioneer Henrietta Leavitt is nothing short of award-worthy. From the moment we meet her, there is no doubt that Henrietta is fiercely independent, absolutely headstrong, and undeniably focused on discovering something big about the … [Read more...] about “Silent Sky”
“Next to Normal”
Next to NormalBrian Yorkey and Tom KittLos Altos Stage CompanyJillian Toby-Cummings & Mitchell MosleyIn 2008, a rock-music-infused premiere at Washington’s Arena Stage hit and dug deep into every topic that the Great American Musical had overall been reticent to put on its stages: lifelong mental disease, paralyzing grief, severe depression, drug abuse, the … [Read more...] about “Next to Normal”
“Kings”
KingsSarah BurgessShotgun PlayersSam JacksonIn the recent midterm elections, over one hundred women were elected to Congress, many being first-timers who defeated long-time, often white-male incumbents. Most ran with a promise to shake up the ol’ boys’ systems and to do some major housecleaning. Common among their pledges were ones like Sydney Millsap’s, “I can do … [Read more...] about “Kings”
“Falstaff”
FalstaffGiuseppe Verdi, with Libretto by Arigo BoitoWest Bay OperaMichael Orlinsky, Kiril Havezov & Richard Zeller“In this great abdomen are a thousand tongues that proclaim my name ... This is my kingdom.” With a measure of self-worth and a confidence in his own attraction to the fairer sex that are almost as mammoth as his rotund belly, Falstaff sings with from his … [Read more...] about “Falstaff”
“American Psycho”
American PsychoDuncan Sheik (Music & Lyrics); Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Book)Ray of Light TheatreKyle Ewalt & Kipp GlassHow possible is it that having the perfectly tanned body that has been honed to the hilt so that every muscle tautly glistens, wearing only the latest and most expensive big-name designer wear, and always eating in the restaurants where most can never … [Read more...] about “American Psycho”
