Interview – “Fences” at 6th Street Playhouse

My guests on the January 11 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were director Jourdán Olivier-Verdé and actor Keene Hudson from the 6th Street Playhouse production of August Wilson’s Fences. The show runs in Santa Rosa through February 4. *Note – Technical difficulties prevented the entire interview from being recorded, but here is…

Review: “The Last Five Years” in Petaluma

North Bay theatre in 2024 kicked off with Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater and their production of the Jason Robert Brown musical The Last Five Years. It’s the first of four shows remaining in their season before they close up shop at the little red schoolhouse on the hill and go on the road as a proposed…

2023’s Top Torn Tix, the Plays!

While musicals may be the bread and butter of local theatre, much can be learned about a community through the plays programmed in a company’s season. Comedies seemed few and far between this year, which may be a reflection of our local and perhaps national feelings of unease with what’s going on in our schools…

Cinnabar announces relocation plans

Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater has announced their plan to relocate after 50+ years in the “Little Red Schoolhouse” on the hill. The company’s website announced the following: “Cinnabar is at a crossroads after five decades of producing shows. The infrastructure of our current space, built in 1908, cannot support modern theater technology, limiting the scope of…

2023’s Top Torn Tix, the Musicals!

Live theatre continues to struggle to find its footing in a post pandemic world. The year was marked by audience numbers still failing to return to pre-pandemic levels, the use of understudies becoming more prevalent as a way to reduce cancellations due to COVID, the passing of some beloved members of the local theatre community,…

Review: “Elf, the Musical” in Santa Rosa

Of course they made a Broadway musical out of the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy Elf. Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan took the basic elements from the film, softened one of the major characters, added more “Christmas spirit” and music by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, and came up with Elf, the Musical. It’s a show…