Theater review: ‘Brief Encounter’ a masterful composition of classic cinema and theater

Lights, camera, action! The romance of classic cinema—think Humphrey Bogart—married with the immersion of live theatre whisked me off for a brief rendezvous. It started innocently as any other theatre visit to the ACT on opening night; some murmur of excitement is always expected with the rolling out of the...

Broadway San Jose: ‘Riverdance’ throws a party of dance, song and music, Irish-style

I glanced at my watch; ten minutes until the first of eight performances of Riverdance at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts was to commence. It seems a little unreal that I made it to my seat after starting my day at 4 am EST at Ottawa International...

Theater Review: TheatreWorks’ ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ elegant, touching

In the end hope prevails in TheatreWorks' To Kill a Mockingbird. And despite a down South journey involving serious—and very relevant—issues including racism, rape, and justice, we're left feeling inspired and convinced that humanity can triumph. Yes, Harper Lee's classic novel still packs emotional punch. In fact, it serves as a...
The Fantasticks, SF Playhouse 7

Theater Review: ‘The Fantasticks’ at SF Playhouse

To a generation, The Fantasticks is timeless; there's a reason why it's the longest running musical in history with an astonishing 17,162 performances over its original 42-year run.

Teatro ZinZanni: Hail Caesar!

Clint, in the end, rises to the occasion and breaks out his version of Bono moves on stage.
Naughty & Nice - Aurora Theatre Company

Aurora Theatre Company plans a ‘Naughty & Nice’ Christmas

NAUGHTY & NICE is sure to be a yuletide treat.
Berkeley Rep

The Composer Lives On: Berkeley Rep adds performances of popular Snicket show

Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead features text by bestselling author Lemony Snicket and a score by (living) composer Nathaniel Stookey.
Womanizer Mr Malcomb (left to right - Rich Dymer) has a good time with Mrs. Shankland (Nicole Martin) while his girlfriend Miss Cooper (Ruth Sieber) looks on in Hillbarn Theatre's Separate Tables.

Separate Tables opens at the Hillbarn

Hillbarn Director Hunt Burdick stood this piece on its head by heightening the action so that it plays as over-the-top British humor instead of high drama.
Drowsy Chaperone

Review: ‘Drowsy Chaperone’ energizes audience

If an overweight, overwrought, middle-aged, whiny nebbish can be an oracle, Lopez has it down as he expounds at length on the action on the other side of the stage.
A Streetcar Named Desire - Dragon Theatre, Palo Alto

Review: A Streetcar Named Desire opens at the Dragon

Hagedorn gives us a Blanche who is compos enough to know she needs to confabulate – and compelling enough that she has the audience’s sympathies for a psyche held together with spit and baling wire.