Rush Beyond the Lighted Stage

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (review)

Geddy Lee sounds like Steve Jobs. And he looks a bit like Lennon with a twist of mystical fu-manchu.
The RIng Cycle - San Francisco Opera

The Magic Begins Again: Das Rheingold at San Francisco Opera

We take our Wagner seriously in this town. Despite the 135 years since this was first performed as a cycle in Bayreuth Germany in 1876, the Ring is always new, always worth plumbing – and accordingly, we treat it with a combination of gravitas and hype not seen elsewhere.

Theater Review: ‘Gypsy’ at Hillbarn

Throughout the first act of the Hillbarn’s Gypsy, I wondered why it seemed so lackluster. Annmarie Martin (Rose) is a commanding vocalist. Dan Kapler (Herbie) and Annmarie are perfectly cast together. The child dancers, especially in the newsboy scene, are incredibly well-focused. The busy opening was hard to pull...

Review: ‘Fly By Night’ gives musicals hope

Perhaps the best part of Fly By Night is that it's anything but cliche. Thankfully we don't see a large ensemble blitz the stage with jumping jacks and cartwheels, wailing at full volume.
Aurora Theatre in Berkeley

Berkeley: Aurora Theater Company announces call for submissions for 6th Global Age Project

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company is proud to announce a call for submissions for its sixth season of the Global Age Project (GAP) festival of new works. The company will choose four new plays to be presented as staged readings with professional directors and actors during the GAP festival...
Eric Petersen, Alan Mingo, Jr. and Haven Burton Photo by Joan Marcus

Theater Review: ‘Shrek the Musical’ celebrates swamp gas, undersized rulers

Or maybe it's what an Elvis flashback what look like on hallucinogens.

The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism

Such true-to-life characterizations may be why Tony Taccone characterizes this play as being about the death of the left, and a love story about the Marxist theory of surplus value.
Curtains - South Valley Civic Theatre

‘Curtains’ – Second-Tier offering from Kander and Ebb still entertains

Set as a murder mystery in Boston in the late ‘50s, this musical within a musical is an amusing send up and romp through a series of behind the scenes shenanigans.
Cutting Ball Theatre - Bay Area Stages

Devised theatre at the Cutting Ball: ‘Tontlawald’

This extended duration provided the cast with time to ripen into these roles – making the the work like a perfectly ripe fruit, bursting the skin at this week’s opening for audience delectation.

My Freakin Kick-A Adventure in Berkeley #aclockworkfreak (Review)

With Troublemaker, playwright Dan LeFranc has created an altogether new universe, with unique words, hipster expressions, and a lot of, well, a lot of... freakin freak.