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Theatre Eddys

Theatre Eddys

San Francisco Bay Area Theater Reviews

Shotgun Players

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

January 30, 2023 by Eddie Reynolds

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

A Small Fire

May 23, 2022 by Eddie Reynolds

A Small Fire Adam Block Shotgun Players If tomorrow I find myself completely without the majority of my sensory powers that only yesterday seemed perfunctory, what would be left for me in life?  No smell, no taste, no sight, no hearing?  What effects would this catastrophic shift have on my relationships – my family, my friends?  How would their lives shift?  Could … [Read more...] about A Small Fire

Passing Strange

March 14, 2022 by Eddie Reynolds

Passing Strange Stew (Book & Lyrics); Stew & Heidi Rodewald (Music) Created in Collaboration with Annie Dorsey Shotgun Players A young, wide-eyed teenager – identified only as “Youth” – is searching for his real self, something beyond his life as a middle-class, black kid in Los Angeles living with his big-hearted, Jesus-loving mom.  His multi-year … [Read more...] about Passing Strange

Vinegar Tom

December 19, 2019 by Eddie Reynolds

A day cannot go by without hearing the accusation of “it’s a witch hunt” by the likes of Trump (i.e., his impeachment) and Netanyahu (i.e., his indictment).  How ironic that two male, ultra-conservatives should be crying victim using a term that beckons to a period in seventeenth-century, European and American history when tens of thousands of truly innocents – mostly women – … [Read more...] about Vinegar Tom

Elevada

November 4, 2019 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

He is a self-proclaimed “online agitator” with four-to-five million followers who rarely leaves his apartment or takes a shower and has never been on a blind date.  She is on her eighth, online-generated, first-date in the past three weeks (alas, no second dates yet).  He has signed a contract with a megacorporation to sell his identity and cease to exist as a person for the … [Read more...] about Elevada

“The Flick”

September 2, 2019 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

The FlickAnnie BakerShotgun PlayersJustin Howard & Chris GinesiEntering the Ashby Stage setting, it is at first confusing where to find the ticketed seat.  Mirroring the regular seating area is another set of seat rows, which after a second look, are clearly those of a small movie theatre.  Looking further, there are the curtained walls with movie-house sconces, … [Read more...] about “The Flick”

“Kings”

May 27, 2019 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

KingsSarah BurgessShotgun PlayersSam JacksonIn the recent midterm elections, over one hundred women were elected to Congress, many being first-timers who defeated long-time, often white-male incumbents.  Most ran with a promise to shake up the ol’ boys’ systems and to do some major housecleaning.  Common among their pledges were ones like Sydney Millsap’s, “I can do … [Read more...] about “Kings”

“KILL THE DEBBIE DOWNERS! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM OFF!”

April 2, 2019 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

KILL THE DEBBIE DOWNERS! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM OFF!Mark Jackson & Beth WilmurtShotgun PlayersNathaniel Andalis, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Gabby Battista, Sam Jackson & Billy RaphealFirst, I must make an upfront confession.  Either I missed all the particular “Saturday Night Live” shows between 2004 and 2010 when various versions of Rachel Datch’s character, … [Read more...] about “KILL THE DEBBIE DOWNERS! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM OFF!”

“Kiss”

September 3, 2018 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

KissGuillermo CalderónShotgun PlayersRasha Mohamed, Roneet Aliza Rahamin, Elissa Beth Stebbins, Wiley Naman Strasser & Phil Wong How many of us gloss over the almost daily headlines that have been on the inner pages of our newspapers or deep in the online news feeds for the past five years about the civil war in Syria?  How many of us hardly notice any more a … [Read more...] about “Kiss”

“Dry Land”

May 27, 2018 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

Dry LandRuby Rae SpiegelShotgun PlayersGrace Ng & Martha BrighamIf there were ever a play that should come with a few upfront “Warning” signs like those we now see on so many consumer goods, perhaps it is Ruby Rae Spiegel’s Dry Land now in a spellbinding, but often difficult-to-watch production at Shotgun Players. --> Warning:- Anyone who may faint at the sight of … [Read more...] about “Dry Land”

“Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets”

November 26, 2017 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic BulletsWilliam S. Burroughs (Book); Tom Waits (Music & Lyrics)Shotgun PlayersThe Cast of Black RiderWhat kind of play will be penned by a writer who, as a young man, shoots and kills his wife while playing with her a drinking game of “William Tell”? Imagine his then discovering an old German folktale where an unsuccessful suitor makes a … [Read more...] about “Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets”

“brownsville song (b-side for tray)”

June 26, 2017 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

brownsville song (b-side for tray)Kimber LeeShotgun PlayersCathleen Riddley & Davied MoralesWith sleepy eyes, we peruse the morning paper or slide through the IPhone news updates; and a too-familiar headline catches our eye.  Another family mourns the shooting death of a teen or 20-something, a kid struck down by a random bullet or one meant for someone else.  We … [Read more...] about “brownsville song (b-side for tray)”

“The Events”

May 12, 2017 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

The EventsDavid GreigShotgun PlayersJulia McNeal & Caleb Cabrera“Everything I thought was solid is un-solid.What’s the root of this unraveling?Events, dear Boy, events.”In small clumps of chatting friends, they gather around the coffee and tea station (complete with its Costco-size Coffee-mate), music in hand and with of course women far outnumbering men, as is usually the … [Read more...] about “The Events”

“Nora”

March 25, 2017 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

NoraIngmar BergmanShotgun Players The Cast of NoraWhen Ibsen premiered A Doll’s House in 1879, controversy immediately erupted when his banker’s wife and mother of three challenges the society’s definition of marriage and walks defiantly away from hers, seeking to discover who she really is beyond those two, domestic titles.  At the time, Ibsen said he was inspired by … [Read more...] about “Nora”

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

October 24, 2016 by Eddie Reynolds Leave a Comment

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Edward Albee Shotgun PlayersDavid Sinaiko, Josh Schell, Megan Trout & Beth WilmurtTruth or illusion?  A marriage based on some sort of perverted but still very real love or one condemned to be a no-exit hell of gotcha games and daily battles?  For over fifty years, audiences have returned time and again to see if the latest … [Read more...] about “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

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Eddie is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle.

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5 E's - Loved It
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Good production but something is lacking or not clicking.
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Below average but had at least one interesting component.
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Waste of time.

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About Eddie

Theatre Critic for the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, writing 150+ reviews annually for Theatre Eddys and Talkin' Broadway (San Jose/Silicon Valley). Read More

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