They’re coming to get you, Napa

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 theatre artists to participate in “Globetrotting” Shakespeare production

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…

Review: “Five Course Love” in Napa

There’s irony to be found in the fact that a guy with the surname “Coffin” wrote one of the liveliest theatrical productions I’ve attended in a while. Five Course Love by playwright/composer Greg Coffin is the show and it runs through March 1 at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center in Napa. The show consists…

Review: “Matilda the Musical” in Napa

Author Roald Dahl’s children’s stories usually feature an exceptional child living in an unexceptional world of abusive adults and oppressive institutions. Whether it’s James traveling in a giant peach or Charlie touring a chocolate factory, the young protagonists usually triumph with the help of a loving grown-up. That formula is at work again in Matilda…

Review: “The Tasting Room” in Napa

Adhering to Mark Twain’s advice to “write what you know”, Napa Valley’s Barry Martin has written and directed a play based on his experiences in the wine hospitality trade. The Tasting Room, running now at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center through August 18, is his comedic take on the individuals found on both sides…

Review: “Cabaret” in Napa

Is there a darker or more depressing Broadway musical than Cabaret? Kander and Ebb’s 1966 musical (with book by Joe Masteroff) won eight Tonys for its original run and four more for its 1998 revival. It’s become a staple of regional and community theatres, as evidenced by the umpteen productions throughout the Bay area in…

Review: “Forever Plaid” in Napa

Musical zombies rise from the dead to sing an evening of ‘50’s pop standards. Let me try that again. On February 4, 1964, The Plaids, an eastern Pennsylvania-based vocal quartet, were headed for a major gig at the Fusel-Lounge at the Harrisburg Airport Hilton when their cherry red Mercury was broadsided by a bus full…