Broadway by the Bay: In the Heights (Review)
Don’t be afraid of letting your gaze linger on individual dancers. Choreographer Nicole Helfer has a good sense of what you’ll be looking at —…
Theater and Stage
Reviews and coverage of theater and performing arts in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Berkeley, and beyond. Written by ATCA critic Clinton Stark.
Lizzie blows roof off Portland, bids raucous farewell (Review)
Lizzie is like Downton Abbey, Carrie and American Idiot, mashed up. It's the kind of musical that Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick might have collaborated…
Bedazzled: San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (Review)
From the high camp of Nancyboy (topped with a fascinator and moving gracefully in towering platforms) riffing off Joel Grey to an exquisitely nuanced “Send…
American Buffalo, American Classic
Making parallels between rapacious capitalists and corner store con men is too easy, and Mamet’s too smart to let the story rest there. The heart…
Orphan of Zhao examines price of loyalty
What might have otherwise been a cheap slice’em, dice ‘em suicidal thriller was rendered into something deeply emotive that probed the dimensions of loyalty and…
A Criminal Venture at San Jose Stage Company
Allison F. Rich (Bonnie) and Cliff McCormick (Clyde) give Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty a run for their money.
Channeling the Maestro: Felder takes on Bernstein
Watching Felder’s Bernstein conduct the Vienna Philharmonic play Wagner, you’re immediately in the moment, understanding perhaps, for the first time, Bernstein's take on something so…
Sex and Dinos and Rock & Roll: Triassic Parq
Warning: Triassic Parq at Ray of Light Theatre is like certain psychedelics. You'll end up loving everyone - and yourself - a little bit more.
Chained and Unchained: Africa Bound
Anderson’s research of the historical context of 'pen/man/ship' is evident in every line. However, she doesn't overwhelm you with historical detail, letting the characters steer…
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…