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Continue reading →: #Pongstrong – Courtney’s great fall sends the ComedySportz world into action
It was the fall heard round the world. It started out as any other day for ComedySportz San Jose’s Courtney Pong. The longtime veteran of Silicon Valley’s longest running show was doing what she does every year – taking a leisurely run with a bunch of buddies that play for…
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Continue reading →: ‘Twas Brillig’ set to play in a Theatre Near U
A Theatre Near U theatre and film academy is working hard to change the perception of “youth theatre.” For starters, the company is a kind of all-star factory for high school theatre students. But these are not students that do theatre as a hobby. These are students who are defined…
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Continue reading →: Review: The sunshine of SHN’s ‘Annie’ still joyful
Annie is just so, you know, Annieish. The sunny little depression era redhead with the can do attitude just has that “It” factor. And no one who has a sniveling, pessimistic outlook on life is gonna shut her down. The newest production that is now running at the Golden Gate…
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Continue reading →: Review: Belly laughs aplenty in Berkeley Rep’s ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’
Poor audience volunteer. This is the unassuming woman who had the horrible fortune of snagging a hella good seat for Berkeley Rep’s latest production of “One Man, Two Guvnors,” playing through June 28th at the Roda Theatre. She was brought, no, more like thunderously dragged onto the stage. What seemed…
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Continue reading →: From the beach to Broadway: Trent’s magic the source of his passion
Adam Trent remembers his very first magic trick. Well, he doesn’t remember the specifics but knows it was for a birthday party. And he certainly knows it went about as well as can be expected considering he was eight-years-old and working for free. “It was probably horrific, I can only…
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Continue reading →: Deagon’s drive paves the way for his role in SHN’s ‘Annie’
Garrett Deagon is one of the lucky ones. By his own estimation, for the better part of three years, he took part in up to 400 auditions in New York City. And he certainly heard a lot of the following: “No thank you,” or “Don’t call us, we’ll call you,”…
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Continue reading →: Elusive Wilder play ‘The Skin of Our Teeth’ presents a challenge for Evans in Hayward
If you were to watch Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning play “The Skin of Our Teeth” and not fully grasp what is happening, no worries, you aren’t alone. As a matter of fact, Susan Evans sometimes feels the same way. Hell, even some of the characters in the play feel…
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Continue reading →: ‘Heart Shaped Nebula’ at Berkeley’s Shotgun Players is deeply personal to playwright Treviño Orta
Marisela Treviño Orta has had a most unique journey to the theatre, which started with a love for science. The science she was exposed to as a young girl growing up in Texas comes from her father, a teacher of earth science. Orta fondly and proudly remembers her prowess identifying…
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Continue reading →: Review: Berkeley Rep’s ‘Head of Passes’ smolders through the rain
Job had it all. Loving children. Wealth. Thousands of livestock animals. But most importantly, he had an unshakeable faith. He needed the latter in spades. One day, messengers, one by one, came upon him to deliver the devastating news: His livestock had perished. His children died while the house they…
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Continue reading →: Review: San Jose Stage puts forward a strong ‘Death of a Salesman’
The opening, iconic image is haunting. Willy Loman stands at attention, facing his front door, the weight of whatever is in those suitcases pulling him down towards the earth. He stands for a moment, shoulders slumped despondently, and then proceeds into his house, preparing to start the final chapter, the…
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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