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”
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“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”
“Luna Gale”
Luna GaleRebecca GilmanAurora Theatre CompanyJamie Jones, Devin S. O'Brien & Alix CuadraOn any given day in the U.S., over 400,000 kids are living in foster care environments, with at least a quarter of those placed by the courts with blood relatives in what is classified as kinship care. Social workers are assigned to each of those children to ensure where they live … [Read more...] about “Luna Gale”
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
The Hunchback of Notre DameAlan Menken (Music); Stephen Schwartz (Lyrics); Peter Parnell (Book)Hillbarn Theatre Randy O'Hara (Quasimodo) & the Gargoyles Based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a stage musical retains the songs of the 1996 Disney film while keeping more of the darker, more serious elements of the novel than does the … [Read more...] about “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
“Day 6, Shows 14-16: TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”
“Day 6: Shows 14-15, TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”Mies JulieYael FarberBaxter TheatreAssemblyThe love of another versus the love of land. Honoring roots of one’s past versus living the promise for one’s future. The leftover familiarities of colonialism versus the still unknowns of freedom. And of course, white versus black.These are … [Read more...] about “Day 6, Shows 14-16: TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”
“Day 5, Shows 13 & 14: TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”
“Day 5, Shows 13 & 14: TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”The Divide, Part 1Alan AyckbournOld Vic, Edinburgh International Festival & Karl Sydow ProductionKing TheatreThe year is 2201, and we are all gathered in a large lecture hall for “The Divide Lectures,” delivered by two professors — a man decked out in all white and a woman in all black — who … [Read more...] about “Day 5, Shows 13 & 14: TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”
“Day 3: Shows 6-9: TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Fringe Festival”
“Day 3 Shows 5-8: TheatreEddys at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”Not about HeroesStephen MacDonaldFlying BridgePleasance What force drives a man who is an avid anti-war advocate in his poetry and personal stance to go back into a war he absolutely no longer believes is legitimate? Further, how could this possibly happen to two poets, two men who have developed a … [Read more...] about “Day 3: Shows 6-9: TheatreEddys Goes to the 2017 Fringe Festival”
