Tuesday, December 11, 2007
When does a movie become theater? The easy answer is when it’s adapted a la Hairspray, The Lion King, The Producers and the like. But there have been rare instances when movies become thea…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 03:43PMFriday, December 7, 2007
SF Playhouse serves up a Cratchit-y Christmas three stars Holiday hilarity Gladys Cratchit is not having a merry Christmas. Her husband, Bob, is a sap, a boob and a goody-goody. She has 21 s…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 01:26PMThursday, December 6, 2007
So many fine gift ideas, so little space. Let’s get started with some great theater books. In the realm of books about theater, this year’s standout comes from San Mateo native Thomas Sc…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 02:10PMSan Francisco’s AT&T Park has seen its share of Barrys: Bonds, Zito and now…Manilow. Yes, Barry Manilow was on hand Wednesday night for what has to be a Bay Area first: an ice “spe…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 10:46AMWednesday, December 5, 2007
With the future of the Empire Plush Room, the Bay Area’s most distinctive cabaret, in some doubt – Will it shut down? Will it relocate to another hotel? – there’s a certain pleasure …
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 04:13PMTuesday, December 4, 2007
Let the squealing begin. Disney’s tween entertainment behemoth High School Musical has just been announced as a “special spring engagement” in SHN’s Best of Broadway season in San Fr…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 06:46PMDuring the recent Broadway strike, the AIDS fundraising charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS lost an estimated $40,000 a day without its holiday fund appeal, which usually happens durin…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 02:25PMMonday, December 3, 2007
Wait a minute — didn’t Legally Blonde already come to San Francisco? Cybill Shepherd, another famous blonde (legal or otherwise), is heading to the Bay Area with a one-woman show called …
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 03:06AMSunday, December 2, 2007
It seems Debbie Reynolds has been around since show biz was invented — not show business, but, you know, SHOW BIZ! The razzley-dazzley, tap-dancing kind of show biz. From her first big bre…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 03:03AMSaturday, December 1, 2007
The new cast of Jersey Boys at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre includes, from left, Jeff Leibow as Nick Massi, Rick Faugno as Frankie Valli, Andrew Rannells as Bob Gaudio and Bryan McElroy …
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 03:02AMThursday, November 29, 2007
That Shakespeare is one groovy guy, man. For centuries, enterprising directors have taken the Bard of Avon’s work and twisted and pulled it like so much theatrical taffy. But the thing abo…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 12:53PMWednesday, November 28, 2007
OK, I know this isn’t local, but I’m still excited about it. And it’s in our state and time zone, so technically it’s local. Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles recently announced th…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 12:59PMMonday, November 26, 2007
This weekend just past in San Francisco was a good one for those of us who savor larger-than-life lady singers. On Saturday, Jennifer Holliday, the Tony Award-winning original Effie Melody W…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 06:50PMFriday, November 23, 2007
It’s not often that a performer goes from gigs at the Willows Theatre Company in Concord, TheatreWorks in Mountain View and Pleasanton Playhouse in Pleasanton to one of the hottest Broadwa…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 01:36PMTuesday, November 20, 2007
Opened Nov. 17, 2007 at the Magic Theatre Gilman’s Crowd stands out Four stars Pleasingly provocative There aren’t many plays, especially new plays, that stick with you days after seeing…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 04:09PMFor Jennifer Holliday, the original Effie White in Broadway’s Dreamgirls, life has had its share of nightmare moments. Only 19 when the tumultuous Dreamgirls development process began, and…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 02:52PMMonday, November 19, 2007
Cathy Schutz, my dear friend, co-worker and fellow theater lover died on Saturday. We met 10 years ago when I started as the theater critic for what was then called the Alameda Newspaper Gro…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 01:48AMSaturday, November 17, 2007
Opened Friday, Nov. 16, 2007 in San Francisco Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza thrills more than chills Three stars Killer `Wheel of Death’ I can be a jerk about Cirque — I fell out of love wi…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 04:36PMThere’s nothing more fun than an underdog musical. [title of show] is just such a musical. It’s essentially a small (five-people, counting the keyboardist) musical about two guys writing…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 03:59PMThursday, November 15, 2007
It could be that I have been burned by the Circus of the Sun. Now, I fully realize there are worse things to suffer in life than weariness of Cirque du Soleil, the phenomenally successful ne…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 12:51PMWednesday, November 14, 2007
Some interesting show and show-related CDs are popping up just in time for the holidays. In the next few weeks, I’ll be highlighting some of winners and losers. Judy Kuhn, “Serious Playg…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 12:39PMMonday, November 12, 2007
Broadway may have been pretty quiet last Saturday night (what with the stagehands strike and all), but the Broadway show tunes were ringing sweetly through the Bay Area. More specifically th…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 08:23PMSaturday, November 10, 2007
I can’t really review the Aurora Theatre Company’s production of Sex, a 1926 play by the delectable Mae West. One of my best friends is in the cast (he’s brilliant, by the way), so I h…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 02:34PMFriday, November 9, 2007
The old saying goes something like this: Do enough charity benefits and soon you’ll have enough material for your very own show. OK, so it’s not an old saying, but it’s true. When they…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 01:58PMThursday, November 8, 2007
Opened Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre Zimmerman dazzles in adventurous Argonautika Four stars Argonaut-to-be-missed With director Mary Zimmerman at th…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 02:54PMWednesday, November 7, 2007
This month, if you’re looking for good Sex, you may need to head for Berkeley. This week, the Aurora Theatre Company opens Mae West’s 1926 show Sex starring Delia MacDougall as Margy LaM…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 02:28PMTuesday, November 6, 2007
Sometimes you do everything you can do to be an organized person. Then the universe has other plans. Take, for instance, Stephen Flaherty, the composer behind such Broadway musicals as Ragti…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 06:01PMMonday, November 5, 2007
Michael Tubbs, a 12th grader at Franklin High School in Sacramento County, is the winner of the essay contest sponsored by the musical production of The Color Purple now at the Orpheum Theat…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 06:01PMFriday, November 2, 2007
I’m happy not to be a drunk 20something, stumbling through life in oblivion. I fully realize not all 20somethings are suffering from inebriated idiocy, but when I went to see Tammy Grimes …
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 08:14PMSet designer Daniel Ostling has set sail with director Mary Zimmerman once again. The two Chicago-based artists have a long history working together at Zimmerman’s artistic home, the Looki…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 01:14PMThursday, November 1, 2007
Elizabeth McKoy(above left) and Kimberly Dooley (above right) are creating a children’s theater, and they know what they’re doing. In addition to theatrical qualifications, the two women…
SOURCE: Chad Jones' Theater Dogs at 01:02PM 
