Review: “Ride the Cyclone: The Musical” in Santa Rosa

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…

Review: “Sweeney Todd” in Mill Valley

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…

Preview: 2025 North Bay Holiday Theatre

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…

Review: “9 to 5 the Musical” in Novato

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.…

Review: “9 to 5 the Musical” in Novato

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.…

Review: “A Chorus Line” in Santa Rosa

by Harry Duke It’s been 50 years since Michael Bennett’s A Chorus Line took Broadway by storm. The musical tale of the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of those who seek a life in the theatre won nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize and held the record for longest running Broadway musical for 14 years.…

Review: “A Night with Janis Joplin” in Sonoma

by Harry Duke Jukebox musicals, with few exceptions, are not known for their intricate plots or dramatic surprises. They exist to provide their audiences with musical comfort food. Case in point, the Sonoma Arts Live production of A Night with Janis Joplin. The show is heading into its closing weekend on the Rotary Stage in…