-
Continue reading →: Four Lost Souls try to heal damaged souls in ‘The Motherfu**er with the Hat’
If you look at the acting resume of Byron Haigh, there’s a common theme amongst the characters he has chosen to play. On that resume, you will see Macbeth, a tortured individual with misguided ambition. You’ll also see Eddie from “Fool for Love,” who expresses his torture through dark humor,…
-
Continue reading →: Review: Timely ‘Alabama Story’ doesn’t quite reach heights
The term “fake news” is nothing new. It is easy to label something as fake. What is fake to someone is real to another. So another way of saying something is fake news depends on one thing – the way we feel about the group that is actually disseminating the…
-
Continue reading →: Jill Vice rethinks the femme fatale in ‘A Fatal Step’ at the Marsh
The femme fatale in a film noir functions on levels that aren’t terribly clear. The sleek seductress who saunters into an office, bats a long eyelash gripping an even longer cigarette, and ultimately causes a man’s destruction is hindered by one simple question – what’s her motivation? It’s a question…
-
Continue reading →: Review: Virtuosity of Hershey Felder is apparent in TheatreWorks’ stellar ‘Our Great Tchaikovsky’
When looking at the life of the great composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, there are many stories to be told. One is of the man and influences that inspired decadent concertos and delicious ballets such as “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker,” a man who wields a composition pen loaded with warmth,…
-
Continue reading →: Review: Curmudgeonly Crumpet searches for humanity in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s delightful ‘Santaland Diaries’
There is a serious drinking game going on right now at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. It involves an elf by the name of Crumpet. In the pantheon of great elf names, not sure exactly how this one ranks. It’s not a name that inspires the warmth of tapioca – more like…
-
Continue reading →: Review: San Jose Stage’s strong ‘Fool for Love’ is grimy and guttural
The relationship between Eddie and May is a disaster. Toxicity and tequila oozes through them like a vicious, running stream, and when they kiss, their lips don’t just meet. Their kisses are a series of violent bites and jabs, and when one leaves, the other screams. It is this compelling…
-
Continue reading →: Review: Intellectual ‘Watch on the Rhine’ is heavy on text, timely in its urgency
It takes very little time to see where “Watch on the Rhine” is headed. Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s newest drama, penned by American theatre great Lillian Hellman, is truly a throwback to older plays that harbor thought and intellect. This is not a play of actions that careen off the stage…
-
Continue reading →: Theatre of Yugen’s ‘Noh Christmas Carol’ fuses ancient Japanese with the classic Dickens tale
Spend any amount of time chatting with Nick Ishimaru, and you will hear the passion in his voice when it comes to the art form he shares with others. Ishimaru is a theatre maker, a young man of 34, and spends his time directing plays. Yet the plays and the…
-
Continue reading →: Cool Katie: Foster City girl makes pro debut in 42nd Street Moon’s ‘Secret Garden’
There’s a big question that Katie Maupin struggles to answer, a huge question. As a 12-year-old seventh grader in Foster City, is she a super annoying middle schooler or a hecka cool one? Katie hesitates before her response, perplexed even as she ponders the fallout from her answer. Finally, she…
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
Let’s connect
Join the fun!
Stay updated with our latest tutorials and ideas by joining our newsletter.
Bay Area Plays.com 