Review: “Shall We Dance” in Glen Ellen

Transcendence Theatre Company’s seventh season of “Broadway Under the Stars” continues with a dance-centric production entitled, appropriately enough, Shall We Dance. The show runs through August 19 at Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen. Transcendence imports Broadway and national touring professionals to populate their productions so the caliber of performance is always quite…

KSRO Interview: Directors of “The Super Trio”

My guests on the Thursday, July 26 theatre segment on KSRO’s The Drive with Steve Jaxon were playwright/composer/co-director/actor Brett Mollard and co-director/actor Ezra Hernandez from the Redwood Theatre Company’s original production of The Super Trio. Click below to hear that interview. *** For more information, go to redwoodtheatrecompany.com

Review: “Always… Patsy Cline” in Sonoma

Jukebox musicals have become the bread and butter for a lot of community theatres. Minimal casts, simple sets and the built-in audience that comes with a show about a popular singer or musical group are tough for an artistic director to resist. In 1988, playwright Ted Swindley took 27 songs recorded by Patsy Cline and…

Review: “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in San Francisco

The Hunchback of Notre Dame was originally scheduled last season at the Spreckels Theatre Company. The musical, whose development started in Germany and ended in New Jersey (having never made it to Broadway), is an atypical Disney production. More Les Misérables than Little Mermaid, it’s an interesting amalgam of Victor Hugo’s gothic novel and music from…

KSRO Interview: Director & Cast Members from “Shakespeare in Love”

Guests on my Thursday, July 5 theatre segment on KSRO’s The Drive with Steve Jaxon included director David Lear and actors John Browning and Sydney McNulty from the Shakespeare in the Cannery’s closing production of Shakespeare in Love. The interview begins at the 2:15 mark. Click below to hear that interview. *** For more information, go to http://www.shakespeareinthecannery.com

Review: “School of Rock” in San Francisco

One might think that the talents behind Downton Abbey and Phantom of the Opera would be odd choices to make a Broadway musical out of a 2003 movie starring Jack Black. One would be correct. School of Rock, now on the San Francisco stop of its national tour, is Julian Fellowes’ and Sir Andrew Lloyd…