A Doll’s House, Part 2Lucas HnathBerkeley Repertory Theatre, in a co-production with Huntington Theatre Company Mary Beth Fisher & Nancy E. CarrollAnyone who has ever seen, read, or even heard of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 classic play, A Doll’s House, has probably created some internal scenario of what happens in the weeks, months, and/or years after young wife/mother Nora Helmer … [Read more...] about “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Berkeley Repertory Company
“What the Constitution Means to Me”
What the Constitution Means to MeHeidi SchreckBerkeley Repertory TheatreHeidi SchreckAt the age of fifteen, Heidi Schreck remembers “in addition to being terrifically turned on,” to also being enthralled by “witch trials, theatre, and Patrick Swayze.” As then a high school sophomore in Weeatache, Washington, young Heidi traveled in a circuit around the U.S. to the … [Read more...] about “What the Constitution Means to Me”
“Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes”
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National ThemesPart One: Millennium ApproachesPart Two: PerestroikaTony KushnerBerkeley Repertory TheatreFrancesca Faridany & Randy Harrison1985. Gay men are dying by the thousands while a president refuses to acknowledge their plight. Some hospitals turn them away untreated; the rubber glove and facial mask industry is … [Read more...] about “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes”
“Office Hour”
Office HourJulia ChoBerkeley Repertory TheatreDaniel ChungConsider this: Since Julia Cho’s Office Hour premiered in April 2016 – a play dealing head-on with the threat of gun violence in schools – 28 shootings have occurred in U.S. schools, resulting in at least 44 deaths and 80+ injuries. The event that the playwright says in the Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s program … [Read more...] about “Office Hour”
“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”
“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”
“Monsoon Wedding”
Monsoon WeddingSabrina Dhawan (Book); Vishal Bhadrwaj (Music); Susan Birkenhead (Lyrics)Berkeley Repertory CompanyMembers of the Cast of Monsoon WeddingWith one grand splash of kaleidoscopic colors surrounded by pulsating beats of uplifting music and bodies moving and dancing in all directions, one opening number (“Song of My Heart”) tells us all we need to know that the world … [Read more...] about “Monsoon Wedding”
“Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin”
Hershey Felder as Irving BerlinLyrics & Music by Irving BerlinBook by Hershey FelderBerkeley Repertory TheatreHershey Felder Introduction to My April 2017 Review of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin:When I rate a production a “5 E,” I am saying by definition, “Loved it ... A classic ... would see it again.” In January 2016, I first saw Hershey Felder as … [Read more...] about “Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin”
“Roe”
RoeLisa LoomerBerkeley Repertory Company(In co-production with Oregon Shakespeare Festival and ArenaStage)Sara Bruner & Sarah Jane AgnewAlmost forty-five years later after Justice Blackmun offered the Supreme Court’s decision and in a time when the country is now more divided than ever on almost every important social, environmental, and political issue, nothing still … [Read more...] about “Roe”
“Hand to God”
Hand to GodRobert AskinsBerkeley Repertory TheatreTyrone & Michael DohertyIn a brightly hued room full of rainbows, craft materials, and more than one happy Jesus, a friendly looking sock puppet pops out of a small, make-shift, cardboard theatre and starts telling us his version of the world’s beginning. This is not the Genesis, seven-day version usually coming from a … [Read more...] about “Hand to God”
“It Can’t Happen Here”
It Can’t Happen HereAdapted by Tony Taccone & Bennett S. CohenFrom the Novel by Sinclair LewisBerkeley Repertory TheatreThe Cast of It Can't Happen HereOn an immense wooden floor surrounded by tall brick walls, a group of Ft. Beulah, Vermont townspeople of all shapes, colors, and sizes gathers to set the 1936 scene in the U.S: race riots in cities across the land, the … [Read more...] about “It Can’t Happen Here”
“John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons”
John Leguizamo: Latin History for MoronsJohn LeguizamoBerkeley Repertory Theatre(In co-production with The Public Theatre)John LeguizamoArriving in coat, vest, and tie (but also jeans and sneakers) to hoots and hollers of an already-adoring audience, John Leguizamo immediately announces, “Settle down, settle down ... We have a lot of work to do ... I got to reboot you about … [Read more...] about “John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons”
“For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birhday”
For Peter Pan on Her 70th BirthdaySarah RuhlBerkeley Repertory TheatreKathleen ChalfantMaybe returning for the second time in one season to the hospital bed of a dying father or for the third time to a play involving pirates is pushing the envelope a bit too far. But how could there be any risk when the producing company is the perennially consistent-in-high-quality … [Read more...] about “For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birhday”
“Treasure Island”
Treasure IslandAdapted by Mary ZimmermanFrom the Novel by Robert Louis StevensonBerkeley Repertory Theatre Demetrios Troy as Israel Hands & John Babbo as Jim HawkinsBouncing balls as cannon shot, a wooden box pulled on a rope as a boat crossing the sea, and cut branches to dodge as trees in a thick jungle. Gnarly pirates full of “Arrrrgh,” wild chases and fierce … [Read more...] about “Treasure Island”
“Macbeth”
MacbethWilliam ShakespeareBerkeley Repertory Company Conleth Hill & Frances McDormandYears from now when I look back at all the productions of Macbeth that I have seen from Ashland to London to Edinburgh and many places in between, I am confident that the current rendition at Berkeley Repertory Theatre will be emblazoned in my fondest memories. While the searing, … [Read more...] about “Macbeth”
