Review: “Kinky Boots the Musical” in Mill Valley

Watch it, Mill Valley! Your quiet little burg is currently under siege from what may be (according to some pundits and politicians) the greatest threat our nation faces in these troubled times. Lock your windows and bolt your doors because attendees of the latest show at the Throckmorton Theatre have reported multiple sightings of… drag…

Review: “Smart People” in Santa Rosa

Conversations overheard during the intermission of a show often provide fascinating insights into an audience’s immediate reaction to what they’re experiencing. Topics can range from the temperature in the theater (“too cold”) to the running time of the first act (“too long”) to the volume level of the actors when delivering dialogue (“too low.”). All…

Review: “Hay Fever” in Healdsburg

Eccentric families have long been a source of humor for popular entertainments from TV’s Addams Family to film’s Royal Tenenbaums. Kaufman and Hart’s You Can’t Take It with You may be the preeminent stage production on the subject and is one of the most produced plays since its premiere in 1936, but Noël Coward beat…

Review: “Tuck Everlasting” in Rohnert Park

Large-scale, family-friendly musical theatre returns to the North Bay with the Spreckels Theatre Company’s production of Tuck Everlasting. The stage adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s 1975 children’s novel about immortality had a very brief life on Broadway in 2016. If the Spreckels production – running in Rohnert Park through May 21 – is any indication, the…

Review: “Side by Side by Sondheim” in Sonoma

Lovers of musical theatre in general and the works of Stephen Sondheim in particular would do well to head out to Sonoma and catch Sonoma Arts Live’s Side by Side by Sondheim. The musical revue runs on the Rotary Stage in Andrews Hall through May 7. Like most musical revues, there’s not much of a…

Review: “Always… Patsy Cline” in Santa Rosa

When it comes to jukebox musicals, Always… Patsy Cline may be North Bay theatergoers’ favorite. That’s evidenced by the number of productions put on in the area in recent years. Sonoma Arts Live reprised their 2018 production late last year, and now Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse has mounted a Jared Sakren-directed production that runs…

Review: “Pride & Prejudice, The Musical” in Ross

Fans of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice have had a plethora of adaptations of the 19th century novel from which to choose, from the trio of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon theatrical extensions of the story to the recent gay-themed film Fire Island, which transported reasonable facsimiles of Austen’s characters from Hertfordshire, England to the…

Review: “Dry Powder” in Santa Rosa

Fans of corporate dramas like Oliver Stone’s Wall Street and Jerry Sterner’s Other People’s Money might do well to check out the last couple of performances of Dry Powder. The California in Santa Rosa is hosting the Left Edge Theatre production of the Sara Burgess drama through March 26. It’s set in the offices of…

Review: “A Raisin in the Sun” in Santa Rosa

A lot of “firsts” were achieved when Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959. It was the first time Broadway produced a play written by a Black woman and the first Broadway show helmed by a Black director. The show was a critical and commercial success and spawned a film…