"Oh God, no!" A performer from the inspiring Yes Sweet Can was approaching me in the front row at last Friday's show. That's all I could say, and think. It's one of the risks of sitting close to the stage, or in the case of the intimate Dance Mission Theater at Mission...

Bee-hive yourself for the holidays. Fictious girl-group The Coverlettes dust-off their bee-hives for one more go around of 60s tunes and favorite Christmas medleys at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. It's a brisk 70 minutes of light-hearted, lounge-like entertainment with a potpourri of numbers including "He's A Rebel," "You Keep...

Now I know what a French earthquake would look like at the Roda Theatre in Berkeley. Last night when the majestic red drapes start swaying back and forth, the entire rig threatens to collapse. We hold our collective breath. Meanwhile high above, acrobatic illusionist Aurélia Thierrée scurries across matching deep...

Christmas in the Bay Area officially began last night with the opening of a spectacular staging of A Christmas Carol at A.C.T. in San Francisco. This annual tradition should not be missed. Even the most Scrooge-like of humbugs will come away with a wondrous grin. Perhaps the towering Christmas tree in Union...

Set in 1864, A Civil War Christmas is filled with so many luminous scenes and touching moments you almost forget the yuletide history lesson also enclosed in this most welcome theater gift. This is classy theater, told with elegance; it embraces our differences, celebrates this country's storied past, and weaves...

Great news! FAT PIG at Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley has been extended. If you get a chance it's a highly recommended show. Don't forget to watch our interview with the star of the show, actress Liliane Klein. And here is the link to the StarkSilverCreek review by Clinton Stark. In...

by Charles Dickens Adapted by Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh Music by Karl Lundeberg Choreography by Val Caniparoli Directed by Domenique Lozano Based on the original direction by Carey Perloff The Bay Area's favorite holiday tradition returns to A.C.T. with a sparkling, music-infused A Christmas Carol. Featuring mean ol' Scrooge, adorable Tiny Tim, those spooky Christmas...

Is Santa Claus real or is he just a homeless man with a jolly attitude, bursting belly and good sense of humor? Grumpy, burnt-out Karol (Lisa-Marie Newton) must search for the answer when The Man (Michael Johnson) breaks into her home on Christmas eve. His motives are unclear; instead of stealing...

Oh, what would Bing Crosby think—or sing? Yes it's a white Christmas in 1940's Indiana, but they're no chestnuts roasting by the fire. Instead we enter the wacky, even sometimes gloriously campy, world of the Parkers: leg lamps, hound-stealing turkeys, rubber snakes falling from the skies, and grumpy mall...

Through-and-through, fantastic! Yet again I'm impressed with the quality of family entertainment Berkeley Playhouse offers its lucky theater goers. A packed house of kids and parents on Sunday relished in the magic, singing, dancing of this updated version of the venerable The Wizard of Oz. It is first class family entertainment...