All stories by Marcus Crowder on BroadwayStars

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Sacramento Live: Theaters get serious for fall by Marcus Crowder

This weekend Big Idea Theatre opens playwright Lee Blessing’s moody cautionary tale of power, morality, crimes and punishments, “Lonesome Hollow.” Lee Marie Kelly …

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Monday, September 23, 2013

Theater review: B Street’s ‘My Name is Asher Lev’ is short of bold strokes by Marcus Crowder

B Street Theatre presents Aaron Posner’s adaptation of Chaim Potok’s 1972 novel. Max Rosenak, left, is the title character, with Joe Polis and Julie Voshell as his parent…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 04:16PM

Stockton Civic’s ‘Sweeney Todd’ wins big at Ellys by Marcus Crowder

Stockton Civic Theatre’s production of “Sweeney Todd” walked away the big winner Sunday night at the 2013 Adult Elly Awards presentation held for the first time at Red Lion I…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Thursday, September 19, 2013

Sacramento Live: Back home for ‘Celebration’ by Marcus Crowder

Sacramento Bee theater critic Marcus Crowder looks at area productions Kate Levering, who starred in “42nd Street,” returns for Best of Broadway.

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Sunday, September 15, 2013

Fall theater preview: New works and national hits staged in Sacramento and beyond by Marcus Crowder

Tony winners. A musical biography. Inventive takes on the Bard and Brecht. Sacramento and Northern California have plans to stage more than their fair share of interesting and entertaining p…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Theater review: ‘Clybourne Park’ funny, dramatic and excellent all around by Marcus Crowder

Playwright Bruce Norris’ razor-sharp “Clybourne Park” has so much happening that the comedy-drama runs the risk of being misunderstood. Atim Udoffia, left, Beethov…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Thursday, September 5, 2013

Sacramento Live: Capital Stage starts season with edgy ‘Clybourne Park’ by Marcus Crowder

Capital Stage likes to wrap its theatrical seasons around a theme, and this year the six subscription offerings are called “The Homefront.” While that could imply a conservativ…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Thursday, August 29, 2013

Sacramento Live: Performance highlights by Marcus Crowder

There’s a lightness of spirit that lifts “The Drowsy Chaperone” and makes the charming musical a continual joy. The piece of theater about the wonder of theater and the …

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Sac Live: The Knockoffs were punk before you were punk by Marcus Crowder

Sacramento’s Knockoffs celebrate 20 years in show business at Old Ironsides. Dan Reynoso of the Knockoffs catches some air. Chord on its way.

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 12:34PM
Thursday, August 22, 2013

Review: Stars shine in ‘Chicago’ at Music Circus by Marcus Crowder

All that Fosse. And yes it can be said here, “All that Jazz” has finally come to the Music Circus. The deconstructed but still fully entertaining 1996 revival of the Bob Fosse,…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 12:12AM
Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Theater review: McKellen, Stewart impressive in Berkeley Rep’s ‘No Man’s Land’ by Marcus Crowder

The chilling beauty of Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land” doesn’t lie so much in the writer’s famed silences as it does in his underappreciated rich use of languag…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 01:56PM
Wednesday, August 7, 2013

‘King and I’ creates elegant evening at Sacramento’s Music Circus by Marcus Crowder

With the opening notes of the overture, the new Music Circus production of “The King and I” felt special. As musical director and conductor Craig Barna dropped his baton and the mu…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 09:14PM
Friday, August 2, 2013

Sacramento Live: Andrew Perez brings depth to 'Chad Deity' by Marcus Crowder

Andrew J. Perez, who stars in "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity" at Capital Stage, has been bumping around the Sacramento theater scene for a couple of years. From left, Andrew J. P…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Friday, July 26, 2013

Sacramento Live: Shakespeare festival wraps up season by Marcus Crowder

The Sacramento Shakespeare Festival closes its summer season this weekend with three performances – two of Luther Hanson's Italian opera- influenced "Julius Caesar" and one of Matt Mill…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Sunday, July 21, 2013

Music Circus gears up for the screwball, cross-dressing comedy of 'Sugar' by Marcus Crowder

While successful in its own right, "Sugar," the new Music Circus production opening Tuesday based on Billy Wilder's classic comedy "Some Like It Hot," has never enjoyed the acclaim that foll…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Friday, July 19, 2013

Theater review: Beauty, nuance emerge from wrestling backdrop in terrific 'Chad Deity' by Marcus Crowder

You could go to Capital Stage's giddy new production "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity" for playwright Kristoffer Diaz's inspired blend of poetic storytelling and searing sardonic humor.…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:01PM

Sacramento Live: Rare chance for 'Cymbeline' in Ashland theater by Marcus Crowder

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore., has opened its outdoor Elizabethan Stage with three new productions running through mid- October. Jenny Graham Dawn-Lyen Gardner's Imog…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Friday, July 12, 2013

Tom Sawyer and friends come to stage by Marcus Crowder

Since Mark Twain published his "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" in 1876, the iconic boy from St. Petersburg, Mo., has captured imaginations everywhere. Colin Coate as Tom Sawyer, Matthew …

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Sacramento's Music Circus honors classic depths of "Show Boat" by Marcus Crowder

"Show Boat," the groundbreaking 1927 musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, still maintains its remarkable qualities. Though a full-fledged entertainment as its title suggests, the…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 05:14PM
Friday, June 28, 2013

Sacramento's Shakespeare Festival survives its own drama, opens with higher profile by Marcus Crowder

Sacramento Shakespeare Festival director Luther Hanson has found a silver lining in last year's theft of $30,000 worth of lighting and sound equipment. Community attention to the vandalism a…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Friday, June 21, 2013

Music Circus tackles tall order, 'Wizard of Oz,' for season's takeoff by Marcus Crowder

Toto is not in Kansas anymore. Dorothy's little dog from "The Wizard of Oz" will be center stage at the Music Circus Wells Fargo Pavilion for the next 10 days as the company opens its 2013 s…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Friday, June 14, 2013

Sacramento Live: Playwright's moves bring him to Sacramento by Marcus Crowder

The writer and actor Scott Barry got used to bright lights and big crowds early in life. He was an All-American quarterback at UC Davis then, and later an NFL draft pick of the San Francisco…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM

Sacramento native Richard Montoya's play 'American Night' to Cal Shakes by Marcus Crowder

As busy as he has been lately, playwright and actor Richard Montoya happily returns to his Sacramento roots whenever possible. The California Shakespeare Theater production of "American…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Friday, June 7, 2013

Sacramento Theatre Company announces 2013-14 season by Marcus Crowder

Michael Laun, the executive producing director of Sacramento Theatre Company, doesn't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Themed seasons have been a hit with his board and em…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 12:39PM
Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Sacramento Theatre Company announces 2013-14 season by Marcus Crowder

Michael Laun, the executive producing director of Sacramento Theatre Company, doesn't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Themed seasons have been a hit with his board and em…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 05:34PM
Sunday, June 2, 2013

Theater heats up this summer in Sacramento region by Marcus Crowder

It seems counter-intuitive that the relaxation of summer actually fuels theater's busiest season, but that's how it works around these parts. Special engagements, regional premieres and mult…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Friday, May 31, 2013

Theater review: National tour of 'Les Miz' has never-ending big moments by Marcus Crowder

The grand spectacle of über-musical "Les Misérables" has been retooled, but the production's essence remains. There are no small, intimate moments in this story that cannot be made…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 06:45PM
Thursday, May 30, 2013

Sacramento Live: 'Three Musketeers' near end of run at B Street by Marcus Crowder

The B Street Theatre's Family Series presents Dana Friedman's clever world-premiere adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers" for one last weekend. Claire Rigsby and John La…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 05:12PM
Monday, May 27, 2013

Bring the blanket and picnic basket: Outdoor summer theater beckons by Marcus Crowder

Summer brings a more relaxed vibe to the theater experience by taking it outdoors. Most theater companies and venues listed below encourage patrons to arrive early, and to bring food and ref…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Thursday, May 23, 2013

Theater Review: Cap Stage gives 'Hedda Gabler' a cool, classic remake by Marcus Crowder

Stephanie Gularte's Hedda Gabler floats onto the shadowed stage with an otherworldly presence. Alone in a darkened living room, she snatches off sheets covering furniture, gasping quietly, a…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 03:00AM
Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sac Live: Resurrection Theatre presents 'Next Fall' by Marcus Crowder

Luke and Adam are in a long-term relationship and have a lot in common except for one thing: Luke believes in God and Adam is an atheist. Rob August, left, plays Luke and Jon Jackson pl…

SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee at 01:11PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards