Review: “The Marriage of Figaro” in Modesto

As I read the program’s synopsis of Opera Modesto’s production of The Marriage of Figaro in my seat in the Gallo Center, waiting for Annalisa Winberg and her husband Roy Stevens to welcome everyone (by encouraging us to yell “bravo!” and “brava!” and “bravissimo!” like they do in Italy), I learned something very interesting: The…

Review: “Oklahoma!” in Rohnert Park

Cinnabar Theater opens their 52nd season on the road with a production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Oklahoma! Having vacated the little red schoolhouse on the hill in Petaluma while awaiting construction of their new theatre, Cinnabar is utilizing the Warren Auditorium at Sonoma State University for their mainstage performances.  It runs there through…

Interview – “Oklahoma!” at Cinnabar

My guests on the second of two “Theatre Thursday” segments on the 09/12/24 broadcast of The Drive on 95.5 were Cinnabar Theater Artistic Director Nathan Cummings and Director/Actor Zachary Hasbany from the Cinnabar Theater production of Oklahoma! The show is running at Warren Auditorium in Ives Hall on the campus of Sonoma State University in…

Review: “Young Frankenstein” in Sonoma

Mel Brooks followed up his incredibly successful Broadway adaptation of his film The Producers with a musical adaptation of what he considers his finest film, Young Frankenstein. Not nearly as successful with audiences or critics as The Producers, it’s still a solid show for fans of the film and others looking for light amusement. Sonoma…

Review: “The Germans Upstairs” in Healdsburg

Former Windsor resident Francine Schwartz has long remembered the stories her mother and grandmother told her about living in occupied France during World War II and of the German soldiers billeted in their home. For the last decade, she has been working on a piece based on her family history and what began as a…