Unlike in the days of Gershwin, Lerner and Loewe or Rodgers and Hammerstein, musicals are no longer only about extravagant tap numbers and happy endings. In the age of “Rent” and “Spring Awakening,” with the worlds of Broadway and rock music colliding, musicals today tell all sorts of stories — Read More…
‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ A Grammy legend will be gracing the Bay Area this week, but only as a fictional portrayal. “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” starring Tony nominee Jessie Mueller in the titular role as well as Jake Epstein (Yes, from “Degrassi: The Next Generation”!), will open at SHN Read More…
In Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” Anton Chekhov meets Walt Disney in this over-the-top comedy that takes place in the rustic Pennsylvanian home of two single 50-something siblings. When their self-absorbed Hollywood actress sister comes gallivanting back into the picture with her very young and often Read More…
There’s a strange infection in San Francisco, and it’s making all those around the geeky, 20-something Hamlet speak and act as if they’re in a Shakespearean play. And, as we all know, the works of William Shakespeare don’t always have happy endings. Following the success of last year’s “Truffaldino Says Read More…
It is 1914. With the Comstock Act in full effect, it is illegal in the United States to create and distribute written materials deemed “obscene” by those in charge — including any information or items pertaining to women’s sexuality and health. In this world where women are given no rights Read More…
There are some stories that can be told a million times and never grow old. The tale of Bonnie and Clyde is one of these American mythologies that finds itself in decades’ worth of films, songs and, recently, theater. It contains all the elements of a lasting American classic — Read More…
As the play opens, Josh Kornbluth’s so-called personal trainer comes onstage to announce his entrance: “Josh has made a living telling stories about things he failed to do.” “Sea of Reeds,” the locally renowned monologuist’s latest work, was commissioned by Shotgun Players. Kornbluth, a Berkeley resident, has written and performed Read More…
Closing the San Francisco Playhouse’s latest season, in familiar custom, is Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot.” Just as the theater’s previous season concluded with a reimagination of “My Fair Lady,” another Lerner and Loewe musical, the 10th anniversary season closes also with a similar theatrical reinvention. Most audience members will be Read More…
Neil LaBute is not your average storyteller, to say the least. There is nothing he loves more than making his audience feel uncomfortable — and rightfully so. With his plays, he seeks not to tell warm tales of the goodness of humanity but rather strives to dissect the flaws of Read More…
For its latest theatrical concoction, Shotgun Players has cooked up something like no other. Premiering this past weekend at The Ashby Stage was “By and By,” a new play written by San Francisco playwright Lauren Gunderson, a science fiction thriller that explores the realistic possibilities of cloning and the ethical Read More…