Daisy Sean Devine Hillbarn Theatre & Conservatory A three-year-old, blonde girl stands in a meadow, holding a daisy and counting to ten in her sweet, high voice as she plucks off petals, charmingly making a few mistakes along the way. As she hesitates after nine, a booming male voice begins counting backwards from ten, much like heard in a rocket launch. Just as … [Read more...] about Daisy
regional premiere
Groundhog Day The Musical
Phil is pissed, big time. That Pittsburg’s best-known, TV weatherman has to drag himself on February 2 to the podunk town of Punxsutawney, PA to provide live coverage for the stupid tradition of having someone declare if a so-called groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not is totally insulting. To make it worse, on his way to the annual ceremony on Gobbler’s … [Read more...] about Groundhog Day The Musical
The Cake
“If cake were free for everybody, there would be a lot less problems in the world.” In fact, or at least so goes Della’s thinking, invite the leaders of ISIS into her cakery – Della’s Sweets in Winston, North Carolina – and a few bites of her butter cream icing might just improve their dispositions for good! As soon as we meet Della in Bekah Brunstetter’s play, The Cake, it … [Read more...] about The Cake
“Once”
OnceEnda Walsh (Book); Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglov (Music & Lyrics)(Based on the Movie by John Carney)42nd Street Moon The Ensemble of OnceEven if the pre-show were the show, how could one not rush to pocket a ticket for 42nd Street Moon’s regional premiere of Once? Thirteen hand-clapping, body-swaying, and foot-stomping singers – all also musicians – fill the … [Read more...] about “Once”
“Archduke”
ArchdukeRajiv JosephTheatreWorks Silicon ValleyJeremy Kahn, Stephen Stocking, Scott Coopwood & Adam Shonkwiler One gun shot and its hapless, men-still-boys perpetrators are the unlikely subjects of a laugh-out-loud retelling of one of history’s darkest moments – World War I’s initiating assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand. Pulitzer Prize finalist … [Read more...] about “Archduke”
“The View Upstairs”
The View UpstairsMax VernonNew Conservatory Theatre CenterNick Rodrigues & Ensemble MembersAs the fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall fast approaches and as we in San Francisco also recall in honor the drag and transgender heroes of the Compton Cafeteria riots of 1966, what better time for us to take every chance to remember those who came before us, to celebrate how far we … [Read more...] about “The View Upstairs”
“The Gentleman Caller”
The Gentleman CallerPhilip DawkinsNew Conservatory Theatre CenterBrennan Pickman-Thoon & Adam Niemann“I don’t like interviewers for the very reason they remind me of what I once said,” he says in his syrupy, Southern flow of clever quips. But a favorable interview is very much what young, boy-looking Tom Williams (“Tennessee for short”) is hoping to receive from the … [Read more...] about “The Gentleman Caller”
“Tuck Everlasting”
Tuck Everlasting Chris Miller (Music); Nathan Tysen (Lyrics); Claudia Shear & Tim Federle (Book)Based on the Novel by Natalie BabbittTheatreWorks Silicon ValleyNatalie Schroeder and Eddie GreyFor anyone who has seen even a few of the over 165 productions that Artistic Director Robert Kelley has directed in his near fifty years at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, then it soon … [Read more...] about “Tuck Everlasting”
“All the Way”
All the WayRobert SchenkkanPalo Alto Players The Cast of All the WayIn the Palo Alto Players’ magnificently produced, regional premiere of Robert Schenkkan’s 2014 Tony winning Best Play, All the Way, we as an audience are challenged to ask ourselves if questionable tactics of a nation’s leader are ever acceptable if the desired outcomes match our own sense of … [Read more...] about “All the Way”
“Cardboard Piano”
Cardboard PianoHansol JungNew Conservatory Theatre CenterGabriella Momah, Howard Johnson, Megan Timpane & Dane TroyFor anyone who grew up in a Southern Baptist church (and then left forever), the hymn “Just As I Am” will strike a deep and perhaps uneasy chord. The slow, soulful tune will surely bring back memories of the congregation singing the “invitational hymn” … [Read more...] about “Cardboard Piano”
“Native Gardens”
Native GardensKaren ZacaríasTheatreWorks Silicon ValleyJackson Davis, Amy Resnick, Michael Evans Lopez & Marlene MartinezPresident Trump has his border issues and fence dreams, but the ignition of accusations and counter-accusations that he has inflamed pale in comparison to the increasing tensions between the Butleys and Del Valles, two sets of neighbors who have just met … [Read more...] about “Native Gardens”
