Marin theatre companies reach back to 1904,1942, and 2018 for shows to draw audiences into their houses in 2026. A classic drama, a Pulitzer Prize-winning allegory, and a modern musical look at the U.S.’s first women soldiers are what’s on tap for the New Year. The Novato Theater Company is first out of the gate…
by Harry Duke It’s that time of year when critics looks back and attempt to encapsulate an entire year’s worth of productions into one easily read “best of” list. Why? Because it gives them something to do during the slow period between the close of the holiday shows and the onslaught of productions in the…
by Beulah F. Vega The Gift of Nothing, now running at Marin Theater through Tuesday, Dec. 23, begins on a special day when the residents of the Mutts world celebrate by giving gifts to their friends and families. But Mooch the cat (Jordan Covington) has a problem: what to get the dog that has everything?…
by Cari Lynn Pace In a departure from their typical productions, Ross Valley Players delivers the complex and tense thriller Wait Until Dark. Based on the 1966 Broadway cliffhanger which led to the famous Audrey Hepburn movie, this script has been adapted by Jerry Hatcher from Frederick Knott’s original play. Knott wrote spine-tingling plots, including…
by Cari Lynn Pace Sweeney Todd is the malevolent plot likely inspired by the campfire song “Dunderbeck’s Machine” which my Dad sang to us as youngsters. We boisterously sang along as mean old Dunderbeck turned critters into sausages, ultimately getting his just reward. Stephen Sondheim created an amped-up plot of human gruesomeness in this entertaining…
by Harry Duke Much has been said and written about the (then) Marin Theatre Company’s 2017 production of Thomas Bradshaw’s Thomas and Sally. Bradshaw’s historical fiction used a conversation between college students as the framing device to explore the possible relationship between Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings. To say the Jasson…
by Cari Lynn Pace Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks weaves historical facts with imagined emotions in this play-within-a-play about Thomas Jefferson and his slave mistress Sally Hemmings. It’s a powerhouse story that digs deep into the consciousness of today’s sense of propriety. A present-day small theatre troupe rehearses and wrestles with their unfinished period play…
by Harry Duke If there’s one thing this divided nation can agree on, it’s this: Dolly Parton is a national treasure. Consequently, anything affiliated with Ms. Parton automatically starts out with a heap of goodwill. So it is with 9 to 5: the Musical. The Novato Theater Company has a production running through October 12.…
by Cari Lynn Pace You won’t need any coffee to get fired up for this outrageous office comedy. With music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, and direction by Larry Williams, this show is an overtime winner. Novato Theater Company put in long hours to hire three female leads with confident voices and pencil-sharp acting skills.…
by Cari Lynn Pace Ross Valley Players now rehearse a play that’s spoken all in verse. Moliere’s ‘Tartuffe’ is a sensation; French to English script translation. Richard Wilbur uses rhyme to set the play in 60’s time. Tartuffe the hypocrite has power. He will take and all devour. Manipulating son and mother, They are warned…
North Bay Stage and Screen 