1,373 stories by "Chad Jones"
Time to start thinking about those season tickets " or at least cherry picking which shows you're going to make a point of seeing next season. Berkeley Repertory Theatre's 2008-09 season was…
When Judy Gold began her career in stand-up comedy, she struck, well, gold " literally " when she started imitating her mother. Here's a sampling. "After my new sunglasses that I bought in S…
I was in the lobby at SF Playhouse for an opening a couple weeks ago, and while milling through the crowd, I heard a voice that zinged me straight back to childhood. There I was, 8 years old…
The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has named six finalists in its annual playwriting competition, supported by generous funding from the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Tru…
Shameless plug: I'm the Q in the Q&A Friday for Berkeley Repertory Theatre's "Page to Stage" series. At 7 p.m. Friday on the Thrust Stage (2025 Addison St., Berkeley), I'll be chatting w…
Opened March 1, 2008, Magic Theatre Edna O'Brien's novel-turned-play lacks dramatic fire two stars Page-to-stage misfire In many ways, Edna O'Brien's Tir na nOg (Land of Youth) feels like a …
Am I getting old and cranky or are show tunes getting crappy? Probably a little of both, and I should say very quickly that there's plenty of new show music that is thrilling, moving, funny,…
Seems like we've written this sentence before " because we have. TheatreFirst, the intrepid small theater company that just will not give up, is moving again. The itinerant troupe always see…
Ha'penny, we hardly knew ye. Hot on the heels of announcing that the big Irish musical Ha'penny Bridge would be part of its season, the folks at SHN/Best of Broadway have announced that the …
Opened Feb. 19, 2008 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre Sex, drugs, drinking, celebrity: Fisher tackles it all in Wishful Drinking three 1/2 stars Her mother is famous for, among other things, a …
Wednesday night (Feb. 20) we'll experience one of those all-too-rare occasions when we dont' have to go to Broadway, when Broadway comes to us. PBS' "Great Performances" will broadcast the J…
Opened Feb. 13, 2008 at American Conservatory Theater Powerful performances tighten ACT's Knot Three stars (Powerful, scary) Athol Fugard's Blood Knot comes from a terrifying place, and I do…
For my full interview with Barry Manilow see below or click here. In our conversation, he talked about being a guest coach on "American Idol": "Most young people sing to their eyelids," he s…
It's a miracle that even now, Barry Manilow is writing the songs that make, if not the whole world, at least a fair portion of it sing. Could it be magic? Magic had nothing to do with it. Tr…
In his highly enjoyable book How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater (Disney Editions, $19.95), Thomas Schumacher recounts, in no particular order, all the jobs he's had in h…
Opened Feb. 11, 2008 at SF Playhouse Stage II Mee's melancholy Gone goes down easy Three stars (Sad beauty) No man was ever born but he must suffer. He buries his children and gets others in…
When I say Amy Sedaris is crazy, I mean that in the best possible way. This is, after all, the sister of writer David Sedaris and the woman who loves to wear a fat suit and disfigure her bea…
With an archaic-sounding category such as the Best Musical Show Album, it's no wonder the award (and the winners) don't make it onto the prime-broadcast. Still, there are those of us who car…
Reading the almanac in the newspaper today, I noticed something interesting and theatrical. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman opened 59 years ago today " Feb. 10, 1949 " at Broadway's Moro…
Opened Jan. 8, 2008,Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Word for Word scores with jazzy Blues three [1/2] stars Musical and muscular First we see snapshots, glimpses of lives we have yet to understan…
You're forgiven if you didn't know quite how amazing Margo Hall is. If you're a regular Bay Area theatergoer, you already know that Hall is an extraordinary actor. Last year, for instance, s…
Mountain View's TheatreWorks announced its 39th season today. The season opens in June with Snapshots with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Enchanted), at right, and book by Dav…
Opened Feb. 3, 2008, Post Street Theatre, San Francisco Shepherd's charms can't enliven bleak Widow Two stars (Light, long) Cybill Shepherd is moonlighting these days in the thee-ah-tuh. The…
Opened Feb. 2, 2008 at SF Playhouse The Scene makes a scene at SF Playhouse Three stars Scene to be seen By all rights, opening night of SF Playhouse's The Scene should have been a disaster.…
Opened Jan. 31, 2008 at the Aurora Theatre Company Crowded orbit mars Son's Satellites Two stars (Needs space and time) The really interesting thing about plays, movies or TV shows that atte…
