Robert Kelley News

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will present Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner August Wilson’s sweeping drama Gem of the Ocean. This seminal classic will be directed by Artistic Director Tim Bond, a close friend of the late playwright and a leading interpreter of his work, making his TheatreWorks directorial debut with this play.

Jane Austen’s engaging story of two resilient sisters comes to musical life on stage when TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Regional Premiere of Sense and Sensibility.

Jane Austen's engaging story of two resilient sisters comes to musical life on stage when TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Regional Premiere of Sense and Sensibility. This sensational work features book, music, and lyrics by Paul Gordon, whose Pride and Prejudice broke box office records when it premiered at TheatreWorks in 2019, and was then streamed by more than 160,000 viewers worldwide at its virtual debut.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will present the Regional Premiere of the musical Sense and Sensibility.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announced today that Executive Director Phil Santora will step down from TheatreWorks in June 2022, concluding a tenure of fifteen years.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley invites the community to Sunday in the Park with Kelley, an outdoor public picnic celebrating TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley. In June 2020, Kelley retired from the helm of the nationally respected regional theatre company he founded 50 years earlier, ending one of the longest tenures of an artistic director in American theatre.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will resume in-person performances when it launches its previously announced 51st season, featuring eight plays and musicals presented October 2021 through August 2022, kicking off with the new indie folk-rock musical Lizard Boy.

Scallywags set sail across the seven seas to swarm a swashbuckling soiree as TheatreWorks Silicon Valley hosted its spring fundraiser, The Pirates of the Shores of Redwood. Donning tricorn hats, head scarves, and other pirate finery, the party pirates feasted on fancy grub, indulged in grog and other spirits, plundered a bounty of priceless treasures and once-in-a-lifetime adventures, and enjoyed rollicking musical performances in a nautical night of merriment and hijinks to support the Tony Award-winning theatre company as it prepares to resume in-person performances this Fall.

If your former spouse wrote a book describing how they left you to take up with someone else, even quoting your personal letters during the breakup – what would you do? That is the tantalizing question explored by Lynne Kaufman in her newest play, 'Divine Madness,' debuting January 30th and 31st on MarshStream. Local stage favorites Julia McNeal and Charles Shaw Robinson will play the roles of celebrated writer Elizabeth Hardwick and poet Robert Lowell, who had a long and intensely complicated marriage. Lowell went on the win the Pulitzer for this work, while Hardwick was left destroyed. What are the chances you would reunite after that kind of public betrayal? BroadwayWorld spoke with Kaufman from her home in San Francisco to learn more about what prompted her to write about Hardwick and Lowell, and also to talk about her long and productive partnership with The Marsh, where her play Who Killed Sylvia Plath? recently won top honors at the The MarshStream International Solo Fest. Kaufman is a terrific conversationalist, at once uncommonly erudite and naturally chatty. It is also clear that she is a born storyteller. Even the simplest question can lead her to unexpected places, like a fascinating tale of meeting spiritual guru Ram Dass in Hawaii.

Winners have been announced for the 2020 BroadwayWorld San Francisco Awards - which were back bigger than ever, celebrating the best in local theatre of the past decade! 

A legion of fans and supporters of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley gathered online Saturday, October 17 for TheatreWorks's first-ever virtual gala, From TheatreWorks with Love: A Party with Bond… Tim Bond, a 007-themed event that celebrated new Artistic Director Tim Bond as he begins his tenure at the Tony Award-winning theatre company.

Under Artistic Director Tim Bonda??s leadership, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has just launched an ambitious new online initiative entitled Voices of Democracy, with the intention of encouraging audiences to get out the vote and stand up for racial justice. Leading up to the 2020 election, Voices of Democracy offers digital theatrical experiences that celebrate diverse voices and build a bridge from empathy to action, including plays, poetry, and curated quotes that shine a light on pressing issues during this election year. It will also feature an interview with Tony Award winner & TheatreWorks alum James Monroe Iglehart (Broadwaya??s Aladdin and Hamilton). BroadwayWorld recently caught up with Tim Bond to learn more about Voices of Democracy and his own history before coming to TheatreWorks. Bond is a fascinating guy to talk to so our conversation took all kinds of interesting twists and turns. A true people person, he is especially committed to using theater to build community and effect change. In conversation, he often takes his time to respond to questions and is apt to speak in complex sentences that show a great deal of thought. He is not someone who needs to shout to make his voice heard and frequently leavens his responses with gentle laughter. At once brainy and comfortable expressing his emotions, Bond is clearly a person of heart and mind.

In celebration of Womena??s Equality Day and the Centennial of the 19th Amendment, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and The Womana??s Club of Palo Alto will present a virtual performance of excerpts and songs from the dynamic musical Perfect 36, with lyrics and book by Laura Harrington, music by Mel Marvin, and direction by Mac Pirkle. Set in 1920, Perfect 36 honors the indomitable spirit of the suffragettes as they battle to secure a 36-state majority to ratify the 19th Amendment. The online event will take place at 5:30pm PDT on Wednesday, August 26th. Giovanna Sardelli, TheatreWorksa?? Artistic Associate and Director of New Works, will host the event and engage in a conversation with Laura Harrington, the showa??s book writer and lyricist. A link to stream the show will be available at TheatreWorks.org for no charge, although donations are encouraged to support TheatreWorks and The Womana??s Club of Palo Alto. BroadwayWorld recently spoke with Giovanna Sardelli from her hometown of Las Vegas where shea??s been sheltering in place with family until she can safely return to her actual home base in New York City. In addition to her role at TheatreWorks, Sardelli is enjoying quite a remarkable career as a director at theaters across the U.S., and has built a track record of developing close working relationships with notable playwrights such as Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph and Olivier Award winner Matthew Lopez. Talking to Sardelli, ita??s clear why she is so constantly in demand. She is naturally engaging, inherently upbeat without being saccharine, and passionate about expanding the possibilities of theater. Her excitement about the chance to work closely with TheatreWorksa?? new Artistic Director Tim Bond to tackle new challenges is palpable.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Artistic Director Tim Bond and Executive Director Phil Santora announced today that the Tony Award-winning theatre will postpone the opening of its 51st mainstage season to March 2021, with eight plays presented through May 2022.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's production of Paul Gordon's Pride and Prejudice is now streaming on Amazon

What better way to spend a summer evening than in the company of artistic genius in the form of iconic composer Ludwig van Beethoven as interpreted by renowned musical theater artist Hershey Felder? On Sunday July 12th at 5pm PDT, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will present a livestream of the hit show Hershey Felder: Beethoven, an intimate and theatrical portrait of the legendary composer. Tickets to the livestream are available on TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's website (www.theatreworks.org) with proceeds to benefit TheatreWorks while the Tony-winning regional theatre remains dark due to the Covid pandemic. Inspired by an account of a Viennese doctor who spent his boyhood by the Beethoven's side, this enchanting musical features masterful performances of some of the composer's greatest works, from a?oeMoonlight Sonataa?? to the a?oeNinth Symphonya?? and the a?oeEmperor Concerto.a?? The enormously popular show's 2017 World Premiere still holds TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's box office record to date. BroadwayWorld recently had the pleasure of speaking with Felder from his home in Florence, Italy where he will be performing the livestream. As cicadas whirred in the background (really!), we had a wide-ranging discussion about Beethoven, Felder's relationship with TheatreWorks, the pandemic and the wonders of Florence. In conversation, Felder is an engaging amalgam of seemingly contradictory qualities, at once erudite and folksy, brainy and empathetic, quick with an arcane cultural factoid or a self-deprecating remark, equally expressive of joy and sorrow.

It is time for Robert Kelley to take a richly-deserved curtain call. June 30th will be his last day as Artistic Director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley after a mind-blowing 50 years in that role. It is not hyperbole to state there isn't another individual who has had a more profound influence on the Bay Area theatre landscape. Kelley founded TheatreWorks as a scrappy, community theater company in April, 1970 and guided its transformation over the years into a Tony-winning powerhouse and nationally-recognized incubator of new works. BroadwayWorld had the pleasure of speaking with Kelley earlier this spring to discuss his half-century history with TheatreWorks.

To mark the conclusion of its 50th Anniversary Season and celebrate the legacy of Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is hosting TheatreWorks Treasures, a once-in-a-lifetime virtual auction allowing fans and supporters of the company the opportunity to snag rare and exclusive treasures from its 50-year history.

Due to overwhelming demand TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in partnership with Hershey Felder Presents will offer streaming access for the recorded livestream of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin. Originally performed live from Florence, Italy by virtuoso performer/playwright/director Hershey Felder on Sunday, May 10, this celebrated solo show pays tribute to America's greatest songwriter, Irving Berlin.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has the perfect Mother's Day entertainment for you! On Sunday May 10th at 5pm PDT, they will band together with a number of theaters across the country to present a livestream of the hit show 'Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin,' a tribute to America's greatest songwriter. Tickets to the livestream are available on TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's website (www.theatreworks.org) with proceeds to benefit TheatreWorks while the Tony-winning regional theatre remains dark due to COVID-19. BroadwayWorld recently caught up with TheatreWorks Artistic Director Robert Kelley to chat about the company's ongoing relationship with Felder, and also to check in on how they've been managing to juggle so many unknowns in planning their 2020-21 season. Kelley remains steadfastly upbeat and enthused about future possibilities even as he winds down his astounding 50-year tenure as Artistic Director under decidedly different circumstances than he had originally envisioned.