Review: “School of Rock” in Healdsburg

Which of the following does not belong: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, School of Rock. It’s a trick question because they are all Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. Even School of Rock? Yep.  Webber bought the stage rights to the 2003 Richard Linklater/Mike White film…

Interview – “School of Rock” at Raven Players

My guests on the 06/26/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were Declan Hackett and Sylvia Whitbrook from the Raven Players production of School of Rock. The musical runs at the Raven Performing Arts Theater in Healdsburg through July 13. Click below to listen: ********** Click HERE for more information on the show.

Review: “The Real Housewives of Napa Valley” in Napa

Having never subjected myself to watching an episode of any of the hundred-or-so different entries in the “Real Housewives” franchise, I can’t speak as to the source material from which Barry Martin and Rob Broadhurst have derived their musical parody of the genre. I know enough based on the occasional clips that flow through my…

A Second Look: “The Pirates of Penzance” in Santa Rosa

In my original review of the 6th Street Playhouse production of The Pirates of Penzance (running in their GK Hardt Theater through June 21), I noted that the five principal roles were double-cast. The performance I originally attended and reviewed featured the “Bones” cast – Aidan Cumming, Caroline Flett, Drew Bolander, Ginger Beavers, and Ted…

Review: “The Pirates of Penzance” in Santa Rosa

Every well-rounded theatre-goer should see at least one Gilbert and Sullivan production in their lifetime and Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse is presenting a delightful opportunity to do so right now. Their robust production of The Pirates of Penzance runs through June 21.   Perhaps W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s most-produced piece, the comic opera debuted…

Interview – “Company” at Spreckels Theatre Company

My guests on the 05/01/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were Andrew and Maeve Smith, cast members from the Spreckels Theatre Company production of Company. The musical runs in the Codding Theatre at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park through May 18. Click below to listen: ********** Click HERE for…

Review: “Escape to Margaritaville” in Santa Rosa

Jerome Kern. Richard Rogers. Oscar Hammerstein II. Stephen Sondheim. Jimmy Buffett.  Something seems off there. Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Gypsy, Escape to Margaritaville. Something really seems off there. “Ol’ Man River”, “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin”, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. Ok, I think you see where this is going.  In the pantheon of…

Review: “As You Like It” in Napa

Napa Valley College has an excellent track record with youth-centric, large-scale Broadway musical productions. They’ve done a great job with past productions of such shows as Matilda the Musical and Spring Awakening. It was inevitable that Jennifer King, Theatre Arts and Film Studies Coordinator at NVC and founder of Shakespeare Napa Valley, would find a…