THARP LOOKING SHARP AT NY CITY CENTER Ten polished, pseudo-suited dancers graced New York City Center with playful panache in Twyla Tharp's Diabelli (1998)" one of two pieces in the Diamond …
A GRANDLY GREASE-Y SPOOF! Poking fun, flinging a pun, prizing satirizing " that's the paradise that is parody and Vape!, blatantly billing itself as "The Grease Parody," aims its playfully p…
JOYOUSLY, GUYS & DOLLS HAS IT ALL Still touted as one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time, Guys and Dolls turns 75 in November. You'd never know it based on Music Theater Works…
AUDACIOUS AND FUN MUSICAL TAKES ON REALITY TV Last Wednesday, A.C.T. opened an extremely likeable, engaging and entertaining musical telling one of the tried-and-true stories of the 21st cen…
NAPA'S LUCK PENNY GOES TO POT" IN A GOOD WAY A hokey 1930s propaganda film runs headlong into Beach Blanket Babylon in Reefer Madness at Napa's Lucky Penny Productions through March 23. A mu…
Songs and gab at this swell cabaret Starting the party is Mame's "It's Today." Hear the cheer in the singer's voice With this merry Jerry Herman choice. The room has no gloom. There's joy. W…
LONDON THEATRES' BOUNTIFUL OFFERINGS Spring may not have come yet, but it's already high season for the London theatre. And it's an exceptional one. Of the eight productions I attended last …
THE TRIUMPH OF ALLISON ALTMAN There are many reasons to see The Triumph of Love, director Loretta Greco's gender-bending comedy that channels equal parts Shakespeare, Billy Wilder, and a das…
AN AMAZING NIGHT OF STARS GALORE "AND IT'S COMING TO PBS Filmed to be shown on PBS stations later this year, the concert cavalcade called Broadway's Leading Ladies at The Town Hall on West 4…
LONDON THEATRES' BOUNTIFUL OFFERINGS Spring may not have come yet, but it's already high season for the London theatre. And it's an exceptional one. Of the eight productions I attended last …
WILD ROMP IN SENIOR LIVING TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has launched an uproarious spoof of senior living with Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical. It's an all-…
WIT, WONDER AND WILD CHIMPS Embarking on a theatrical safari at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), I stumbled upon a wildly witty gem tonight that rivals the most exhilarating of jungle adve…
STILL WAITING FOR JUSTICE At its heart, Parade is a gripping exploration of prejudice, justice, and the power of perception. This Tony Award-winning revival, directed by Michael Arden, is ba…
Marital Mayhem and Matrimonial Mishaps: My First Ex-Husband's Second Cast Delivers Divorce Tales with Bite "Do you take this man " To have and to hold " from this day forward " for better, f…
CABS, COKE AND COMING OUT: PEARL ONG'S JOYRIDE THROUGH SF At The Marsh Theater, Pearl Ong"who describes herself as a "former Hong Kong Princess, pot-smoking and coke-snorting lesbian"is perf…
GANESHA GRANTS GRACE IN A GLORIOUSLY GRITTY JOURNEY The Hindu religion has multiple gods. Ganesha, also called Ganesh, is revered as the god of wisdom, luck, and beginnings. His beloved spir…
TICK, TICK… ENCORE! LARSON'S TRUNK SONGS SHINE If you're a fan of potent post-Golden Age theatre music, you should check out a show that just officially opened downtown last night. There's…
CHICAGO: IT'S A RAZZLE DAZZLE HELLUVA SHOW How did Throckmorton Theatre in downtown Mill Valley get such a stunning production of Chicago? This isn't Broadway, or is it? With the flash of a …
A PROMISING AND AMBITIOUS THE CAMP Los Angeles has had a flurry of new operas within the past few years. Among the most promising and ambitious I've seen is The Camp, by Lionelle Hamanaka (l…
PUSH/PULL PACKS A PUNCH Berkeley's Central Works is known for offering local Bay Area writers workshops and the opportunity for new playwrights to debut their works on stage with an audience…
WHEN CHILDREN'S THEATER IS A BEAUTIFUL THING Two "P" words""professional" and "pleasant""describe the stage production in Greenwich Village with two "B" words in its title: Beauty and the Be…
GHOSTS WILL POSSESS YOU The world is full of ghosts, and some of them are still people. "Peter Straub, The Throat Outstanding performances from a first-rate cast and Jack O'Brien's expert di…
TOOT-TOOT-TOOTSIE, HELLO! I was worried about attending a local production of Tootsie. I had seen the national tour and enjoyed it immensely. I worried that I might be so spoiled that I coul…
A HOUSE DIVIDED, A MUSICAL UNITED La Jolla Playhouse has struck gold with 3 Summers of Lincoln, a bold world premiere musical that dives into the three critical summers"1862, 1863, and 1864"…
JOFFREY ADDS SURPRISE TO A PROGRAM ALREADY BRIMMING WITH EXCELLENT DANCE Joffrey Ballet certainly must be conscious of its earth shifting habits. More likely, its propensity for greatly b…