She’s an artist, a writer, a mother and a terrorist. These are but a few descriptions of the elusive main character Anna, who never appears on stage, in Martin Crimp’s experimental play “Attempts on Her Life” performed by the Department of Theater, Dance and Performance studies at the Zellerbach Playhouse. Read More…
With ticket in hand, I approached the showing of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” Drawing closer to Cal Shake’s amphitheater, the unexpected thud of club music echoed around the courtyard. The front of the press packet read “Reimagining The Classics” in bold lettering. And a reimagining it was. Read More…
The grand fantasy of spending every last dime on a train ticket to get to Hollywood in the hopes of making it big sets the stage for the American Conservatory Theater’s latest production, “Once in a Lifetime.” Written in the early 1930s by the famous duo Kaufman and Hart, “Once Read More…
A regal middle-aged woman with perfectly coiffed hair, Agnes sits bemusedly a couch, her head resting on one hand. Everything about her has the appearance of utter calm: her crossed legs, her ladylike posture and even the demure curve of her smile. But as she sits onstage, wondering aloud about Read More…
There are only ten artists who have ever achieved the honor of winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony (the coveted EGOT — as Tracy Jordan from “30 Rock” would call these award-winning champions). But, only one of them can boast of dating both Elvis Presley and Read More…
The last time “Seussical the Musical” was performed in the Berkeley Playhouse, Teala Volkamer (Cindy Michoo Who) viewed the performance from a seat next to her parents in the audience. This time, the teenage Volkamer joined a cast that ranged from toddlers to adults and took the stage proving, in Read More…
When Anna Deavere Smith walks into a room, you shut up and listen. Not due to any force, but only out of sheer seduction. Physically, she intimidates and enthralls with her command of the stage. Emotionally, she wrests control over both our tears and our laughter. And, intellectually, there is Read More…
Mark Jackson takes the universal theme of alienation to a new level with his latest production, “Metamorphosis”. Adapted for the stage from Franz Kafka’s notable short story, Aurora Theatre Company’s representation of one man’s troubled transformation is both delightful yet twisted. The jokes are aplenty and the cruelties run amok, Read More…
In the heart of San Francisco, American Conservatory Theater gives us “Tales of the City”, a new musical based on Armistead Maupin’s newspaper-column-turned-novel-series of San Francisco’s stories and personalities. Directed by Jason Moore, “Tales of the City” is a musical that is part funny, part touching, part raunchy and part Read More…
For the first time in California Shakespeare Theater’s 38-years of outdoor culture-ification, the company that cool kids call “Cal Shakes” presents us with a production of Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus”, directed by Joel Sass. It’s a bloody and vengeful affair, entertaining although perhaps not appropriate for children or those adverse to Read More…
