Mother Road Octavio Solis Berkeley Repertory Theatre Seventy-plus years have passed since the Joad family of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath joined a parade of desperate migrant farmers, all leaving their starving lives in Dust-Bowl-ravaged Oklahoma of the 1930s while looking for the lush life they saw painted on fruit crates from California. Two Joads – a mother and … [Read more...] about Mother Road
Berkeley Repertory Company
The Far Country
The Far Country Lloyd Suh Berkeley Repertory Theatre “I do not want to take from America … I want to give to America.” So does the amiable, big-smiling Gee patiently make his case to the persistently doubtful U.S. Inspector to prove in 1909 that he is a naturalized American citizen who – like everyone living in Chinatown in 1906 – lost all his proof-of-birth papers in the … [Read more...] about The Far Country
Cambodian Rock Band
Cambodian Rock Band Lauren Yee, with Songs by Dengue Fever Berkeley Repertory Theatre Presenting the Signature Theatre Production in Association with Alley Theatre, ACT Theatre/5th Avenue & Center Theatre Group, A 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, … [Read more...] about Cambodian Rock Band
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
Octet
Octet Dave Malloy (Book, Lyrics, Music, Vocal Arrangements) Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Co-Production with Signature Theatre Barely acknowledging the others and each appearing a bit hesitant and even lost, eight individuals – four women, four men – arrive one by one to sit in a circle in what appears to be a church basement. With a nod by one, they begin a sliding … [Read more...] about Octet
Gatz
Into a drab, empty office setting with its metal shelves full of boxes that are clearly full of folders full of papers walks a man in his blue shirt and tie who sits at a table and attempts to turn on his computer – a clunky-looking model by today’s standards from some time period fifteen-to-twenty years ago. After several frustrating attempts, he opens a small container on … [Read more...] about Gatz
White Noise
By his own admission, thirty-something Leo has done “everything right” his entire life: good grades, followed all the rules, established himself as a career artist, and has even won a ton of trophies as a bowling champion. But then during one of his habitually sleepless nights when his mid-of-night walk takes him into an upper-class, white neighborhood, the young African … [Read more...] about White Noise
“The Great Wave”
The Great WaveFrancis TurnlyBerkeley Repertory TheatreSharon OmiAlmost every stormy winter, we natives of the San Francisco Bay Area read the tragic news that along the city’s Great Beach or nearby coastal areas someone has been swept to sea by a sudden-appearing “rogue wave,” never to be seen again. In 1979 off the west coast of Japan, two teenage sisters venture out … [Read more...] about “The Great Wave”
“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!”
“The Good Book”
The Good BookDennis O’Hare & Lisa PetersonBerkeley Repertory TheatreDenmo Ibrahim with Elijah Alexander, Lance Gardner & Wayne WilcoxIt is the most published, most translated, most read, and probably controversial book in the world. There are those who base all life’s decisions on its verses and those who sneer at the hypocrisies and contradictions of the people … [Read more...] about “The Good Book”
“Home”
HomeGeoff SobelleBerkeley Repertory TheatreThe Cast of HomeSay the word “home;” and for most of us a flood of both current realities and long-past memories come to mind along with a host of trite but true phrases we oft hear repeated in our own heads: “Home is where the heart is;” “Home sweet home;” “Oh Auntie Em, there’s no place like home.” Pictures of family members … [Read more...] about “Home”
“Metamorphoses”
MetamorphosesMary Zimmerman (From the translations of Ovid by David R. Slavitt)Berkeley Repertory Theatre (in co-production with GuthrieTheater)Steven Epp & Sango TajimaThe element that flows, freezes, and flies into the sky as steam is the medium in which multiple, life-altering transformations occur in each of dozen-plus vignettes of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, now in … [Read more...] about “Metamorphoses”
“Paradise Square: A New Musical”
Paradise Square: A New MusicalMarcus Gardley, Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan (Book); Conceived by Larry Kirwan; Jason Howland & Larry Kirwan (Music); Nathan Tysen (Lyrics)Based on the Songs of Stephen FosterBerkeley Repertory TheatreThe Cast of Paradise Square: A New MusicalIn what is now regarded as the first inner-city slum in America -- one teeming by the early 1860s … [Read more...] about “Paradise Square: A New Musical”
“Pike Street”
Pike StreetNilaja SunBerkeley Repertory Theatre Nilaja SunIn August 2017, I saw and reviewed Nilaja Sun's solo performance of "Pike Street" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. At that time, I contacted several Bay Area companies and suggested they consider bringing her and her compelling story to our local audiences. While I unfortunately am unable to attend … [Read more...] about “Pike Street”
“fairview”
fairviewJackie Sibblies DruryBerkeley Repertory Theatre, In Association with Soho RepNatalie Venetia Belcon, Monique Robinson & Charles BrowingFor the first forty minutes or so, we seem to be watching what one character calls, “a good ol’ family drama ... a slice of life ... nothing big and flashy ... just a real story about real people.” The situations are familiar … [Read more...] about “fairview”
