Review: “Sister Act” in Santa Rosa

by Harry Duke * Adaptations of film and television shows into stage musicals range from the fairly faithful (The Producers, any Disney film) to the barely recognizable (The Addams Family Musical). Sister Act, now running at Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse through June 27, falls into the latter category. Sitcom writers Bill and Cheri Steinkellner…

Interview – “Sister Act” at 6th Street Playhouse

My guests on the 05/28/26 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were actor Hannah Passanisi, choreographer Jorey Cantu, and director Megan Bartlettt from the 6th Street Playhouse production of Sister Act. The show runs in the GK Hardt Theatre from May 29 through June 27. Click below to listen: ********** Click HERE for…

Review: “Avenue Q” in Santa Rosa

by Harry Duke * If you’re a fan of South Park and Team America: World Police, then the stage show Avenue Q should be right up your alley. It’s an adult send-up of Sesame Street, the children’s television classic where humans and puppets co-exist and life’s problems are acknowledged and solved with humor and song.…

Interview – “A Room in the Castle” at The 222

My guests on the 05/21/26 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were Marketing Director Jonathan Wind and stage director Amy Kossow from The 222 in Healdsburg to discuss their West Coast premiere of Lauren Gunderon’s A Room in the Castle. The show has four more performances in the Paul Mahder Gallery from Friday,…

Review: “The Lifespan of a Fact” in Santa Rosa

By Cari Lynn Pace & Barry Willis * Where does embellishment belong in storytelling, if the goal is to create emotional truth?  Theater veteran Libby Oberlin directs this extraordinary comedic drama filled with challenging questions on the Monroe Stage at 6th Street Playhouse. You won’t find better acting than this, with incisive dialog and a plot that took seven years to determine the outcome. The…

Preview: David Templeton’s “All in Favor” in Santa Rosa

by Harry Duke * Where’s a playwright to go after exploring the bounds of outer space and the confines of a parrot cage? For award-winning playwright (and former Bohemian contributor) David Templeton, the answer is “back to school”. Templeton, whose most recent plays Galatea and Featherbaby were well received on both coasts, is premiering his…

Review: “X” in Santa Rosa

by Harry Duke * Dramatic plays in the sci-fi/horror genre are few and far between. Whether it’s budgetary restraints or the difficulty in getting audiences to suspend their disbelief that much, folks interested in seeing that stripe of show usually have limited opportunities to do so. 6th Street Playhouse’s recent production of Marjorie Prime and…

Review: “Hello, Dolly!” in Santa Rosa

by Harry Duke * There is no more quintessential Broadway musical than Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! Theatre companies large and small have been producing it regularly since its debut more than 50 years ago including productions over the last decade by the Raven Players, Sonoma Arts Live, and the Mountain Play. Santa Rosa Junior College…

Interview – “Hello, Dolly!” at SRJC

My guests on the second of two 04/16/26 “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 FM were Laura Downing-Lee and Matthew Quezada-Cortes from the SRJC Theatre Arts production of Hello, Dolly! The show has eight performances from April 17 through April 26 on the Burbank Auditorium Main Stage on the campus of Santa Rosa…