2021 was supposed to be the year that live theatre came roaring back, and it did… for a while. By the end of the year, that roar had been replaced by a hacking cough symptomatic of exposure to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Theatres once again began to cancel or postpone performances as casts…
As TV regularly demonstrates, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol can be adapted into just about any scenario. For theatre, just take the plot points and characters, plop them into a modern-day situation and locale, add some songs and – voila! – instant Christmas show! It’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s basically what…
What’s a community theatre to do when it wants to put on a large-scale family musical in the age of COVID? Well, if you’re Napa’s Lucky Penny Productions, you hire Scottie Woodard to direct the show and follow his lead in assembling a really creative design team and cast. Their production of Disney’s The Little…
Fall is the time when a theatre company’s fancy turns lightly to thoughts of a new season. Announcements are made, rehearsals are scheduled, and the sound of buzzing returns to auditoriums as audiences enter and take their seats in support of live performance. After being dark for a year-and-a-half, California’s June “reopening” gave theatre artists…
Napa Valley College Performing Arts ventures where few other North Bay theatres are willing to go with their one-night-only virtual production of the classic Broadway musical A Chorus Line. The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning concept musical captures the spirit and tension of a Broadway chorus audition by exploring the inner lives and bittersweet ambitions of…
‘Tis the time for critics of all ilks to release their “end of year” lists. For almost twenty years, this publication has presented a “Top Torn Tickets” list featuring the year’s best North Bay theatrical productions. Those years, however, had the advantage of having an entire calendar year’s worth of shows to consider. With the…
Zombies soon to be seen in Wine Country No, I’m not referring to the usual plethora of out-of-town tourists after all-day tastings. Napa Valley College Performing Arts has announced auditions for their fall production of Night of the Living Dead. The community is invited to submit video auditions for their upcoming live stream performance of…
North Bay theaters adapt to Covid-19 “Creative people are like the shark that has to keep moving forward to live”, says Barry Martin, Managing Director of Napa’s Lucky Penny Productions. “If we don’t tell stories, who are we?” That “show must go on attitude” continues as local theatre companies adjust to the pandemic-necessitated limitations on…
With the return of live theatrical performances no where in sight, many companies have resorted to Zoom technology to live stream shows while others have found themselves turning their theatres into video production facilities. Napa’s Lucky Penny Productions is the latest to invest in a multi-camera system and has announced a new theatre festival to…
Shakespeare artists from around the world – including the North Bay – will come together digitally to present a live stream performance of The Tempest courtesy the newly launched Globetrotting Shakespeare company. Journeying to Prospero’s digital island are theatre makers and artists representing Shakespeare by the Sea, Prague Shakespeare Company, Atlanta Shakespeare Company at the…
North Bay Stage and Screen 