MTJA Announces Nominees for 2025 Norbay Theater Awards

The Marquee Theater Journalists Association has announced the nominees for their 2025 MTJA Norbay Theater Awards. The Association, originally formed by a group of Sonoma County-based theater journalists in 2015 but dormant since the COVID pandemic in 2020, has reformed and restarted their awards program in affiliation with the North Bay Bohemian. There are 16…

MTJA Announces Resumption of Annual Theater Awards

The Marquee Theater Journalists Association, a North Bay-based critics group originally formed in 2015 but dormant since the pandemic, has announced their “rebooting” and the resumption of their annual theater awards program. The following message was emailed on September 1 to the leaders of the North Bay theatre community from MTJA member Harry Duke: Back…

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…

Review: “Oliver!” in Napa

Napa’s Lucky Penny Community Arts Center opened just about ten years ago with a production of Lionel Barts’ classic musical Oliver! The musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist has long been an audience favorite since its debut at a Southwest London theater in 1960. It’s a big show, in many ways, and not the…

Preview: 2024 North Bay Holiday Theatre

The holiday season will soon be upon us and with it a plethora of live theatre choices with which to escape pushy crowds, long lines, traffic, overbearing relatives, and the thought of what January 20, 2025 holds in store for our nation. There’s a conspicuous absence of productions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol this…

Review: “Small Mouth Sounds” in Yountville

You’ve probably heard of this new age, hippy dippy thing that many people, overwhelmed with today’s hectic pace of life, are doing: a silent retreat.  This is where you go to a retreat center for a few days or even a week, and do not speak to anyone the entire time.  The idea behind this…

North Bay Theatre Companies Snag 59 SFBATCC Award Nominations

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle announced the nominations for their 47th Excellence in Theatre Awards and North Bay theatre companies received 59 nominations over 18 categories. Active since 1976, the Circle rewards excellence in all phases of theatrical production through the Circle’s annual awards. The Circle eliminated gender distinction in their performance…

North Bay Holiday Show Preview

If the displays in Costco are any indication, the holiday season apparently began in mid-September. How odd then that theatre companies seem to wait until mid-November to unveil their holiday-themed productions. This season, North Bay audiences in search of holiday entertainment will have a variety of shows from which to choose from the traditional to…