If you know Patti Lupone, you know she’s not someone to be messed with. For more than 30 years, this diva has ruled Broadway with an iron-clad grasp and a voice that says, “Fuck you, I’m amazing,” with every soaring note. Even as a child, Ben Rimalower could sense this Read More…
How do you come to terms with the legacy of an idol? The same way we always have — write a play about the person and emphasize relentlessly his or her weaknesses. Break the person down, and boldly confront all the things you were afraid to consider when he or Read More…
UC Berkeley alum and founding Artistic Director of BareStage Productions Ben Rimalower will be stopping by Berkeley next week for his original show, “Patti Issues” — a deeply personal monologue about the hardship of family, the majesty of musical theater and the power of Broadway extraordinaire Patti Lupone. The Daily Read More…
“You ask four guys how it happened, you get four different versions.” This is how Tommy DeVito, the brusque patriarch, introduces the story of how a ramshackle group of guys from New Jersey became one of the top-selling pop groups of all time — The Four Seasons. It’s a sordid Read More…
The 13th Earl of Gurney and his servant Tucker are standing center stage, and a noose is swinging below the Earl’s head. Tucker and the Earl exchange pleasantries, and eventually Tucker leaves the room, leaving the Earl and the noose to themselves. While delivering a nonsensical monologue, the Earl (played Read More…
When you open your newspaper (if those things even still exist) and turn to Charles M. Schulz’s legendary “Peanuts” comic strip, you know what to expect. There will be some Snoopy hijinks, a “good grief,” maybe some “wah-wahs” and most certainly an effervescent feeling of warmth bubbling somewhere in the Read More…
The story itself is a simple tale: It reveals the healing power of nature and a triumph over misfortune and heartbreak. But the effort put into the visuals of the opera are astounding and sophisticated. Read More…
Impact Theatre’s latest contemporary revamp is William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” The play follows a familiar Shakespearean scenario. Everyone starts to fall in love with the wrong person. Chaos ensues. Read More…
Premiering at the Aurora Theatre this past week was local playwright Anthony Clarvoe’s “Our Practical Heaven” — a family dramedy consisting of a mere cast of six female characters differing greatly in terms of generations and personalities but strung together by the word “family”. Think “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Read More…
Hats have a long history in professional theater. In Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” the artist Georges Seurat sings an entire three-minute ode to “Finishing the Hat.” “Look, I made a hat,” he says, “where there never was a hat.” And, in SF Playhouse’s newest production, a Read More…
