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Continue reading →: Review: Despite some lull, Curran’s ‘Cursed Child’ is a jaw-dropping tour through Harry’s worldOne of the greatest appeals of the character of Harry Potter is how ordinary he is despite his elevated status in the wizarding world. His bespectacled face, consternation towards his adopted family, longing for his actual family and resistance towards the greatness that has been thrust upon him makes him…
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Continue reading →: Review: A magical mouse is the hero in wonderful ‘Despereaux’ at Berkeley RepEarly in the wonderfully magical Berkeley Repertory Theatre production of “The Tale of Despereaux,” the narrator, aka the Librarian laments the plight of Despereaux, the little runt of a mouse that has experienced one of life’s great tragedies. The tragedy didn’t come in the form of a glue trap or…
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Continue reading →: Review: The life of Townsend compels in The Marsh’s ‘Living the Shuffle’Throughout the 90 consecutive minutes of Hollywood pioneer Robert Townsend’s autobiographical one-man show “Living the Shuffle,” it’s easy to see that in every way possible, he is a complete product of his environment. Nicknamed “TV Guide” as a young kid because of his obsession with every ounce of late 1960s…
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Continue reading →: Review: ‘Miss Saigon’ is a messThere is a bit of a snake bitten vibe when it comes to Broadway San Jose’s hosting of the polarizing musical “Miss Saigon,” sticking around the South Bay through Sunday, Nov. 17th. Opening night was canceled due to “transportation delays of the show’s scenery,” according to a news release. And…
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Continue reading →: Review: Shotgun’s magical ‘Elevada’ lifts its souls off the groundThere are two dueling realities that exist in the delightfully charming and poignant production of “Elevada” from Shotgun Players in Berkeley. First, there is a love story that hits off immediately between two awkwardly charming subjects, a charm that raises the ooh and awww levels to eleven. But there is…
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Continue reading →: Review: Sunnyvale Players have themselves a potty in delightful ‘Urinetown’To pee or not to pee, that is the question. Well, if you’ve got the flow for the flow, the answer is that you can let it go like a fine wine because you have the dollar bills, yo. Peeing is expensive when toilets are newly private instead of public,…
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Continue reading →: Review: San Jose Stage’s joyful ‘Rocky Horror’ embraces every ounce of cult classic campFor those who know very little about “The Rocky Horror Show,” and there are certainly some virgins out there who have yet to consummate with the show’s charms, it’s a little tricky to explain. As a matter of fact, my simple explanation of the plot via text to a potential…
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Continue reading →: The game of cricket serves as a metaphor in A.C.T’s ‘Testmatch’Lipica Shah never considered herself a fan of cricket. But ask her about a game she never really watched or grew up with and she gets positively giddy, even pointing to a Netflix episode of the show “Explained” that teaches the game in 15 minutes. Before acting in her latest…
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Continue reading →: Townsend lives the Hollywood dream in ‘Living the Shuffle’ at the Marsh“You know, let me just say this…” Robert Townsend is a thoughtful gent. Before answering any question, he ponders it deeply in order to give the most accurate answer possible. And more often then not, that aforementioned quote is how his responses begin, built from thoughtful, pointed pensivity. The answers…
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Continue reading →: Gundunas connects with all of her lives in ‘Nine’ at San Jose’s 3BelowSusan Gundunas is quite the artist. She’s a professional actor, a vocalist specializing in a wide variety of styles including opera, and a voice teacher who runs a classical singer boot camp. In the training she has both given and received over the years, she has learned that some of…
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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