Mozart through the mind of Salieri; Cinnabar tackles ‘Amadeus’

“Salieri is a great villain.” So suggests actor Richard Pallaziol, describing the 19th Century Italian composer — and rumored poisoner of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. “Unlike Shakespearean villains,” he says, “who always eventually recognize their villainy, Salieri believes that he is the aggrieved party. He’s not the villain. He thinks he’s the victim.” Pallaziol is currently…

Review: “By the Water” in Rohnert Park

One wouldn’t think a play that deals with the wreckage left behind by a natural disaster would be particularly attractive to North Bay residents right now, but Sharyn Rothstein’s By the Water speaks to what our community is going through. While it’s set in 2012 on New York’s Staten Island after Hurricane Sandy, the human and material…

Review: “Blackbird” in Sebastopol

At a post-show Q & A following the opening night performance of Main Stage West’s Blackbird, director David Lear stated he felt that one of theater’s responsibilities is to make an audience “a little uncomfortable.” He more than succeeds with this production. The lights come up and through the windows of a darkened employee break room…

Review: “Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter” in Santa Rosa

  While time may heal all wounds, a little human kindness along the way doesn’t hurt. That’s the takeaway from the Santa Rosa Junior College production of Julie Marie Myatt’s Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter. Originally produced in 2008 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, it was one of the first works to address the issues faced by…

Review: “The Realistic Joneses” in Santa Rosa

One of the oddest plays I’ve seen in a while, Will Eno’s The Realistic Joneses isn’t particularly real in its examination of two suburban couples who share the same surname. It does, however, often ring true. Set in an unnamed town, Bob and Jennifer Jones (Chris Schloemp and Melissa Claire) are spending a quiet evening…