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Continue reading →: Sunnyvale’s Stafford returns to the Bay Area in Broadway’s ‘Once’
There is a certain element of sadness when a show closes. The performers who give so much to be on stage bonding with their cast mates can certainly be overwhelmed when it’s time to sing that song for the last time, and ultimately, take that final bow. Tina Stafford learned…
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Continue reading →: Getting up close and personal with the Hypocrites’ ‘Pirates of Penzance’ in Berkeley
So there’s this guy you work with. He keeps his distance, you keep yours. Until one day you decide to ask him if he wants to go grab a drink. The co-worker answers in the affirmative, and off you go. Now after a little bit of liquid courage, the nice…
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Continue reading →: Dedrick the entertainer lands dream role in Stage 1’s ‘Dreamgirls’
As a very young man, Dedrick Weathersby learned early on about the magic of the genre called “soul music.” It came from watching his parents dance to the great soul sounds of the ‘60s in their Longview, Texas home. Whether it was the hits of Motown or the forceful, visceral…
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Continue reading →: Review: Badassery’s ‘Don’t be Evil’ is darkly humorous, hopeful
Kavanagh is tired. He’s tired of all the many years he has provided quality finger smashing. Like so many of us (I think), Kavanagh knows that feeling of pure bliss, the unmitigated joy one gets when the hammer lands squarely on the fingers, one by one, bones being crushed and…
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Continue reading →: San Francisco’s Department of Badassery finds humor in ‘Evil’
The Department of Badassery in San Francisco is producing a play, a debut for their company, and a world premiere at that. It’s about technology. It’s also about torture. Its flyers feature a person sitting on a chair with a Stanford t-shirt and an American flag on his head. The…
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Continue reading →: Review: Easy to feel the love at Broadway San Jose’s ‘Lion King’
What is about Disney’s “The Lion King,” that makes it so special? For starters, it remains one of the most inventive retellings of a Disney cartoon anywhere. Original director Julie Taymor’s magnificent color palette of a mind has aged extremely well, still thrilling audiences since its original stage debut in…
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Continue reading →: Hobbs relishes her role in Broadway San Jose’s ‘The Lion King’
Tiffany Denise Hobbs has done plenty in her film and theatre career, but there is something very special about her latest endeavor. Hobbs finds herself touring with the worldwide Broadway sensation “The Lion King,” which anchors in San Jose beginning Thursday, Sept. 10th. The show has garnered much acclaim, winning…
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Continue reading →: Review: Fresh coat of paint for SHNSF’s ‘Phantom’ features hits, misses
I have a pretty solid history with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s pièce de résistance “The Phantom of the Opera.” While it has never been an all-time favorite, it has always been for me an enjoyable dazzler, with plenty of spectacle that does not necessarily mean just the chandelier. Fire, explosions, and falling…
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Continue reading →: Mann finds new challenges after ‘The Voice’ in SHNSF’s ‘Phantom’
It’s all a bit overwhelming for Chris Mann. First there was that little television show he appeared on, something called “The Voice,” where he was a member of Team Christina Aguilera. Then there was a performance on that same show of the beautiful standard “You Raise Me Up,” which inspired…
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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