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…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Spreckels Theatre Company opens their 2026/27 season with the North Bay premiere of the contemporary musical Dear Evan Hansen. Written by Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, this multi-Tony-Award-winning show exposes the teen angst so prevelant today. It runs in the Nellie W. Codding…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Welcome to Putnam County, where a middle school spelling bee championship takes place with a ragtag collection of juveniles and two clearly biased judges. William Finn wrote the clever words and music to two dozen numbers based on Rachel Sheinkin’s book presented onstage at the Novato Theater Company. Adults play…
by Harry Duke * Musical theatre is an art form that rarely comes with a trigger warning. One wouldn’t think that a show as innocuous as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee would need an alert that the show’s subject matter may cause distressing psychological or physiological reactions, especially in people who have previously…
by Barry Willis * Theatergoers have a few more days to see CenterREP’s bold reimagining of the Tennessee Williams classic The Glass Menagerie. Performed by an all-Equity cast on a shabby-elegant multi-tiered set by Yi-Chien Lee, the show closes Sunday September 27 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts. Directed by Matt M. Morrow…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Cinnabar Theater opens its 54th season with the nostalgia-filled musical Bye Bye Birdie, now running in the Warren Auditorium at Sonoma State University through Oct. 4. The Broadway musical (with book by Michael Stewart, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Lee Adams) won several Tony Awards in 1961 including…
by Harry Duke * The age-old art versus commerce debate takes center stage in The 222’s production of John Logan’s Red. Amy Kossow directs the factually-based but fictionally woven two-hander about artist Mark Rothko that’s now running at the Paul Mahder Gallery in downtown Healdsburg through Sept. 20. For those unfamiliar with Rothko, he’s generally…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Don’t hate me, but I have never been much of a fan of Stephen Sondheim musicals (except for West Side Story.) Sondheim’s Follies, now being presented by Sonoma Arts Live through September 27 on the Rotary Stage at the Sonoma Community Center, changed my sentimental mind. James Goldman wrote the…
by Barry Willis * Decades of Cuba’s revolution unfold in the microcosm of an elaborate kitchen in a stately old home in Eduardo Machado’s The Cook, at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre through October 11. The perfect focal point for the venue’s steeply-raked three-sided seating, Tanya Orellana’s huge stunning set exquisitely captures the decadence of old…
