Review: “Aztlán” in San Francisco

by Beulah F. Vega * San Francisco’s Magic Theatre is just a quick hop over the Golden Gate and should be on the radar of every North Bay theatre lover. Their current production of Luis Alfaro’s Aztlán, which they commissioned, has had its run extended through July 20. Kinan Valdez directs the story which flits…

Review: “The Last Ship” in San Francisco

The plight of British laborers dealing with the changing economic world in the 1980’s has been a major plot element in a number of successful musicals. From the redundant steel workers of The Full Monty to the striking coal miners of Billy Elliot, the issue of (mostly) men dealing with job elimination often took a…

Review: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in San Francisco

Most folk’s exposure to Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory came through reading the book or watching the somewhat renamed 1971 Gene Wilder film. “Charlie” purists rejected Tim Burton’s 2005 cinematic take on the tale as too dark and weird. Well folks, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. San Francisco’s SHN Golden Gate Theatre is…

A Day at SFFILM 2019

I’ve been covering the San Francisco International Film Festival for over ten years now, so long that it’s changed its name. Now it’s known as the SFFILM Festival and it’s running now through April 23 at a variety of venues in the Bay Area. My day began with a “check-in” at the Festival Lounge. This…

Review: “Hello, Dolly!” in San Francisco

Anyone going to a performance of Hello, Dolly! – running now at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco through March 17 – with an appetite for an enlightened look at male/female relationships is likely to leave quite hungry. The current national tour of the 2017 revival of the 1964 Broadway smash based on…