Review: New 'Three Sisters' adaptation lands at Hayward's Douglas Morrisson Theatre by Sam Hurwitt

Chekhov's classic gets some updated dialogue in Tracy Letts' version, but the dreary lives of a struggling Russian family remain intact.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 10:14pm on February 16, 2015☆⚑

Review: 'Angels in America' gets a strong staging at Town Hall Theatre by Sam Hurwitt

The company Lafayette is presenting the first part of Tony Kushner's AIDS-era classic, 'Millennium Approaches,' through Feb. 28.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 11:58am on February 9, 2015☆⚑

Tackling Football Concussions Head On by Sam Hurwitt

The theater and sports worlds collide in new football docudrama at Berkeley Rep about the damage done to players.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 8:35pm on January 29, 2015☆⚑

My Wife and My Dead Wife by Sam Hurwitt

Angela Lansbury and company share dry martinis and dryer wit in Noël Coward comedy.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 3:51am on January 24, 2015☆⚑

Dust Bowl Lethargy by Sam Hurwitt

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley revives Dust Bowl musical Panhandle -- with mixed results.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 11:48pm on January 22, 2015☆⚑

Review: Actors Ensemble revives Dust Bowl musical 'Panhandle' -- with mixed results by Sam Hurwitt

There are strong spirited performances in the musical number, but the play's grim tone takes a toll.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 2:34pm on January 22, 2015☆⚑

Enter and Exit the Samurai by Sam Hurwitt

Yeah, a samurai named Sumo. Somehow this is a thing.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 3:11am on January 21, 2015☆⚑

Review: A distinctly un-miserable 'Les Miserables' at Tri-Valley Rep by Sam Hurwitt

This adaptation of Victor Hugo's sprawling tale of rebelling French peasants gets good performances throughout. The musical runs through Jan. 31 at Livermore's Bankhead Theater.

SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News at 9:10pm on January 19, 2015☆⚑

Singin' in the Pain by Sam Hurwitt

Tri-Valley Rep takes on the musical mammoth that is Les Mis.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 11:17am on January 19, 2015☆⚑

Lament of the Landless by Sam Hurwitt

AlterTheater's Landless eulogizes the empty storefronts it performs in.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 11:01am on January 14, 2015☆⚑

Totally Sketched Out by Sam Hurwitt

SF Sketchfest, San Francisco's mammoth star-studded comedy festival, is back once again.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 10:50am on January 14, 2015☆⚑

Meet the B-Sides by Sam Hurwitt

Let's see what else was in the comics where Wonder Woman debuted, and when she joined the Justice Society.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 12:54am on January 1, 2015☆⚑

That Was the Year That Was by Sam Hurwitt

The long wait is over! Here's my Top 10 Bay Area shows of 2014.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 1:44pm on December 30, 2014☆⚑

Northern Highlights by Sam Hurwitt

It's that time again... time for the Top 10 Marin productions of 2014!

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 2:32pm on December 28, 2014☆⚑

Great Hera! by Sam Hurwitt

This issue of Wonder Woman is a kinky sex party from start to finish.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 2:23am on December 17, 2014☆⚑

Crack Team in Search of Truth by Sam Hurwitt

Somebody's trying to tell you something, something desperately important, but you can't understand.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 3:07pm on December 15, 2014☆⚑

The Gods Are Dicks by Sam Hurwitt

Strife's out for revenge on Diana, and it's no surprise that she goes about it in a weaselly way.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 2:21am on December 10, 2014☆⚑

Holiday Treats, Hold the Chestnuts by Sam Hurwitt

Looking for new ways to ring in the holidays in the theater?

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 11:16am on December 8, 2014☆⚑

Charlie and the Footwear Factory by Sam Hurwitt

Kinky Boots is a study in how to do a musical adaptation right.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 10:55am on December 5, 2014☆⚑

Comedy About Comedy"That's Hard by Sam Hurwitt

Reduced Shakespeare Company tries to squeeze some comedy out of the subject matter of comedy.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 11:04am on December 4, 2014☆⚑

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad by Sam Hurwitt

So how's the new David Finch/Meredith Finch Wonder Woman? Well, it's not good.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 3:46am on December 3, 2014☆⚑

A Candid Date with the Candidate by Sam Hurwitt

As satire goes, The Totalitarians is blunt, broad and messy in more ways than one.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 6:43pm on November 27, 2014☆⚑

Nothing but Zingers by Sam Hurwitt

Kathleen Turner plays journalist Molly Ivins as a patchwork of quips.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 6:32pm on November 26, 2014☆⚑

Steampunk Cirque by Sam Hurwitt

Cirque du Soleil's Kurios will be remembered as "the steampunk one."

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 6:13pm on November 25, 2014☆⚑

The Apartment, the Musical by Sam Hurwitt

Neil Simon and Burt Bacharach made The Apartment into a musical, and I wish they hadn't.

SOURCE: The Idiolect at 6:56pm on November 24, 2014☆⚑