They were once known as “the little superstars for Jesus.” Now the grown Blaylock Sisters are an atheist former stripper, a mental institution patient who once strangled her ex-lover, and a Vlogger who gives scripture-based advice on her “Good Christian Women” show after making love to her comatose husband upstairs. How they each got from Point A to Point B has much to do … [Read more...] about This Side of Crazy
world premiere
“Free for All: A New “Miss Julie” for a New World”
Free for All: A New “Miss Julie” for a New World Megan Cohen Cutting Ball Theater Charlie Gray, Stacy Ross & Miyaka P. Cochrane The setting is “Soon, San Francisco.” The great frost’s snows are once again falling, and all the City’s hills are glistening in fresh snow. Julie has stepped out of her home at the top of Nob Hill and is going for one last run down … [Read more...] about “Free for All: A New “Miss Julie” for a New World”
“Gandhi”
Gandhi Sujit Saraf Naatak Natraj Kumar & Dancers October 2, 2019 is the 150th birth anniversary of the man born with the first name Mohandas but whom the world now remembers as Mahatma (“venerable”) Gandhi. To honor this occasion, the nation’s largest Indian theatre company, Naatak, is producing a world-premiere play, Gandhi, written and directed by the company’s … [Read more...] about “Gandhi”
“As You Like It: A New Musical”
As You Like It: A New MusicalWilliam Shakespeare (Book & Lyrics); The Kilbanes [Kate Kilbane & Dan Moses] & Phil Wong (Music & Lyrics); Rebecca J. Ennals (Adapter)San Francisco Shakespeare FestivalRegina Morones & Michael Barrett AustinAs part of what many consider his most joyous and romantic comedy, William Shakespeare includes several songs, making the … [Read more...] about “As You Like It: A New Musical”
“Mother Road”: Day Two, Play Two, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Mother RoadOctavio SolisOregon Shakespeare FestivalMark Murphey & Tony SanchoSeventy-plus years have past since the Joad family of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath joined a parade of desperate migrant farmers, all leaving their starving lives in Dust-Bowl-ravaged and looking for the lush life they saw painted on fruit crates from California. Two Joads – a mother and her … [Read more...] about “Mother Road”: Day Two, Play Two, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“Between Two Knees”: Day One, Play One, Theatre Eddys Goes to 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Between Two KneesThe 1491s (Dallas Goldtooth, Sterlin Harjo, Migizi Pensoneau, Ryan Redcorn & Bobby Wilson)Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Co-Commissioned with New NativeTheatreJustin GauthierMultiple massacres of innocent men, women, and children; forced resettlements of native peoples to the country’s most undesirable locales; reeducation of children to forget their native … [Read more...] about “Between Two Knees”: Day One, Play One, Theatre Eddys Goes to 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“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!”
“Anna Considers Mars”
Anna Considers MarsRuben GrijalvaPlaygroundMelissa Ortiz, Katie Rubin, Aaron Wilton & Christian HainesThe polar ice caps are no more. Fiji has disappeared; San Francisco is surrounded by a gigantic seawall. From sharks to lions, species are going extinct in the wild while decades-long droughts send desperate throngs to attack arriving planes as people look for … [Read more...] about “Anna Considers Mars”
“The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective”
The Victorian Ladies’ Detective CollectivePatricia MiltonCentral WorksStacy Ross, Jan Zvaifler & Chelsea BearceWomen viewed by men as second-class while independent-minded, outspoken women are viewed with scorn and derision. Producers making unwanted moves on young actresses as police openly disregard women’s inputs. Businessmen more concerned about their bottom … [Read more...] about “The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective”
“A History of Freaks”
A History of FreaksKatie MayPlaygroundSteven Westdahl & Elena WrightLike millions of kids before her, as soon as Claire went to her first circus as a kid, she dreamed of running away someday to be on the road with the clowns, the animal trainers, and the trapeze artists. Even as a PhD candidate when she became an avowed “researcher” for life– “I study everything and … [Read more...] about “A History of Freaks”
“Undiscovered Country”
Undiscovered CountryAva RoyWe PlayersHunter Scott MacNair, Ava Roy & Chris SteeleIt’s the ol’ West when armed, masked bandits regularly rob frightened passengers riding bumpy stagecoaches, only to turn around the next day to hold up a bank, tying up teeth-chattering customers while taking their jewelry, watches, guns, and money. Only in this version of the Ol’ West, … [Read more...] about “Undiscovered Country”
“Adiós Mamá Carlota”
Adiós Mamá CarlotaLuis ValdezThe Stage in association with El Teatro CampesinoAlison F. Rich and Will Springhorn, Jr.Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino partner with The Stage to premiere a play about a short, little known period of Mexican history when the younger brother, Maximilian I, of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph was named in 1864 by Napoleon III to be Emperor of Mexico, … [Read more...] about “Adiós Mamá Carlota”
“Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story”
Hershey Felder: A Paris Love StoryHershey FelderTheatreWorks Silicon Valley Hershey FelderThe mesmerizing music lures its listeners into a state of relaxed contemplation of the chalk-drawn scenes of the City of Lights that splash one by one on the projected, stage-filling blackboard behind him. At the piano, we imagine for a moment that the great French … [Read more...] about “Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story”
‘In Old Age”
In Old AgeMfoniso UdofiaMagic TheatreSteven Anthony Jones & Nancy MoricetteFor those of us who first met Nigerian immigrant Abasiama Ekpeyoung as a young woman in Houston and have watched her through the happy and troubled times of her long life by seeing some or all of the four prior plays of Mfoniso Udofia’s “Ufot Family Cycle,” seeing her now as an old woman in the … [Read more...] about ‘In Old Age”
“KILL THE DEBBIE DOWNERS! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM OFF!”
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!”
