The Travelers Luis Alfaro Magic Theatre, in Co-Production with Campo Santo A parable. An allegory. A dream. A mind-bending, fascinating fable. Any and all of these descriptors are possibilities to describe Luis Alfaro’s newest, stage creation, The Travelers, now in a gripping world premiere by Magic Theatre and Campo Santo – a co-production both ethereal and … [Read more...] about The Travelers
Best Bet
The Headlands
The Headlands Christopher Chen American Conservatory Theater There are so many reasons to get your ticket today to see the West Coast premiere of Christopher Chen’s The Headlands at American Conservatory Theater before the last curtain on March 5: For anyone who lives in or near San Francisco, the play is like a SF love fest, featuring some of the most … [Read more...] about The Headlands
Satchmo at the Waldorf
Satchmo at the Waldorf Terry Teachout San Jose Stage Company Coughing and wheezing desperately for his next breath and with shoulders hunched as he stumbles toward the portable oxygen tank in the corner, the elderly man we see entering the large, backstage dressing room still is recognizable at first sight. After all, who else always has a white handkerchief hanging … [Read more...] about Satchmo at the Waldorf
Miss You Like Hell
Miss You Like Hell Quiara Alegría Hudes (Book & Lyrics); Erin McKeown (Music & Lyrics) City Lights Theater Company in Co-Production with Teatro Visión Many a book and movie through the years have chronicled “the great American road trip” across the continent as individuals, friends, and families have ventured into the plains, mountains, and lonely towns in … [Read more...] about Miss You Like Hell
Paradise Blue
Paradise Blue Dominique Morisseau Aurora Theatre Company In Aurora Theatre Company’s award-winning Detroit ’67 in 2018, the sounds of Detroit’s homegrown, Motown music were the background beat of Dominique Morisseau’s funny and frightening, heart-warming and heart-stopping play, Detroit ’67, the first of a trilogy about her hometown and a story that explodes amidst … [Read more...] about Paradise Blue
The Play That Goes Wrong
The Play That Goes Wrong Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields Palo Alto Players Finally, after past, short-handed productions such as Two Sisters (making for a much shorter evening of Chekhov), The Lion and the Wardrobe (forget the Witch), and Cat (a solo musical?), the Cornley Drama Society has recruited enough members to stage The Murder at Haversham … [Read more...] about The Play That Goes Wrong
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Dave Malloy Shotgun Players Having opened November 15, 2022, Shotgun Players’ audience-immersive, modern-sounding opera set in a Russian cabaret setting of 1812 – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy – has already received the highest of accolades from both my fellow critics and especially from … [Read more...] about Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Clyde’s
Clyde’s Lynn Nottage Berkeley Repertory Theatre, In Co-Production with Huntington Theatre Company “The sandwich is your pulpit; it’s where you preach the gospel of good eating.” The lowly sandwich that many of us quickly slap together with little thought or planning rises to a cherished place of honor and homage in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s totally delicious and … [Read more...] about Clyde’s
Sanctuary City
Sanctuary City Martyna Majok Berkeley Repertory Theatre, in Association with Arena Stage Two high school seniors each are seeking sanctuary from a life that fate and family have unfortunately gifted them. B (as in Boy) arrived in this country ten years prior and is now here illegally because his mom overstayed her visa – a mom who now has vowed to leave him and go … [Read more...] about Sanctuary City
La Traviata
La Traviata Giuseppe Verdi, Composer; Original Libretto by Francisco Maria Piave English Version by Donald Pippin Pocket Opera, in Co-Production with Cinnabar Theatre With cheeks flushed against a snow-white, pale face, Violetta Valéry slowly enters pressed against the strong arm of her devoted servant, Annina, who serves as a needed crutch. Gingerly, painfully, … [Read more...] about La Traviata
Dreaming in Cuban
Dreaming in Cuban Cristina Garcia Central Works Breaking boundaries of time, distance, and reality, a swirl of memories, dreams, and harsh realities both clash in conflict and dance in harmony in Cristina Garcia’s beautifully and imaginatively conceived Dreaming in Cuban, now in world premiere at Berkeley’s Central Works. Adapting to the stage her 1992, National Book … [Read more...] about Dreaming in Cuban
The Prom
The Prom Bob Martin & Chad Beguelin (Book); Matthew Sklar (Music); Chad Beguelin (Lyrics) BroadwaySF Oops! Eleanor (the musical) is an opening night flop for long-time Broadway stars, Dee Dee and Barry. Uh-oh! The only show available for Julliard-trained Trent is a non-equity tour of Godspell. Damn! Twenty years in the chorus of Chicago, and Angie has had … [Read more...] about The Prom
Dear Evan Hansen
Dear Evan Hansen Steven Levenson (Book); Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Music & Lyrics) Broadway San Jose After yet another frustrating breakfast with sons who refuse to engage, two mothers of high school seniors each sing in desperation, “Does anybody have a map? Anybody maybe happened to know how the hell to do this?” Heidi’s son, Evan, is reclusive and stumbles … [Read more...] about Dear Evan Hansen
Hadestown
Hadestown Anaïs Mitchell (Music, Lyrics & Book) BroadwaySF Sometimes, there simply are not enough superlatives to do justice. During the Jewish Seder, there is a section recounting all the blessings and miracles the Israelites have received; and after each is recited, those gathered around the festival table say, “Dayenu,” “It would have been enough.” If the … [Read more...] about Hadestown
Ragtime the Musical
Ragtime Terrence McNally (Book); Stephen Flaherty (Music); Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics) Based on the novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Let me begin with an upfront confession. In my humble opinion, if there is one musical that could be called “The Great American Musical,” it is Ragtime. Based on E. L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel by the same name, … [Read more...] about Ragtime the Musical
