by Harry Duke * Dysfunctional family dramas have been around since the beginning of theatre (Oedipus Rex, anyone?) Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman are prime examples of American playwrights’ takes on the genre. Leave it to a British playwright to steer…
by Harry Duke * Transcendence Theatre Company opens their 2026 Broadway Under the Stars series with a high energy production of ain’t too proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. The jukebox musical about the legendary Motown group has Bay Area roots having premiered at Berkeley Rep in 2017 before a successful, Tony-winning Broadway…
My guests on the second of two “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 FM on 06/11/26 were director Clark Lewis and cast member Jared Wright from the Roustabout Theater Professional Ensemble production of Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming. The dark comedy runs through June 28 in the Carsten Cabaret of the Luther Burbank Center…
My guests on the first of two “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 FM on 06/11/26 were director Michael Tabib and cast member Lisa Posternak from the Curtain Call Theatre production of William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. The comedy runs through June 20 at the Russian River Hall in Monte Rio.…
by Barry Willis * Fantasy and reality collide headlong for a married woman in Laura Wade’s Home, I’m Darling at Sonoma Arts Live through June 21. Ashley Kennedy stars as Judy, half of a contemporary British couple who have transformed their home into a pastiche of 1950s kitsch—aqua-colored refrigerator and TV, starburst clock, martini glasses,…
My guest on the second of two “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 FM on 06/04/26 was Dylan Freeman from the Transcendence Theatre Company presentation of ain’t too proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. The opening production of TTC’s 2026 Broadway Under the Stars series runs in Sonoma June 12 through…
My guests on the first of two “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 FM on 06/04/26 were cast members Syona Ayyankeril and Zachary Hasbany from the Cinnabar Theater production of The Secret Garden. The family musical runs through June 28 in the Warren Auditorium on the campus of Sonoma State University in Rohnert…
by Cari Lynn Pace * It’s hallelujah and high praise for Sister Act, now running in Santa Rosa at 6th Street Playhouse through June 27. This stage version patterns the plot of Whoopi Goldberg’s popular 1992 movie. The movie’s rock ‘n roll soundtrack has been scrubbed to feature original rock and soul music by…
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…
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…
