The Addams Family first appeared on the scene in 1938 in a series of single panel comics drawn by cartoonist Charles Addams and published in the New Yorker magazine and has been a presence in American pop culture ever since. Fairly dark and macabre in nature, the original tone was lightened significantly for the 1960’s…
The proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” takes on added meaning for those rearing a child with special needs or chronic illnesses. The usual ‘village’ of family and friends grows exponentially as caregivers and support services enter the mix. It’s a world with which playwright Amy Herzog is very familiar. Mary Jane is…
What happens when Hollywood comes to town is a well-worn plot device best exemplified by the classic ‘Mayberry Goes Hollywood’ episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Mayberry’s reactions to the arrival of a film company in their quaint Southern town was played for gentle humor as the residents go about changing everything about the town…
Mill Valley’s Curtain Theatre must not have gotten the memo about Summer Shakespeare al fresco in Marin requiring a production of Twelfth Night (two other companies are doing it.) Instead of a comedy, Mill Valley’s Old Mill Park Amphitheatre is the scene of great tragedy as the company presents Romeo & Juliet through Sept. 4.…
North Bay fans of Shakespeare “under the sun” have at least four options this summer including two – count ‘em – two different productions of Twelfth Night going up in Marin. Sonoma County’s entry in this summer of Shakespeare ‘fest’ is The Comedy of Errors. Healdsburg’s Raven Players return to West Plaza Park with a…
There was a period of time when musical theatre creators temporarily averted their gaze from Hollywood as a prime source for material and looked to the British film industry instead. Films like Billy Elliot and Kinky Boots had very successful musical adaptations on Broadway, but the trend started with The Full Monty. Transcendence Theatre Company…
The name Damon Runyon probably means little to most today, but in the early to mid-twentieth century he was a celebrated journalist, sports columnist, and author. His short stories about New York and Broadway contained such colorful characters that the term “Runyonesque” was coined to describe the type of gamblers, gangsters, hoods, and show people…
If Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has the feeling of a school show done large, it should come as no surprise that it was originally commissioned by a London Prep School as a piece for their boys’ choir. This early collaboration of a then-teenage composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and twenty-something lyricist Tim Rice started…
The Venn diagram that displays the relationship between lovers of the works of William Shakespeare and musical theatre probably shows very little overlap. Nevertheless, if you’re in either category – and especially if you’re in that overlap – you should head to Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse and catch one of their remaining performances of…
The 222 is a non-profit, member-supported arts, culture, and entertainment venue that’s housed in the Paul Mahder Gallery in Healdsburg. Open since 2021, to date it’s presented musical programs, literary readings, film presentations, and other community events. Professional theatre now enters that mix with a series of productions programmed by well-known Bay Area theatre artist…
North Bay Stage and Screen 