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Monday, March 2, 2020

'Promised Her the Moon' in Palo Alto a bittersweet true story of women pilots by John Orr

Playwright Lauren Ollstein based her bittersweet play "They Promised Her the Moon" on the story of real-life pilots Jackie Cochran and Jerrie Cobb.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 11:45AM[SHARE]

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Thinking about what he's singing: Chic Street Man by John Orr

Chic Street Man was absolutely steamin' in 2009 when he stalked sensuously on stage at the Lucie Stern Theatre, playing guitar and singing John Lee Hooker's "Crawlin' King Snake." He took tu…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 12:42AM[SHARE]

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Theater: Finding the inner beauty of Cinderella's stepsister by John Orr

How does a beautiful young woman who was named Miss Santa Clara and Miss Silicon Valley become one of the ugly stepsisters of "Cinderella"? Simple. Douglas Carter Beane rewrote the book for …

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 06:01AM[SHARE]

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Theater: The show that made James Corden a star by John Orr

Here's a clue about the knock-down-drag-out comedy of "One Man, Two Guvnors," which Palo Alto Players is staging: In addition to having a director, it has a "physical comedy" director. The s…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 06:01AM[SHARE]

Friday, May 31, 2019

Theater: Recalling the absurd past to comment on the absurd present by John Orr

When he reviewed the world premiere of Â "Archduke" in 2017, Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty praised the first scene of the Rajiv Joseph play, which is about the teenager …

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 06:01AM[SHARE]

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Theater: 'Mamma Mia!' comes to Hillbarn by John Orr

Well, yes, "Mamma Mia!" has been on pretty much every stage from San Francisco to San Jose. Kindergarten classes have probably staged it. What's your point? Is it overdone? Hillbarn Theatre …

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 11:15AM[SHARE]

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Theater: 'Flower Drum Song' brings the true immigrant experience by John Orr

There are at least three versions of the musical "Flower Drum Song" in the world, and the main thing they have in common are the songs of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 06:01AM[SHARE]

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Sign Language brings rich new dimension to Sarah Ruhl's 'Eurydice' in San Jose by John Orr

City Lights Theater Company presents Sarah Ruhl's evocative "Eurydice" with sign language actors complementing the action.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 08:51PM[SHARE]

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Great cast wanders 'Into the Woods' by John Orr, Daily News Arts and Entertainment Editor

Palo Alto Players staging a wonderful production of the classic musical

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 05:21PM[SHARE]

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Playwright Kimber Lee illuminates the passing of craft by John Orrdaily News Arts and Entertainment Editor

Her 'tokyo fish story’ opening at TheatreWorks this week

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 06:41PM[SHARE]

Thursday, February 11, 2016

TheatreWorks: A packed 2016-17 season is announced by John Orrdaily News Arts and Entertainment Editor

Hershey Felder is continuing to break his own TheatreWorks box-office record for his "Iriving Berlin" show, which is at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through Sunday, and i…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 09:09PM[SHARE]

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

TheatreWorks sets new box-office record with 'Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin' by John Orrdaily News Arts and Entertainment Editor

Just weeks after setting its box-office record with "Jane Austen's 'Emma,'" TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has broken the record again, with "Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin" -- which still has…

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 04:02AM[SHARE]

Tuesday, August 25, 2015