On discovering the magic of film festivals

I have loved the idea of film festivals ever since I moved to Northern California in autumn of 1981 and ‒ while applying for a job in downtown Mill Valley ‒ saw a stack of programs for the upcoming Mill Valley Film Festival. What is now a world-renowned, 10-day-long cinematic showcase was then celebrating its…

Review: “Romeo & Juliet” in Mill Valley

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.…

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: “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…

Top Torn Tix of 2022 – Part II

Between health-related closures, dwindling audiences, casting challenges, and a couple of big changes in company leadership, there was almost as much drama off-stage as on in the North Bay theatre community in the past year. There was an assumption by some that pandemic-weary audiences (and theatre companies) would seek relief in comedies and small-scale musicals…

Top Torn Tix of 2022 – Part I

Live theatre continued its steady march to some semblance of normalcy in 2022, but health related-closures continue to take their toll on the North Bay theatre community. After a promising start to the year evidenced by an increase in the number and scale of productions presented by local companies, the end of the year brought…

Three North Bay Shows Shuttered by Illness

North Bay theatre companies continue to take illness-related hits with announced cancellations at three different companies. Sebastopol’s Main Stage West lost this weekend’s performances of Ham for the Holidays to an undisclosed illness. The company hopes to reopen the show on Thursday, December 22 and close with a final performance on Friday, December 30. Rohnert…

Review: “Gypsy, A Musical Fable” in Ross

About once a year now, The Mountain Play comes down from atop Mt. Tam’s 3,750-seat Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre and joins forces with the Ross Valley Players to present a classic Broadway musical in the 99-seat Barn Theater at the Marin Art and Garden Center. This year it’s Gypsy, A Musical Fable, the Arthur Laurents/Jule Styne/Stephen…

KSRO Interview – “Gypsy”

My guest on a special “Theatre Wednesday” segment on the November 23 broadcast of The Drive with Steve Jaxon & Harry Duke on KSRO was Dyan McBride from the Mountain Play/Ross Valley Players production of Gypsy. Click below to listen: ********** Click the graphic below for more info: