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Continue reading →: Review: Broadway San Jose’s ‘Something Rotten’ entertains, yet falls a bit flatIn the history of theatre, we have learned that William Shakespeare was a lot of things – namely a playwright, director and poet. What we didn’t bank on was that he was a massive rock star, with abs for days, slick-backed hair and that Elizabethan neck thing (actually called a…
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Continue reading →: Review: No easy answers in strong ‘Mothers and Sons’ at City LightsWhen Katharine’s son Andre played Hamlet in New York, there was a moment when he uttered these words: “There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not…
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Continue reading →: Baker relishes the thrill of the Will in Broadway San Jose’s ‘Something Rotten’If you were William Shakespeare, how full of yourself would you be? You’ve written 38 plays and 154 sonnets that have shaped, and in many cases, invented the English language. Your writing has been translated to every language possible. You have written quotes that go on for days, including one…
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Continue reading →: Review: Choreo steals the show in Berkeley Rep’s ‘Paradise Square’There is a smooth as hell flow and a succulent ease that kicks off the opening moments of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s world premiere musical “Paradise Square.” And while there are gorgeous tableaus and richness all over the stage, the true beauty of the show lies in the movement, the geometry…
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Continue reading →: The Drama Guy’s top 10 of ’18Another rapid-fire year has come and gone. In terms of theatre stuff, it feels so cliché to note how this year was one of the best on our Bay Area stages. But it’s hard to argue otherwise, yes? I spoke this past year with an artist, and the reaction on…
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Continue reading →: The Marsh’s Irma Herrera would like to share with you how to pronounce her nameIrma Herrera remembers her transition from a parochial middle school to a public high school. Her parochial school was a much greater reflection of her segregated upbringing, a young, Mexican girl growing up in Alice, Texas, long known as the birthplace of Tejano music. During an eighth grade visit, Herrera…
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Continue reading →: Review: A fantastical world and endless possibilities in wonderful ‘Tuck Everlasting’ at TheatreWorks Silicon ValleyLittle Winnie is like any young girl, delightfully ornery and innately curious. She drives her mother and grandmother crazy, boredom and monotony settling into her and her laconic little town. As with any young girl on the cusp of her awakening, the limiting walls and picket fence of her family…
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Continue reading →: Review: Ross is the boss in stellar ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ at the CurranTeens these days are more connected to each other than ever before. When they aren’t on Instagram, they are posting stories and maintaining streaks on Snapchat, just seconds away from someone’s superficial affirmation. The world of isolation dominates the characters in the wonderfully astute production of “Dear Evan Hansen,” in…
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Continue reading →: Tachis returns as the infamous Crumpet in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s ‘Santaland Diaries’One of the first things that strikes you when it comes to meeting Crumpet the Elf is his ability to throw back the booze. His traveling bar, with plenty of drinks loaded up on a rolling cart, gets lighter and lighter as the evening goes on. There is one very…
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Continue reading →: Mansour searches for dialogue in Golden Thread’s ‘We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War’In a recent episode of the podcast “Black on the Air” featuring comedian/host Larry Wilmore and his guest, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, both agreed that this may be the most divisive time for a conversation among opposite political rivals. Both held a strong belief that there is minimal chance…
David John Chávez
Bay Area theater critic/reporter, Executive Chair – American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association, Two-time Pulitzer Prize for Drama jurist (’22-’23). Follow me on socials and say hi! #hellatheatre
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