My guest on the first of two 12/04/25 “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 was Britta Rae from the Transcendence Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Broadway Holiday 2025. The show will have multiple performances in Santa Rosa at the Sonoma Country Day School on Dec. 13 & 14, and then in Sonoma at…
by Cari Lynn Pace With a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods involves crossing the paths of multiple characters from several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. It’s an ambitious undertaking for any theater. Challenges include strong solo voices, complex lyrics, live orchestral music, clever choreography, creative costumes, and…
When I see a show late in its run, or the run itself is short, I’ll take some time and provide a short take on the production… Bootycandy – Left Edge Theatre, Santa Rosa Pluses: script, performances Minuses: a bit disjointed, a bit long Playwright Robert O’Hara claims that every character in Bootycandy crossed his…
by Cari Lynn Pace Ride the Cyclone: The Musical is a dazzling theatrical event directed by Sarah Wintermeyer. The Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts program impresses with this professional quality show. Enter the lobby and be surrounded with clowns, sequined dancers, tarot readers, costumed dancers, and hanging streamers. Take a cushy seat in the…
My guests on the 11/13/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 FM were Laura Downing-Lee, Waylon Hessler, and Nora Summers from the 6th Street Playhouse production of A Christmas Story: The Musical. This show runs in 6th Street’s GK Hardt Theatre from November 21 through December 21. Click below to listen: ********** Click…
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…
If there’s one word to describe North Bay theatre companies’ choices for their 2025 holiday productions, it’s “familiar”. One company is repeating their selections from last year while two others bring back chestnuts whose memories still linger from their successful mounting on other local stages. Rohnert Park’s Spreckels Theatre Company is the company with two…
My guests on the 11/06/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 FM were Sarah Wintermeyer and Chase Thompson from the Santa Rosa Junior College Theater Arts production of Ride the Cyclone: The Musical. This rollercoaster of a show runs in the Burbank Auditorium on the SRJC campus from November 14 through November 23.…
When I see a show late in its run, or the run itself is short, I’ll take some time and provide a short take on the production… Into the Woods – Spreckels Theatre Company Pluses: cast, live orchestra, costumes, puppetry work Minuses: show length, repetiveness, audio issues Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe started to…
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.…
North Bay Stage and Screen 