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Continue reading →: Shotgun’s ‘Dry Land’ addresses the ‘fragile and formative’ teen yearsWith today’s generation of teenagers more connected than ever in the form of social media, the pressures to live up to a fabricated online ideal can be thoroughly treacherous. Specifically, teen girls by nature go through a constant process of selecting and deselecting friends, searching for meaningful connections to help…
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Continue reading →: Review: Effectively disjointed ‘Constitution’ by Heidi Schreck enlightens and entertains at Berkeley RepThere is no denying the charm and disarming nature of Heidi Schreck. She is whip-smart, delightfully funny, but underneath that billowy, sunny demeanor is a life lived, one that has had its share of triumphs, heartaches, and ultimately a resolve to keep going and keep fighting. What allows her to…
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Continue reading →: Review: Sing the joyful noise with SHN’s phenomenal ‘Color Purple’There is something so special about a Sunday morning at a Black church in the South. More than a year ago, my family and I ventured to my brother-in-law’s hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina for our nephew’s first birthday. And on that trip, which found all of us engaging in…
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Continue reading →: Review: Berkeley Rep’s magical ‘Angels in America’ overwhelms, inspiresIt is overwhelming to experience the marathon of Tony Kushner’s two-part masterpiece “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” It almost feels like returning to your corner in a grueling boxing match when scenes end to get a shot of water, only to be sent out again to…
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Continue reading →: Schreck talks and debates amendments in her show ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ at Berkeley RepThat pesky 14th Amendment. It’s an amendment that states, in its second section, that only the rights of voting males are protected. Even more problematic, when addressing citizenship, it never clearly states who actually has the right to become a citizen. So basically, that critical detail is up for interpretation.…
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Continue reading →: Arabian Shakes explores the icy relations between the U.S. and Iran in world premiere of ‘All the Shah’s Men’ in San FranciscoThe United States of America has long prided itself on its democracy. Freedoms, the constitution, and the right to vote are hallmarks of American values built from the founding fathers, and despite the difficulties with this ideal faced in this country at present, fair and free elections are a right…
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Continue reading →: Khan uses ‘Love, Bombs and Apples’at Golden Thread to solidify his work as a soloist.
Four very different individuals. Asif Khan is a bit of a chameleon. The Pakistani actor who is a first-generation Englander from Bradford, Yorkshire is having a blast, quickly becoming synonymous with a powerful, one-person play that has become quite the hit overseas, and now landing in the United States. “Love,…
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Continue reading →: Review: Magnificent ‘feet’ is accomplished in The Marsh’s ‘A Fatal Step’Jill Vice saunters onto the black stage, her razor red lipstick sharpened for a thorough examination of the heart. She speaks with a period-style trill, a trill that shakes the word “murder.” And there are feet. And there is the agony of da feet. In her one-woman show “A Fatal…
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Continue reading →: Review: ACT’s ‘Vietgone’ a brilliant, thrilling ride
There is a powerful moment between the Playwright and his father, a moment that speaks volumes about their relationship. The father Quang, who was part of the April 1975 fall of Saigon, relocated to a refugee camp in Arkansas shortly after. Quang, like many of his country men and women,…
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Continue reading →: ‘Fun, heart and smart’ are the centerpieces’ of Langan’s ‘Daughter of a Garbage Man’ at the Marsh
There are a few things Maureen Langan does not endorse when it comes to achieving fame. They include, yet are not limited to the following, in no particular order: Showing ass. Making a sex tape. Being a prick on a “reality” show. Other than that, all good. “I don’t want…
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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