by Cari Lynn Pace * Santa Rosa Junior College’s Theatre Arts Department is the first out of the gate of what is sure to be a plethora of productions throughout the Bay Area of Disney’s Frozen, The Broadway Musical. It’s a grand scale production capturing the best of fantasy and fine singing. The smash Broadway…
by Harry Duke* Local audiences seeking a solid presentation of an American theatrical classic actually have two very diverse choices right now. The Raven Performing Arts Theater hosts the Raven Players’ production of Stephen Sondheim’s massive macabre musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street while The 222 offers Sam Shepard’s more intimate fraternal…
by Cari Lynn Pace * I was a teenager when two “monster comedy” shows aired on network TV in 30-minute black and white episodes from 1964 to 1966 (and in reruns ever since.) The Munsters and The Addams Family delighted us with their weird antics and bizarre proclivities which contrasted with and confused the outside…
by Woody Weingarten * Harold Pinter sure packs a brainload into his plays. Take Betrayal, which is on stage at Marin Theatre through Nov. 15, for example. • It’s tautly dramatic, with its pinpoint focus on a seven-year affair, predominantly in the ‘70s, between Emma, an art gallery owner played by Liz Sklar, one of…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Harold Pinter penned 29 plays on his way to becoming a major dramatist of the 20th century and earning the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature. Marin Theatre has taken on the British playwright’s challenging Betrayal. Carey Perloff directs the production running in Mill Valley through Nov. 15. Perloff has a…
by Barry Willis * An old Napa Valley legend morphs into an outrageous musical comedy at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center in Napa through November 8. The decades-old story purports that the hills surrounding the valley are home to hybrid critters—part ape, part bat, and with the aid of a mad scientist in the…
by Harry Duke * Most theatregoers familiarity with the works of George Bernard Shaw begins and ends with his play Pygmalion, the source material for the classic musical My Fair Lady. His other plays range from historical dramas to comedies of manners. All contain elements of social criticism of their time. His works usually get…
by Harry Duke * When I see a show late in its run, or the run itself is short, I’ll take some time and provide a short take on the production… Dear Evan Hansen – Spreckels Theatre Company, Rohnert Park Pluses: excellent performances by veterans and new talent, technical elements Minuses: a wretchedly irresponsible book…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller’s powerful drama about a man spiraling into oblivion, is the latest triumph for Ross Valley Players at The Barn Theater above the Marin Art & Garden Center in Ross. Director Adrian Elfenbaum notes that nearly 100 actors auditioned for roles, an amazing turnout yet…
by Harry Duke * To many, Death of a Salesman is the classic American play. From its Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in 1949 through multiple revivals, theatre companies return again and again to Arthur Miller’s dissection of the American dream to draw audiences. The Ross Valley Players open their 97th season with…
