The Lunchbox Ritesh Batra (Book & Co-Lyrics); The Lazours (Music & Co-Lyrics) Berkeley Repertory Theatre Repeatedly in publicity materials, program, and even the pre-show announcement, "heart, humor, and hope" are the three words used to describe The Lunchbox, a musical now in world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. And admittedly, there may be no … [Read more...] about The Lunchbox
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Tosca
Tosca Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa West Bay Opera With music that flows with abundant passion and fury, with performances directed and acted with creative insight and fervor, and with a setting made grand and glorious by massive and majestic projections, West Bay Opera once again proves with its current production of Giacomo … [Read more...] about Tosca
In the Heights
In the Heights Lin-Manuel Miranda (Music & Lyrics) Quiara Alegría Hudes (Book) South Bay Musical Theatre As our country born of immigrants seeking a better life is only weeks away from celebrating its 250th anniversary, recent immigrant citizens and non-citizens alike feel their lives and livelihood here threatened by a current administration and its cohorts … [Read more...] about In the Heights
Pictures from Home
Pictures from Home Sharr White Marin Theatre There is that box in your closet that you know is there but have not opened in years -- a box crammed with family photos and a history of beach, holiday, dress-up, and back-yard poses. What memories lie there ready to reveal stories you have forgotten or relationships you have not resolved? How much reality is actually … [Read more...] about Pictures from Home
Frozen
Frozen Kirsten Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez (Music & Lyrics) Jennifer Lee (Book) Palo Alto Players Whether one is five, ninety five or any where in between, Palo Alto Players has a hit that is sure to be deemed "hygge" by everyone who is lucky enough to attain a ticket to its current blockbuster, Disney's Frozen. Even that Nordic term for anything that … [Read more...] about Frozen
Mean Girls
Mean Girls Tina Fey (Book); Jeff Richmond (Music); Nell Benjamin (Lyrics) Ray of Light Theatre With a twenty-five-year history of picking musicals "with our gut" that "pack a punch" -- musicals that other companies often shun like Carrie, Jerry Springer: The Opera, an all-female Jesus Christ Superstar, or Lizzie the Musical -- Ray of Light Theatre triumphantly … [Read more...] about Mean Girls
Clouds from an Crumbling Giant: our wild shining days
Clouds from a Crumbling Giant: our wild shining days Shinichi Iova-Koga inkBoat "There is being. There is nonbeing. There is a not yet beginning to be nonbeing. There is a not yet beginning to be a not yet beginning to be nonbeing. Suddenly there is nonbeing." ~Chuang Tzu Has there ever been a time when humans during their short stay on earth did not wonder, … [Read more...] about Clouds from an Crumbling Giant: our wild shining days
Come from Away
Come from Away Irene Sankoff & David Hein (Book, Music & Lyrics) TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Whenever TheatreWorks Silicon Valley combines the masterful artistry, deep-felt values, and insightful creativity of long-time collaborators Robert Kelley as Stage Director and William Liberatore as Music Director, the heart is bound to reign forth in a magical, … [Read more...] about Come from Away
Hamnet
Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell, Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti American Conservatory Theatre, A Production of The Royal Shakespeare Company & Real Street Productions A romance born in the woods between teenagers William Shakespeare and Agnes Hathaway eventually bears a son whose sudden death spawns near unbearable grief as well as inspiration for one of the world's … [Read more...] about Hamnet
The Coast Starlight
The Coast Starlight Keith Bunin San Jose Stage Company A young man's decision to board a train in LA heading to Seattle is one that may likely impact every day of his life going forward unless he decides in the next few hours to get off and return to where he started in San Diego. The secret he carries will not be conveyed to any of the other five people who share … [Read more...] about The Coast Starlight
The Monsters
The Monsters Ngozi Anyanwu Berkeley Repertory Theater, in a Co-Production with La Jolla Playhouse In an octagonal space called the Cage, a bare-chested, bare-foot fighter with rippled muscles kicks, jabs, lands punches, and overcomes an unseen foe. The reigning MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) champion returns to a fan-empty locker room sans any sign of victory, looking … [Read more...] about The Monsters
The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?
The Goat Or, Who Is Sylvia Edward Albee Shotgun Players Martin's life seems about as perfect as it can get. He has just received the architect world's highest award (the Pritzker); he has recently won a contract to design a $200 B Future City in the wheat fields of Kansas; and he has been married for twenty-two years to Stevie, a woman whom he admits, "We've … [Read more...] about The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?
Our Class
Our Class Tadeusz Slobodzianek, Adapted by Neman Allen Z Space and Arlekin Sitting in a semi-circle in front of a mammoth, back-wall chalk board, ten people -- obviously in the roles of young children -- nervously struggle to read lines from their books. They introduce themselves by what their parents do and what they one day hope to do for a living (e.g., … [Read more...] about Our Class
Macbeth
Macbeth William Shakespeare Modern Translation & New Version by Migdalia Cruz Magic Theatre, in partnership with Play On Shakespeare In a dark, dingy subterranean world where the sounds of New York's traffic and sirens shatter a steel and concrete atmosphere peppered sporadically by a passing subway's overhead lights, a kingdom of street-trained goons with … [Read more...] about Macbeth
Dial M for Murder
Dial M for Murder Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the Original by Frederick Knott City Lights Theater Company Packed with edge-of-your-seat suspense, more twists and turns than San Francisco's Lombard Street, and tons of intriguing clues scattered throughout, Dial M for Murder for over seventy years has been an audience favorite on stage, TV, and film. Combining … [Read more...] about Dial M for Murder
