The Road to MeccaAthol FugardPear TheatreDiane Tasca & Brianna Mitchell Under the sensitive, gentle, and highly intuitive-driven direction of Elizabeth Kruse Craig, Pear Theatre presents a staging of The Road to Mecca that boasts a cast of three that could hardly be more perfect to tell this beautifully moving and yet importantly challenging story of a woman who … [Read more...] about “The Road to Mecca”
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“Skeleton Crew”
Skeleton CrewDominique MorisseauMarin Theatre CompanyMargo Hall, Lance Gardner & Christian ThompsonFAYE: “You ‘fraid of ghosts?”DEZ: “Them assembly line ghosts? Hell yeah. ...Say them empty plants a breeding ground for ‘em.”The winter of 2008 was more than just cold and windy for Detroit. It was a time when the year-old Great Recession was blowing hard through … [Read more...] about “Skeleton Crew”
“Still at Risk”
Still at RiskTim PinckneyNew Conservatory Theatre CenterThe Cast of Still at RiskAs the final decade of the twentieth century was just beginning, an article in the July 16, 1990 New York Times reported that in the U.S., “212 cases of full-blown AIDS are diagnosed every day; there is one AIDS death every 12 minutes; and a new case of infection every 54 seconds.” At a time … [Read more...] about “Still at Risk”
“Man of La Mancha”
Man of La ManchaDale Wasserman (Book); Mitch Leigh (Music); Joe Darion (Lyrics)Custom Made TheatreEdward Hightower as Don QuixoteAndy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Roberta Flack, Elvis, Cher, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are just a few of the many who have recorded what is surely one of the most enduring standards to emerge from an American musical. And while every … [Read more...] about “Man of La Mancha”
“Our Great Tchaikovsky”
Our Great TchaikovskyHershey Felder (Book); Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Music)TheatreWorks Silicon ValleyHershey Felder The musical chameleon Hershey Felder, who has transformed himself at the keyboard body and soul from Bernstein to Beethoven to Berlin and has at least annually for the past several years taken the Bay Area by storm, returns to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in … [Read more...] about “Our Great Tchaikovsky”
“Watch on the Rhine”
Watch on the RhineLillian HellmanBerkeley Repertory TheatreSarah Agnew, Caitlin O'Connell & Elijah AlexanderIn April 1941 – eight months before Pearl Harbor – history tells us that pockets of America were divided in their loyalties and biases concerning the events going on in Europe and that many in America wanted to put their heads in the sand and hope that the U.S. would … [Read more...] about “Watch on the Rhine”
“Around the World in 80 Days”
Around the World in 80 DaysAdapted by Mark Brown from the Novel by Jules VerneTheatreWorks Silicon Valley The Full CastThere are times when going to the theatre should be just for the fun of it, with nothing to be learned and with no heavy messages. After the year that we in the audience have endured in 2017 with all the troubling turbulence in our political and … [Read more...] about “Around the World in 80 Days”
“Shakespeare in Love”
Shakespeare in LoveBased on the Screenplay by Tom Stoppard and Marc NormanAdapted for the Stage by Lee Hall, Marin Theatre CompanyAdam Magill and Kenny Toll“Shall I compare … compare … compare thee … to a mourner’s play?”A young Will Shakespeare struggles to find the word -- any word -- to start his latest sonnet. Only after a whispered “summer’s day” comes from his best … [Read more...] about “Shakespeare in Love”
“Aladdin”
AladdinAlan Menkin (Music); Howard Ashman, Tim Rice & Chad Beguelin (Lyrics); Chad Beguelin (Book)SHNThe Cast of AladdinWith exotic, kaleidoscopic colors of every hue imaginable, Disney’s Aladdin bursts onto the SHN Orpheum stage in a touring version that has more elaborate scene changes, more dazzling costumes, and more jumping tumbling, and even flying cast members than … [Read more...] about “Aladdin”
“The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler”
The Further Adventures of Hedda GablerJeff WhittyDragon Productions TheatreCaitlin Papp & Juanita HarrisIn a wonderfully directed and acted production at Dragon Productions Theatre, The Further Adventures of Hedda Gableris a hilarious, Vaudevillian-like glimpse of the afterlife of fictional characters. This is a first-class, must-see outing that will … [Read more...] about “The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler”
“Small Mouth Sounds”
Small Mouth SoundsBess WohlAmerican Conservatory Theatre The Cast of Small Mouth SoundsWhat happens if we allow silence to dominate our world – at least the silence of our own voices? What might we hear if words no longer clutter our day-to-day lives? In Bess Wohl’s 2016 Off-Broadway hit, Small Mouth Sounds, six seekers of needed solace arrive for a week of forested … [Read more...] about “Small Mouth Sounds”
“Barbecue”
BarbecueRobert O’HaraSan Francisco PlayhouseTeri Whipple, Clive Worsley, Anne Darragh & Jennie BrickWe are here “to encircle with truth and love today in the open air ... Today, we step in.” So says a sister to three of her adult siblings gathered together in a city park setting where the main features are a chain-link fence, a picnic table next to the public … [Read more...] about “Barbecue”
“Thomas and Sally”
Thomas and SallyThomas BradshawMarin Theatre CompanyMark Anderson Phillips & Tara PachecoIf Thomas Bradshaw were a writer of history books, then that subject might very well be THE favorite of school kids across America. Instead, he is a playwright who has created a detailed, engaging, sometimes a bit shocking, and often quite funny timeline of our third president and … [Read more...] about “Thomas and Sally”
“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations”
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the TemptationsDominique Morisseau (Book); The Legendary Motown Catalogue (Music & Lyrics)Berkeley Repertory TheatreEpraim Sykes, Jeremy Pope, James Harkness, Jared Joseph & Derrick BaskinIn silver-grey suits with a slight sheen of sparkle, the five appear, fingers smartly snapping at their sides in perfectly synchronized … [Read more...] about “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations”
“An American in Paris”
An American in ParisGeorge Gershwin and Ira Gershwin (Music and Lyrics); Craig Lucas (Book)SHNTaking a 1951 film starring the dancing likes of Gene Kelly and Leslie Carron – a film that is idolized by members of a certain generation and one hardly if at all known by those known as Millennials – and turning that film decades later into a stage musical is nothing short of risky … [Read more...] about “An American in Paris”
