Bay Area theatre talk with a Drama Guy
Playwright Octavio Solis is obviously used to writing pieces that are shared with theatre audiences. But his latest piece, running at Z Below in San Francisco, is quite different. Word … Continue reading Solis’ personal stories of life on the border are featured in Word for Word’s ‘Retablos’ in San Francisco
If you were to ask most folks about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic “The Great Gatsby,” chances are most of those polled would have read the book in high school. … Continue reading Collins finds fresh fascination with ‘Gatsby’ in Elevator Repair Service’s ‘Gatz’ at Berkeley Rep
Early into the stellar San Francisco Playhouse production of “Tiny Beautiful Things,” Letter Writer #2 shares a devastating story of her miscarriage when she was six months pregnant. All her … Continue reading Review: Beautiful things come in tiny packages at San Francisco Playhouse
Claire Rice has embraced the challenge of trying to scare folks who walk through the doors of PianoFight in San Francisco . And Tonya Narvaez is helping her do exactly … Continue reading Awesome Theatre’s ‘Clickbait’ is ready to scare the ‘Tube’ out of ‘You’
When playwright Diana Burbano sat down to write “Ghosts of Bogotá,” something scared the hell out of her. It wasn’t having to create a character based on herself, which she … Continue reading Family secrets fill Burbano’s dark comedy ‘Ghosts of Bogotá’ at Alter Theater in San Rafael
There will certainly be a group of audience members who will attend American Conservatory Theater’s production of “Wakey, Wakey” and heap it with praise. The production is loaded with quirky … Continue reading Review: Hale’s charm not enough for confounding ‘Wakey, Wakey’ at A.C.T.
Poor, poor Kevin. The hapless everyman functions plenty in Sarah Ruhl’s “Stage Kiss,” now running at City Lights Theater Company. He’s a dude who’s always there when you need him, … Continue reading Review: The good and bad of theatre relationships in City Lights’ ‘Stage Kiss’
Everything Mona Golabek does on the stage is methodical. The ebony and ivory keys that encompass the grand Steinway sit silent, resting, while Golabek presents herself downstage to an eager … Continue reading Review: Golabek captivates in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s ‘Pianist of Willesden Lane’
Mona Golabek received piano instructions from her mother, Lisa Jura, as a small child, but learning to play was only a fraction of the lessons she learned as she sat … Continue reading Golabek’s family history through music returns to the Bay Area in ‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane’ at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
The final year of the decade was another strong one for Bay Area theatre. Some incredibly significant milestones took place in 2019, and the start of a new decade will … Continue reading Wrapping up the final year of the decade, and the Drama Guy’s Top 10 of ’19
I was in New York in November for the annual American Theatre Critics Association conference, where I saw six shows in three days, a mix of Broadway and off-Broadway. The … Continue reading NYC Review Roundup: Scintillating ‘Slave Play,’ the cruel world of Hades and sexy ‘Oklahoma!’
Anyone who has analyzed the amazing, powerful and critical piece of theatre known as Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” can articulate what it’s truly about. You have John Proctor, a man … Continue reading Review: Poetic justice abounds in brilliant ‘Becky Nurse of Salem’ at Berkeley Rep
