Jukebox musicals have become the bread and butter for a lot of community theatres. Minimal casts, simple sets and the built-in audience that comes with a show about a popular singer or musical group are tough for an artistic director to resist. In 1988, playwright Ted Swindley took 27 songs recorded by Patsy Cline and…
My guests on the Thursday, July 12 theatre segment on KSRO’s The Drive with Steve Jaxon were director Michael Ross and actress Karen Pinomaki from Sonoma Arts Live’s Always… Patsy Cline. Click below to hear that interview. *** For more information, go to sonomaartslive.org
The Hunchback of Notre Dame was originally scheduled last season at the Spreckels Theatre Company. The musical, whose development started in Germany and ended in New Jersey (having never made it to Broadway), is an atypical Disney production. More Les Misérables than Little Mermaid, it’s an interesting amalgam of Victor Hugo’s gothic novel and music from…
One might think that the talents behind Downton Abbey and Phantom of the Opera would be odd choices to make a Broadway musical out of a 2003 movie starring Jack Black. One would be correct. School of Rock, now on the San Francisco stop of its national tour, is Julian Fellowes’ and Sir Andrew Lloyd…
In a world of musicals based on movies and TV shows, why not Shakespeare? Such is Illyria, a melodious adaptation of Twelfth Night first produced Off-Broadway in 2002 and now running at 6th Street Playhouse. Don’t let the words ‘Shakespeare’ and ‘musical’ alarm you. Peter Mills has written a book and score that takes the…
For theater lovers, this time of year is a little like Christmas as North Bay theater companies take turns revealing the plays and musicals they have planned for 2018/2019. NBS&S has already announced the upcoming seasons of several companies, including Spreckels, Main Stage West, and Sonoma Arts Live. Here are three other recent season announcements…
Guests on my Thursday, June 21 theatre segment on KSRO’s The Drive with Steve Jaxon included actors Kelly Hitman and Caleb Noal from the Raven Players production of Shrek, The Musical. Click below to hear that interview. *** For more information, go to raventheater.org
Transcendence Theatre Company opens its seventh season of “Broadway Under the Stars” in Jack London State Park with Stairway to Paradise, the first of four staged concert events scheduled this year. The company takes performers with Broadway, touring company, film and television experience and creates an original themed musical revue around them. This year’s…
The Spreckels Theatre Company of Rohnert Park has officially announced their schedule of shows for the 2018 – 2019 season. A total of six productions are planned for the year with three planned for the Bette Condiotti Experimental Theatre and three planned for the 550-seat Nellie W. Codding Theatre. In run order, the season consists…
Two theatre workhorses have galloped onto North Bay stages. Cinnabar Theater’s The Fantasticks, the 1960 musical that ran for a record 42 years Off-Broadway, is a modest production with a sweet score and engaging performances. Neighbors Mrs. Hucklebee (Krista Wigle) and Mr. Bellomy (Michael Van Why) each have a child they wish to fall in…
North Bay Stage and Screen 