Friday, July 26, 2024

Meena Harris teams up with Dylan Mulvaney for new one-woman show by Zara Irshad

The lawyer, author and theater producer is backing the social media personality on her solo musical debut. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 05:31PM
Monday, July 22, 2024

In Idina Menzel’s Take Me or Leave Me Tour, Elphaba finally gets to mourn herself by Lily Janiak

The Oakland concert found its footing as soon as the Tony Award winner and Disney princess voice returned to her musical theater roots.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 01:34PM
Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Ahead of Oakland tour stop, Idina Menzel talks new Broadway show and Northern California adventures by Linda Liu

The Tony Award-winner plans to be in the Bay Area for the second stop of her North American tour.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 09:00AM
Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Ariana Debose and Broadway and Vine audience get surprise of a lifetime by Lily Janiak

The three-year-old Napa concert series inaugurated its summer season with not one, but two, “West Side Story” Anitas.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:47PM
Monday, July 8, 2024

Review: S.F. Playhouse’s otherwise fleet ‘Evita’ is undermined by just one element by Lily Janiak

The title character of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1978 musical might recognize much in 2024’s election runup.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:18PM
Sunday, July 7, 2024

Review: Word for Word stakes out a refreshing middle ground between stage and page by Lily Janiak

“Who’s-Dead McCarthy: Stories by Kevin Barry” creeps into your mind, vine-like, and flowers.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:01PM
Saturday, July 6, 2024

Review: Marin Shakes is officially the Bay’s best bet for imaginative Shakespeare by Lily Janiak

Domenique Lozano’s adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing” reveals Shakespeare as not some holy writ etched in stone but a bubbling lab ripe for experimentation.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:01PM
Friday, July 5, 2024

The show must go on, heat wave edition: How outdoor theater handles extreme weather by Lily Janiak

Venue changes, shaded seats and costume modifications are just some ways Bay Area theaters have learned to adapt amid a record-breaking heat wave.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 08:28PM

S.F. Mime Troupe elicits strong reactions, laughs during Independence Day show by Linda Liu

Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe brings together an audience of old and new with its annual July 4 opening performance at Dolores Park.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 05:26PM

Review: This ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ seems to wish it could adapt a different film by Lily Janiak

John O’Farrell and Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick’s musical shadowboxes its way through key plot points and memorable shots from the 1993 Robin Williams film set in San Francisco.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:25PM
Monday, July 1, 2024

San Francisco’s favorite nanny returns on stage in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ by David John Chávez

Rob McClure, who originated the musical’s title role, tackles both its joys and criticisms ahead of the Bay Area premiere.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 10:00AM
Thursday, June 27, 2024

Review: Aurora’s ‘The Lifespan of a Fact’ does a disservice to journalism by Lily Janiak

Jeremy Kareken and David Murrell’s adaptation of John D’Agata and Jim Fingal’s book fails as both a portrait of journalism and a work of theater.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 09:19PM
Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Leslye Headland’s ‘Cult of Love’ heading to Broadway after run at Berkeley Rep by Lauren Harvey

 Berkeley Repertory Theatre continues its tradition of sending shows off to Broadway.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 06:47PM
Friday, June 21, 2024

Review: Berkeley Rep’s ‘Mother Road’ loses its way by Lily Janiak

Octavio Solis’ reverse-migration sequel to John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” feels as overladen as the Joad family jalopy.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:55PM
Monday, June 17, 2024

‘The Outsiders’ wins best musical and ‘Stereophonic’ best play as women make strides at Tony Awards by Mark Kennedy

The musical of “Merrily We Roll Along” also won big, nabbing the revival award as well as trophies for Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:29PM
Thursday, June 13, 2024

Brava Theater needs to raise $50,000 to meet basic expenses by Lily Janiak

The Mission District theater is facing a perfect storm of increased costs from insurance, utilities, payroll and more.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 08:34PM

Ahead of first Tony nomination, Bay Area actor Will Brill feels he’s already won by Zack Ruskin

The actor, who was raised in Menlo Park, spoke with the Chronicle about starring in the Marin County-set play “Stereophonic,” nominated for a record-breaking 13 Tony Awards.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Wednesday, June 12, 2024

What you need to know about the 2024 Tony Awards by Mark Kennedy

The three-hour main telecast of the awards ceremony will feature Eddie Redmayne, Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe, among others.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 05:00PM
Tuesday, June 11, 2024

East Bay theater loses 40 years of props, costumes and sets in fire by Lily Janiak

The destruction of Pittsburg Theatre Company’s warehouse hasn’t stopped the company from opening “The Sunshine Boys” on Friday, June 14.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 08:25PM

At Berkeley Rep, playwright Octavio Solis finds fertile ground in California’s soil by Lily Janiak

‘Mother Road,’ a sequel of sorts to John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ imagines a latter-day reverse migration for Joad family descendants.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Sunday, June 9, 2024

Review: Magic Theatre’s ‘Garuda’s Wing’ is a master class in dramatic revelation by Lily Janiak

Playwright Naomi Iizuka constructs exquisite clockworks over and over again in her Magic Theatre and Campo Santo world premiere set on the island of Borneo.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:12PM
Friday, June 7, 2024

Review: Gender-swapped ‘Company’ makes fertile ground of museum piece by Lily Janiak

At BroadwaySF, Marianne Elliott’s take on George Furth and Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 musical about singledom versus marriage bursts with ripe, juicy fruits.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:42PM

Why ‘Company,’ new ‘Gypsy’ casting are the future of theater by Tony Bravo

Gender-flipped characters and more diverse castings add new richness to Broadway classics.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Thursday, May 30, 2024

Review: ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ at ACT is epic for every minute of its 3 ½ hours by Lily Janiak

For all its heft, Stefano Massini’s play about the rise and fall of Lehman Brothers is a marvel of poetic restraint.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 05:17PM
Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Review: Center Rep’s ‘Cabaret,” written in 1966, implicates you in 2024 by Lily Janiak

Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical is relevant whenever nationalism, groupthink and racial othering are on the rise, which seems to be always. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:03PM
Friday, May 24, 2024

Review: Shotgun Players say aloud what most theaters are afraid to whisper by Lily Janiak

“Best Available” centers on a fictional theater’s behind-the-scenes hiring process, and the script might make audiences wonder if they’re complicit.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:52PM

Bay Area summer 2024 theater: Get outdoors — or seal yourself in a glass box by Lily Janiak

Mountain Play, Santa Cruz Shakespeare and Circus Bella invite audiences to enjoy a live performance and eat a picnic, too.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Marin Theatre lights timely flame with queer love story ‘Torch Song’ by Zack Ruskin

Season-closing production is a showcase for lead actor Dean Linnard as neurotic drag queen Arnold Beckoff.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM

With great economy, ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ stages global economic collapse by Alex Ullman

British director Sam Mendes brings Stefano Massini’s familial critique of capitalism to American Conservatory Theater.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Monday, May 20, 2024

Another Berkeley Rep world premiere is heading to Broadway by Lily Janiak

“Swept Away,” featuring music by folk rock band the Avett Brothers, was among the first big theatrical projects to premiere in the Bay Area after the pandemic’s worst days.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:14PM
Saturday, May 18, 2024

Review: At the Imaginists, pick a cubicle and see corporate culture get skewered by Lily Janiak

The high concept of “A Kind of Knowing” is the modus operandi of the 22-year-old Santa Rosa troupe.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:27PM

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