1,373 stories by "Chad Jones"
Opened Aug. 8, Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco Raunchy, raucous `Q' finally hits SF Four stars Monstrously good It definitely doesn't suck to be in the audience of Avenue Q, the frisky musica…
With all the wild and wonderful denizens of Avenue Q heading into San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre this week, you'll want to check into the Theater Dogs frequently. The characters _ both huma…
Howdy, Theater Dogs. I've been on vacation for the last week or so, but I'm back, eager to bring you interesting tidbits of theater news and reviews. Took a roadtrip up the Oregon coast " to…
The idea of outdoor theater is so appealing in the summertime " picnics, friends, perhaps a little wine and, if you're lucky, an engaging show. But this is the Bay Area, where July and Augus…
So, you and two of your buddies are forming a theater company. Of course there are significant artistic considerations " a company needs a mission, right? " but there's one hugely important …
One of the funniest evenings I've ever spent in a theater was at the Cable Car Theatre in San Francisco for Eddie Izzard's Dress to Kill (which was later filed at the bigger theater next doo…
Opened July 21, 2007 at the Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto TheatreWorks' `Theophilus North is Wilder and wonderful three stars Northern delights In turning Thornton Wilder's final novel, The…
In his unfinished, unpublished preface to Theophilus North, his final novel, Thornton Wilder wondered what we humans do with our "despair, rage and frustration." He considered North, which w…
Opened July 18, 2007 at American Conservatory Theater Kiki & Herb warble, whine and imbibe through `Alive From Broaway' three stars Dark humor The warning is right there on the poster an…
Take a big, tasty bite of Bay Area theater _ and do it for free _ at the San Francisco Theater Festival on Sunday, July 22. The festival's 10 stages will host more than 70 shows and nearly 3…
Summer has finally arrived, at least it has for me. Living in the cool-to-cold, foggy Bay Area, I seek my summer thrills in movie theates (sorry, but the thought of outdoor summer theater in…
Remember the name James Zongus. You just might be able to say you knew him when. Though only 12 years old, James, a Foster City resident, has been performing for nearly a decade, and his sto…
The Broadway production of Xanadu actually received some lovely reviews. Critics seemed astonished that they were compelled to write nice things about what is apparently a funny, enjoyable s…
What is it about actors that allows them to be naked onstage? Does that courage come from the same source that lets them be actors in the first place, a mix of confidence, capability and des…
Opened Saturday, July 7, 2007, Bruns Amphitheater, Orinda Cal Shakes' Man and Superman soars with superheroic cast four stars Shavian perfection A lifetime happiness? No man alive could bear…
Every year around the Fourth of July, I like to celebrate something entirely American: the musical. I'm a little late this year, but it's my patriotic duty. So here, better late than never, …
Should we be taking it as an omen that the first big musical of the new theater season is Xanadu? And is that a good omen or not? A Theater Dogs spy who saw an early preview says it's defini…
Though it hasn't exactly rocked the world, Patty Griffin's musical, 10 Million Miles, has opened at New York's Atlantic Theater Company. It's the story of Molly (Irene Molloy) and Duane (Mat…
It's old news by now that Carrie Fisher will be replacing Rita Moreno next spring in Berkeley Repertory Theatre's 40th anniversary season. Fisher will be doing her solo autobiographical show…
Excitement is mounting for the movie version of Hairspray, which opens July 20. I know several people who have seen early screenings of the movie and they LOVE it, so push all thoughts of lo…
REPORT FROM LAS VEGAS Calling Las Vegas the Broadway of the West is really pushing it. Sure, Mama Mia! has blossomed into a hit, and it looks like Spamalot and The Phantom of the Opera have …
It ahd to happen: the battle of the Dreamgirls JHs " Jennifer Holliday (Broadway's original Effie) and Jennifer Hudson (Hollywood's Oscar-winning Effie). It's from the BET Awards earlier thi…
REPORT FROM LAS VEGAS The celebrated Montreal-based circus re-inventors Cirque du Soleil currently has five shows in Vegas (with two more on the way " one, an Elvis-themed show, the other bu…
Ah, Las Vegas, where even the excess is excessively excessive. Sound redundant and overblown? Welcome to Sin City, baby. I spent last week in the overheated climes of Southern Nevada for the…
The big yellow-and-blue-striped tent " the Grand Chapiteau " is heading back to the Bay Area. Cirque du Soleil's latest touring show, KOOZA, will have its U.S. premiere Nov. 16 in the parkin…
