by Cari Lynn Pace The holiday spirit charms and shines in 6th Street Playhouse’s A Christmas Story: The Musical. Fans of the classic 1983 Christmas movie will delight in this live stage production with an added musical score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The musical pieces enhance the nostalgia and heartfelt humor of the…
My guest on the first of two 12/04/25 “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 was Britta Rae from the Transcendence Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Broadway Holiday 2025. The show will have multiple performances in Santa Rosa at the Sonoma Country Day School on Dec. 13 & 14, and then in Sonoma at…
by Cari Lynn Pace With a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods involves crossing the paths of multiple characters from several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. It’s an ambitious undertaking for any theater. Challenges include strong solo voices, complex lyrics, live orchestral music, clever choreography, creative costumes, and…
When I see a show late in its run, or the run itself is short, I’ll take some time and provide a short take on the production… Bootycandy – Left Edge Theatre, Santa Rosa Pluses: script, performances Minuses: a bit disjointed, a bit long Playwright Robert O’Hara claims that every character in Bootycandy crossed his…
My guests on the 11/20/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 FM were director Jenny Hollingworth and actor Matt Farrell from the Spreckels Theatre Company production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. This show runs in the Condiotti Theatre at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park through December…
by Cari Lynn Pace Ride the Cyclone: The Musical is a dazzling theatrical event directed by Sarah Wintermeyer. The Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts program impresses with this professional quality show. Enter the lobby and be surrounded with clowns, sequined dancers, tarot readers, costumed dancers, and hanging streamers. Take a cushy seat in the…
by Cari Lynn Pace Playwright Robert O’Hara’s Bootcandy is a series of semi-autobiographical vignettes that take place on a bare stage (or a minimalist set), each delivering a biting and often hilarious look at supposedly real encounters throughout his life as a black gay person from childhood to present day. It’s definitely outrageous, often quite…
by Cari Lynn Pace In a departure from their typical productions, Ross Valley Players delivers the complex and tense thriller Wait Until Dark. Based on the 1966 Broadway cliffhanger which led to the famous Audrey Hepburn movie, this script has been adapted by Jerry Hatcher from Frederick Knott’s original play. Knott wrote spine-tingling plots, including…
Bertolt Brecht’s 1941 parable play/farce about the dangers of complacency and appeasement is, as is said much too frequently today, as timely as ever. It’s a shame eight U.S. Senators haven’t had a chance to see it. It’s the second show in the first full season for Petaluma’s Mercury Theater, the newest theatrical kid on…
My guests on the 11/13/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 FM were Laura Downing-Lee, Waylon Hessler, and Nora Summers from the 6th Street Playhouse production of A Christmas Story: The Musical. This show runs in 6th Street’s GK Hardt Theatre from November 21 through December 21. Click below to listen: ********** Click…
North Bay Stage and Screen 