Review: “Luna Gale” in Petaluma

The term “MacGuffin” was popularized by film director Alfred Hitchcock to describe objects or events that took place in his films that were necessary to begin the plot and motivate the characters but were essentially irrelevant. It may be harsh to refer to a baby as a MacGuffin, but the title character in Luna Gale,…

Review: “Sovereignty” in Mill Valley

There aren’t a lot of plays that explore Native American history or the modern-day social and political issues that continue to challenge that community. Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Sovereignty, running at the Marin Theatre Company through Oct. 20, attempts to do both in about two hours. Sarah Ridge Polson (Elizabeth Frances) returns to the Cherokee Nation…

MTJA Announces Award Winners at Fourth Annual Celebration of Sonoma County Theater

San Francisco North Bay theater artists gathered Monday night at 3 Disciples Brewing in downtown Santa Rosa for the Fourth Annual Marquee Theater Journalists Association Awards. Eighteen awards were given to local theatre artists and productions whose nominations were culled from the sixty-eight Sonoma County productions attended by members from September 1, 2018 through August…

Two North Bay Shows to Resume Performances

With the power back on in most of the North Bay, two theatre companies who had to cancel performances have announced that they’re back on, too. The Santa Rosa Junior College production of The Good Doctor will re-open with their scheduled Saturday and two Sunday performances at the Newman Auditorium location. Click HERE for more information…

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…