All stories by Joanne Engelhardt on BroadwayStars

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Theater Review: HAPPY PLEASANT VALLEY: A SENIOR SEX SCANDAL MURDER MYSTERY MUSICAL (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in Palo Alto and CenterREP in Walnut C by Joanne Engelhardt

WILD ROMP IN SENIOR LIVING TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has launched an uproarious spoof of senior living with Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical. It’s an al…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:47PM
Sunday, March 9, 2025

Theater Review: FLY BY NIGHT (Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City) by Joanne Engelhardt

A MUSICAL THAT CURVES IN CONCENTRIC CIRCLES Fly by Night, an affecting chamber musical which premiered in 2014 at Playwrights Horizon, has been described as a “darkly comic rock-fable,” …

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:38AM
Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Theater Review: THE PROM (Foothill Music Theatre) by Joanne Engelhardt

WHO ARE YOU ASKING TO THE PROM? It may not be high school or college prom season just yet, but in the San Francisco Bay Area, at least three theatre companies have decided it’s time to dus…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:06AM
Thursday, January 30, 2025

Theater Review: THE GLASS MENAGERIE (Los Altos Stage Company at Bus Barn Theater) by Joanne Engelhardt

NOSTALGIA NEVER GETS OLD When The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams premiered on Broadway in 1945, it became his first major success. Nearly 80 years later, the play remains relevant, to…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:12AM
Monday, January 27, 2025

Theater Review: DAISY (Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City) by Joanne Engelhardt

THE MINUTE THAT CHANGED POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING FOREVER On September 7, 1964, a 60-second TV ad transformed American politics. Known as “Daisy Girl,” it featured a young girl counting dais…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:26AM
Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Theater Review: NOISES OFF (Palo Alto Players) by Joanne Engelhardt

LAUGH-A-MINUTE FUN When English playwright Michael Frayn wrote his slapstick farce in 1982, it bore little resemblance to the production that opened Saturday night at the Lucie Stern Theater…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 09:17AM
Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Theater Review: RACHMANINOFF AND THE TSAR: A NEW MUSICAL PLAY (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley) by Joanne Engelhardt

Hershey Felder has become synonymous with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, returning year after year from Europe to present his original musical productions. This year, he brings Rachmaninoff an…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:31AM
Monday, December 9, 2024

Theater Review: MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY (TheatreWorks in Palo Alto) by Joanne Engelhardt

AN AMUSING ROMANTIC ROMP ALL ‘SPRUCED’ UP With Christmas just around the corner, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley offers up a light-hearted, romantic comedy Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberle…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 03:25AM
Sunday, December 8, 2024

Theater Review: ANASTASIA (Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City) by Joanne Engelhardt

ANASTHESIA A sold-out opening night audience Dec. 6 was likely entranced with the lovely costumes, fine acting, solid choreography and strong vocal performances in Anastasia at Hillbarn Thea…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 07:01PM
Monday, December 2, 2024

Theater Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL (Los Altos Stage Company at Bus Barn Theater) by Joanne Engelhardt

NOSTALGIC, SAPPY FUN If you’re in the mood for a night of campy humor with a Christmas-y theme, head to Bus Barn Theatre in Los Altos for its production of A Christmas Story: The Musical. …

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 07:19PM
Wednesday, November 13, 2024

“You Can’t Take It with You” Sports Fine Cast & Hearty Laughs—at Foothill College by Joanne Engelhardt

Kaufman & Hart’s 30s Comedy Shows that Love Conquers All by Joanne Engelhardt Who knew that a 1936 comedy could feel so fresh and fun?  Director Tom Gough brings joy to Foothill Coll…

SOURCE: Theatrius at 01:56PM
Wednesday, August 31, 2022

“School of Rock” Sparkles with Bright, Talented Kids—at Palo Alto Players by Joanne Engelhardt

Julian Fellowes & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Creation Rocks the Rafters by Joanne Engelhardt Take 15 fresh-faced young rock-star kids and let them all do their thing—playing musical instr…

SOURCE: Theatrius at 02:34AM
Tuesday, August 23, 2022

“Chopin in Paris”: Melancholy Melodies Mark Chopin’s Life—at TheatreWorks by Joanne Engelhardt

Hershey Felder Plays Beautifully & Performs with Charm by Joanne Engelhardt If you want to see a superb, polished performance of Fryderyk Chopin playing his music in his Paris salon, th…

SOURCE: Theatrius at 10:10PM
Sunday, August 14, 2022

“The Four Gifts”: Heartfelt & Amazing Life of Local Hero—at Hillbarn by Joanne Engelhardt

Father Joe Bradley’s Inspirational Story Calls for Sharper Focus   by Joanne Engelhardt “The Four Gifts,” at Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City, shows what happens when a person who is …

SOURCE: Theatrius at 12:38AM
Saturday, February 5, 2022

Joanne Engelhardt by Joanne Engelhardt

Joanne Engelhardt is a San Jose State University journalism graduate who spent about seven years working at newspapers on the San Francisco Peninsula. Later, she wrote and edited employee …

SOURCE: Theatrius at 12:21PM
Saturday, September 12, 2020

Creation is easy, comedy is hard in ‘God’ by Joanne Engelhardt

If it weren’t for the impossibly outlandish antics and contorted facial expressions of Emily Scott as God Herself, Palo Alto Players’ take on “An Act of God,” livestreaming from the …

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:41AM
Sunday, September 6, 2020

Felder plays Gershwin for TheatreWorks benefit by Joanne Engelhardt

Perennial TheatreWorks Silicon Valley favorite Hershey Felder is offering a live-streamed performance of “Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone” on Sunday, Sept. 13, to benefit the Pal…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:54AM
Monday, August 31, 2020

Palo Alto Players livestream ‘God’ for 11 performances by Joanne Engelhardt

Palo Alto Players makes its first foray into full-length virtual production when the frothy “An Act of God” opens Sept. 5. First performed on Broadway in 2015 featuring Jim Parsons as Go…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:59AM
Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Peninsula theater festival hosts trans athlete panel discussion by Joanne Engelhardt

Five trans athletes from various sports are set to participate in an Aug. 29 panel discussion that’s part of the Redwood City Festival.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 01:41PM
Thursday, August 20, 2020

‘Soldier’s Fugue’ a gritty story of third-generation military family by Joanne Engelhardt

Although its subject matter makes it tough to watch at points, Pear Theatre’s online production of “Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue” is a well-acted drama. Quiara Alegria Hudes’ play, on…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 10:04AM

Musical celebrates “Perfect 36” that led to 19th amendment by Joanne Engelhardt

The centennial of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, will be celebrated in song Aug. 26 with a virtual production of “Perfect 36.” A joint collaboration of TheatreWo…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:46AM
Thursday, July 23, 2020

TheatreWorks hosts new works online by Joanne Engelhardt

To launch TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s “New Works from Home” series, the company will offer a benefit online reading of Suzanne Bradbeer’s comedy “Shakespeare in Vegas” through …

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:16AM
Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Local theater companies explore coexistence with online festival by Joanne Engelhardt

Redwood City’s Fuse Theatre and Dragon Theatre this year had intended to expand on the one-act festival they co-produced last summer. “Over the next few years, our plan was to build a fe…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:40AM
Thursday, July 9, 2020

Players’ new season may be live or live-streamed by Joanne Engelhardt

Palo Alto Players Artistic Director Patrick Klein chose an unusual spot for a video message about the theater company’s upcoming “reimagined” season: a bedroom in his home. While he an…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 10:19AM
Sunday, July 5, 2020

Noteworthy performance, contest honor Beethoven’s 250th birthday by Joanne Engelhardt

Audiences who log on July 12 to a livestream benefit performance of Hershey Felder as Beethoven will also have the chance to vote for their favorite artistic interpretation of the composer�…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 10:00AM
Tuesday, June 30, 2020

‘This Street’ makes sharp turns in tone, subject matter by Joanne Engelhardt

An eccentric, sometimes unsettling, series of digital video productions make up Pear Theatre’s new hodgepodge of vignettes called “This Street and the Next.” Directed by the company’…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:57AM
Tuesday, June 23, 2020

EnActe series spotlights women performers, playwrights by Joanne Engelhardt

EnActe is turning the spotlight on women performers and playwrights in a new series of virtual events, plays, readings and more. Women EnActe for Themselves, or WEFT, launches June 27 with a…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 10:03AM
Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Pear Theatre hosts virtual season announcement party by Joanne Engelhardt

Pear Theatre in Mountain View is moving ahead in today’s virtual world with a season announcement/subscription kick-off party June 12. Pear Artistic Director Sinjin Jones will host the Pea…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 02:37PM
Thursday, June 4, 2020

Kids can get virtual theater experience this summer by Joanne Engelhardt

Any other year, June would be the month when students start looking forward to that last school day and a lazy summer of fun ahead. This year, it’s definitely dicey whether some families w…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 10:13AM
Thursday, May 28, 2020

Foothill stages Virtual Play Reading Festival by Joanne Engelhardt

Foothill College’s Theatre Arts Department found itself in the same unenviable muddle as most local theater companies these days: What to do now that it can’t stage its spring production…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:53AM
Monday, May 18, 2020

Short-play program offers digital ‘Pear Slices’ by Joanne Engelhardt

Mountain View’s Pear Theatre came up with a creative way of presenting its annual short-play program despite the current pandemic—“Pear Slices 2020: Digital Edition.” The Pear is pre…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 08:04PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre