The “Doctor” is OUT, “Merman’s” No Business

The SRJC Theatre Arts Department production of The Good Doctor remains shuttered as the College announced its continued closure on Friday due to lack of power. No decisions have been made as to the scheduled weekend performances. ********** Since PG&E pulled the plug on Sonoma, Sonoma Arts Live has had no choice but to pull…

Review: “Gypsy” in Santa Rosa

In sports, the term ‘ringer’ generally refers to the practice of using a clearly superior competitor in order to gain an unfair advantage. In theatrical terms, it can be used to describe the importation of outside talent in the hope of drawing a larger-than-normal audience. In both cases, the hope is that the player/performer will…

Review: “Little Shop of Horrors” in Kentfield

When Little Shop of Horrors opened in New York in 1982, it was in a small 98-seat Off-Off-Broadway theatre. Its success led to its move Off-Broadway to Manhattan’s 299-seat Orpheum Theatre where it ran for five years. It had a chance to move to the Great White Way, but playwright/lyricist Howard Ashman felt the show…

Marin’s AlterTheater Announces New Position and New Hire

San  Rafael-based AlterTheater has named its first-ever Producing Artistic Director, to help position and lead the company in its next 15 years of success and community involvement. Following a national search, San Francisco State graduate and experienced Bay Area theater professional Alicia Coombes has been chosen  to fill the position. “I’m so excited to be…

KSRO Interview: “The Good Doctor”

My guests on the Thursday, October 3 theatre segment on KSRO’s The Drive with Steve Jaxon were Leslie McCauley, Haley Hollis, and Riley Craig from the Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts Department production of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor. Click below to listen: **********

Review: “Merman’s Apprentice” in Sonoma

It’s a virtual Merman-palooza in the North Bay as two theatre companies present ‘musical fables’ with Ethel Merman connections. Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse has Gypsy running through Oct. 20 while Sonoma Arts Live has Merman’s Apprentice, an original musical with a fictional Merman character, running through Oct. 13. Merman’s Apprentice is a throw-back to…