by Barry Willis * This coming weekend (June 26-28) closes Cinnabar Theater’s sumptuous production of The Secret Garden, an operetta of hope and triumph by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon, based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Norman. It’s 1906 and an orphan girl named Mary Lennox (Violet Spears) has returned to England from India, where…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Broadway comes to the North Bay with the opening of Transcendence Theater Company’s 2026 Broadway Under the Stars season and awakens sleepy Sonoma with ain’t too proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. The outdoor production of blockbuster songs and dancing transplanted from the lights of Broadway runs through…
by Barry Willis * Through June 28, Walnut Creek’s CenterREP presents a daunting interpretation of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill: The Musical. Directed by Matt M. Morrow in the Margaret Lesher Theatre, this Pill is in many ways an alternative vision to one launched in April by Marin Musical Theatre Company. Where MMTC’s show was…
by Barry Willis * Fantasy and reality collide headlong for a married woman in Laura Wade’s Home, I’m Darling at Sonoma Arts Live through June 21. Ashley Kennedy stars as Judy, half of a contemporary British couple who have transformed their home into a pastiche of 1950s kitsch—aqua-colored refrigerator and TV, starburst clock, martini glasses,…
by Barry Willis * Named “Playwright of the Year” in 2017 by the Wall Street Journal, Kate Hamill is among the new crop of trendy young writers. Her Sherlock Holmes spoof, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B, is currently running at Ross Valley Players in Marin County. Publicity supplied with that show indicates that…
by Cari Lynn Pace * It’s hallelujah and high praise for Sister Act, now running in Santa Rosa at 6th Street Playhouse through June 27. This stage version patterns the plot of Whoopi Goldberg’s popular 1992 movie. The movie’s rock ‘n roll soundtrack has been scrubbed to feature original rock and soul music by…
by Barry Willis * A hardcore theater fan treats the audience to a fantastical retelling of his favorite early-20th century musical in The Drowsy Chaperone, now running in Napa at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center through June 14. DC Scarpelli stars as the narrator (“Man in Chair”) who describes every aspect of a cast…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Marin County’s Larry Sultan took photos of his parents over a decade, creating a loving tribute to them and an often-annoying pain in the neck for them. Sultan travelled to his childhood home in Southern California each month seeking conversations and photographing his parents’ lives in search of a deeper…
by Cari Lynn Pace * When a stage musical is made into a hit movie, can local singers, actors, and the painted scenery match the excitement of the film’s special effects and celebrity cast? If the production is Mamma Mia!, now being presented by the Novato Theater Company through June 7, the answer is “Yes,…
By Cari Lynn Pace & Barry Willis * Where does embellishment belong in storytelling, if the goal is to create emotional truth? Theater veteran Libby Oberlin directs this extraordinary comedic drama filled with challenging questions on the Monroe Stage at 6th Street Playhouse. You won’t find better acting than this, with incisive dialog and a plot that took seven years to determine the outcome. The…
North Bay Stage and Screen 