The Confessions of Lily Dare Charles Busch New Conservatory Theatre Center As two old friends reminisce before a grave whose tombstone they describe as alabaster white due to regular cleanings of baking soda mixed with Jack Daniels whiskey, one notes lovingly and admiringly of the grave’s occupant, “She wouldn’t let a geezer squeeze her tits for less than a twenty.” … [Read more...] about The Confession of Lily Dare
West Coast Premiere
Where Did We Sit on the Bus?
Where Did We Sit on the Bus? Brian Quijada (Book and Music); Satya Chávez (Additional Compositions) Marin Theatre Company When he was in the third grade, Brian Quijada sat in a classroom during a lesson about Rosa Parks contemplating the bus where she took her seat. In the front, he heard, was where the whites normally sat; in the back were the Blacks. Brown-skinned, … [Read more...] about Where Did We Sit on the Bus?
Locusts Have No King
Locusts Have No King Julian Jiménez New Conservatory Theatre Center Jonathan and Marcus are in final prep for a dinner party with their neighbors, Lucas and Matthew. All four live in the same building and work in the same profession for the same institution. All are also in the closet at work and pretty much everywhere else except in the confines of the building … [Read more...] about Locusts Have No King
English
English Sanaz Toossi Berkeley Repertory Theatre As an adult who is attempting to learn another language later in life, I know firsthand how the experience can be both exciting and tormenting, with my altering within minutes between feeling proud of all I know and stupid for all that I still do not. But like most Americans born here, I am not learning another language … [Read more...] about English
The Headlands
The Headlands Christopher Chen American Conservatory Theater There are so many reasons to get your ticket today to see the West Coast premiere of Christopher Chen’s The Headlands at American Conservatory Theater before the last curtain on March 5: For anyone who lives in or near San Francisco, the play is like a SF love fest, featuring some of the most … [Read more...] about The Headlands
In Every Generation
In Every Generation Ali Viterbi TheatreWorks Silicon Valley During the Jewish, Passover Seder, there is a section recounting all the blessings and miracles the Israelites have received; and after each is recited, those gathered around the festival table say, “Dayenu,” “It would have been enough.” In Ali Viterbi’s 2022-premiering play In Every Generationtime travels … [Read more...] about In Every Generation
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
Wives
Wives Jaclyn Backhaus Aurora Theatre Company “He wrote our history not for us, for himself,” eulogizes the first wife of Ernest Hemingway as Wife 2 and Wife 3 nod in agreement. In Wives – Jacklyn Backhaus’ time-traveling, boundary-breaking script packed with playful yet powerful punches aimed at patriarchally told history – women once married to the rich and famous … [Read more...] about Wives
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
Sense and Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility Paul Gordon (Book, Music & Lyrics) Based on the Novel by Jane Austin TheatreWorks Silicon Valley For those who have experienced even a few of the 175 plays and musicals that Robert Kelley directed during the first fifty years of the Tony Award winning company he founded – Theatreworks Silicon Valley – there are much … [Read more...] about Sense and Sensibility
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Jack Thorne Based on Story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne & John Tiffany Curran Theater In a world full of eye-popping, hair-raising, gasp-producing illusions and magic, steep staircases dance as if stars in a ballet; doors and suitcases waltz and twirl; and an ancient, arched ceiling reaching to the heavens transforms … [Read more...] about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Pass Over
Pass Over Antionette Chinonye Nwandu Marin Theatre Company “I got plans to get off this block.” … “How we get off this block?” … “Are we fixin’ to get off this block?” … “Let’s do this shit. Pass over.” On a desolate, dark street where we see only a metal guard rail; a crumbling concrete curb with a few weeds poking through; and a lone, oft flickering … [Read more...] about Pass Over
The Children
What is the responsibility of retired parents to their children? Is it to continue to be supportive, loving, and available, even making sacrifices for them if a grown kid is having problems making it as an adult? Is it to relish and enjoy their grandchildren, spoiling them in ways they could not their own children? Is it to live their own lives, to do the things they now … [Read more...] about The Children
Mother of the Maid
A girl in her late teens announces to her Ma, “Saint Catherine bin’ appearin’ to me,” to which her mother glances up from cleaning burrs from sheep wool and says sweetly, “Oh, she’s a lovely saint; that’s lovely, Joanie.” When the girl describes how the Saint “fills me up … slays me … takes me apart” and that she can feel Saint Catherine “here and here” (her hands cupping her … [Read more...] about Mother of the Maid
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
