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Continue reading →: Review: Berkeley Rep’s ‘Aubergine’ is nourishing, delicious
Not long after my paternal grandfather passed away in 1986, my father told me a story of the last bag of fruit his dad ever purchased. It was a bag of oranges, yet not a particularly good one. My grandfather by trade was a grafter in the southern Central Valley.…
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Continue reading →: The right time is now for Lo and the Pear Theatre’s ‘Uncle Vanya’
Jeffrey Lo certainly understands what it is to direct a show that has been fueled by a long passion. It was in his third year of college when he first saw a production of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” The show left an indelible mark on him, firmly planted into his…
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Continue reading →: Anthony Wayne’s ‘Mighty Real’ a showcase of the fabulous ‘Sylvester’
Anthony Wayne left the security of performing in multiple Broadway shows in New York for a project of passion. That passion was sharing the story of Sylvester James, Jr., better known simply as “Sylvester.” An artist that tested the bounds of fashion and sexuality, Sylvester was an icon in the…
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Continue reading →: Review: SHN’s ‘Dirty Dancing’ is harmless, campy fun
So I just gotta say, when it comes to the 1987 movie “Dirty Dancing,” yours truly has never been a fan. Now my wife on the other hand has had a love affair, an obsession if you will, about this film since around the 12th of forever. I think a…
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Continue reading →: Review: ‘Valley of the Heart’ a sweeping epic at San Jose Stage
Benjamin looks longingly at the beautiful Thelma, gazing at her while beads of sweat protrude down her gentle face. While hours are spent under the sunny blaze of the fields, a love story is formed, a story that would be even more beautiful if it weren’t so tragic. When…
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Continue reading →: Review: Nothing is what it seems in SHN’s ‘The Illusionists’
Wait, how did they do that? You know, that is pretty much the question that everyone asks while watching something as sublime as “The Illusionists,” the magic spectacular that takes root at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre through Feb. 21st. And for those who are magic novices like tricks, these illusions…
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Continue reading →: Review: ‘Jersey Boys’ are still the big men in town
(L to R) Keith Hines, Aaron De Jesus, Drew Seeley and Matthew Dailey are The Four Seasons in the return engagement of “Jersey Boys,” playing through Feb. 14th at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre. (Photo by Jeremy Daniel) “If things work out, can we add a saxophone?” “If things work out,…
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Continue reading →: Laughs of substance aplenty in City Lights’ ‘Tigers Be Still’
It was just a few days before Thanksgiving, when Virginia Drake and her cast of the City Lights Theater Company production of “Tigers Be Still” had a pleasant, joyful read-through of the piece. There were laughs aplenty, and tons of fun was had by all, with Drake stating, “We all…
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Continue reading →: Review: Pear Theatre’s ‘Mountaintop’ is stunning, exquisite
“You won’t feel the hurt – the world will.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. biographer Taylor Branch said the following when speaking of King’s autopsy after his assassination in 1968 – “The Movement took a huge toll on him. When they did the autopsy, they said he had the heart of a…
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Continue reading →: DeJesus searches for truth as Frankie Valli in SHN’s ‘Jersey Boys’
For the person lucky enough to play the signature role of Frankie Valli in the smash Broadway hit “Jersey Boys,” the lifestyle can be pretty lonely. Take Aaron De Jesus for example, the actor playing the role in San Francisco’s production, which has its official opening on Friday, Jan. 22nd. While…
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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