Jim has been hooked on theater ever since being dazzled by a high school production of “Damn Yankees” in Wilmington, Delaware way back in 1972 featuring his older brother in a cameo role. Fortunately, his horizons have expanded just a bit since then. A recent Maui transplant after 40 years in San Francisco, Jim remains an avid theater- and dance-goer in Hawaii, the Bay Area and beyond. He loves nothing more than the 3-show days that can occasionally be scheduled in New York City. For the record, he holds a BA in Theater Arts from SUNY Buffalo, but happily learned long ago that his skills as a discerning audience member far exceed his skills as an actor.
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First Show:
RaisinFavorite Show:
Angels in America: Perestroika, Broadway, New Year's Eve 1993, the cast was on fire!Favorite Stories:
- Interview: Laura Benanti at the Lesher Center for the Arts is a Golden-Age Star for Our Times - They say never meet your heroes, but Benanti was so approachable, honest and generous with her time that it felt like talking to an old friend. Among other things, we took a deep dive into her conception of the character of Eliza Doolittle, a role she'd longed to play since she was a kid. Easiest interview I've ever done, and after it was published her husband told her it was the best interview she'd ever given.
- Feature: MANON at San Francisco Ballet Showed How Great Dancers Can Put Their Own Unique Imprint on the Same Story - I love dance as much as I love theater so it's always a pleasure to cover San Francisco Ballet, one of the top companies in the world. I also rarely get a chance to issue a mea culpa, and in this case I had underestimated a ballet on opening night, yet subsequent viewings revealed depths and nuances I hadn't grasped on initial exposure so I appreciated the chance to correct the record.
- Interview: Khori Dastoor of THREE DECEMBERS at Opera San Jose Is Up to the Job of Making Art That Is Relevant for Our Times - I don't get to cover opera as often as theater and dance so this was the first time I got to talk to the leader of an opera company. I went in not knowing what to expect, plus it was the afternoon of election day 2020 and I was feeling very anxious about where our country was headed. I decided to fess up about that first thing and Dastoor told me she was feeling the same way and thanked me for giving her something else to think about for the next hour. We had a delightful conversation and I went away impressed with - 1) what a kind and down-to-earth person she was and 2) how incredibly smart she was. As soon as I got off the phone, I remember telling my husband, "That woman is amazing. I'm surprised a larger company hasn't already snapped her up." About a month later, she was announced as the new general manager for Houston Grand Opera.
- nterview: Francis Jue of TIGER STYLE! at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Hits His Stride by Being True to Himself - I had interviewed Jue 5 years earlier and he'd been so delightful and forthcoming that I couldn't wait to talk to him again. He did not disappoint - so kind and honest, and it is a pleasure talking with theater artists who've been around long enough to know who they are in this world and no longer feel a need to play games. After the interview, I saw the play "Tiger Style" and reviewed it for BwayWorld. He was so fabulous in it that I thought to myself, "Francis is such an amazing actor. Why can't a guy like him ever win a Tony?" Bingo!
- Interview: Hershey Felder of GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE at Mountain View Center For The Performing Arts Reprises the Role that First Brought Him International Acclaim - I've had the pleasure of interviewing Felder over a dozen times and I could have chosen any one of those here. He's always super interesting, coming up with interesting facts and funny stories. As the child of immigrants who grew up in Montreal, yet largely makes his career in the U.S. and has chosen to reside in Florence, Italy he's just an intrinsically fascinating guy. Plus he's super intelligent and has a mind like a steel trap so you he keeps me on my toes. I love that!
April 7, 2022
BroadwayWorld talks to director Crystal Manich about her vibrant new production of 'West Side Story' at Opera San Jose, which runs April 16th to May 1st at the California Theatre. The Puerto-Rican born director brings her own heritage to this iconic piece of musical theater that she has loved since she was a child.
April 6, 2022
BroadwayWorld speaks with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Artistic Director Tim Bond about directing a new production of his friend & colleague August Wilson's enduringly relevant 'Gem of the Ocean' running live in Mountainview thru May 1.
April 5, 2022
BroadwayWorld reviews San Francisco Ballet's dazzling new Program 5 running through April 16th, which includes a world premiere by Helgi Tomasson and a reprise of Yuri Possokhov's popular 'Magrittomania.'
March 17, 2022
BroadwayWorld reviews San Francisco Ballet's richly-rewarding Program 4, which runs lives onstage at the War Memorial Opera House through Sunday, March 20th. The dazzling program pairs the Bournonville Romantic-era classic 'La Sylphide' with Alexei Ratmansky's 'The Seasons,' a rambunctious, contemporary reimagining of a lost Petipa ballet.
March 15, 2022
BroadwayWorld reviews Jeanna de Waal's new cabaret show at Feinstein's at the Nikko in San Francisco. The star of 'Diana, the Musical' explores life's highs and lows in an entertaining 60 minutes.
March 11, 2022
BroadwayWorld talks to director & choreographer Cindy Goldfield about 42nd Street Moon's production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical revue 'A Grand Night for Singing' running at the Gateway Theatre to March 27.
March 10, 2022
BroadwayWorld talks to Obie, Peabody and Bessie Award winning actor and writer Roger Guenveur Smith about 'Otto Frank' his new solo piece running as a Campo Santo production at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. Guenveur Smith finds enduring relevance in the story of the Holocaust survivor.
March 4, 2022
BroadwayWorld talks to composer Paul Gordon and director Robert Kelley about their collaboration on a glorious new musical adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' which runs live onstage at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto from March 9th to April 3rd.
March 1, 2022
BroadwayWorld reviews Brian Stokes Mitchell's glorious concert at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek on February 25th. When Mitchell announces at the top of his show that his hope is for you to leave the theater feeling better than you did when you came in, you had better believe he means it. By the end, he leaves the audience floating on air.
February 28, 2022
BroadwayWorld reviews San Francisco Ballet's fizzy production of the classic 'Don Quixote' running live onstage at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House through March 6th. The whole thing feels like a big ol' party.
February 22, 2022
BroadwayWorld talks to legendary actor and singer Brian Stokes Mitchell about the uplifting show he'll be performing at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on February 25th.
February 11, 2022
Magic Theatre makes a welcome return to live performance with the world premiere of Miranda Rose Hall's 'The Kind Ones' playing thru February 20th. Hall combines gothic thrills & dark humor in her searing new play.
February 10, 2022
BroadwayWorld speaks with acclaimed actor-playwright Dan Hoyle about 'Talk to Your People,' his new show running live at The Marsh San Francisco through April 16th that uses his trademark observational humor to delve into issues of race, privilege, power and masculinity.
February 9, 2022
BroadwayWorld checks in with celebrated director-actor-playwright Lillian Groag about her imaginative new staging of the classic opera 'Carmen' playing live onstage at Opera San Jose February 12th thru 27th.
February 8, 2022
BroadwayWord speaks to much in-demand playwright Miranda Rose Hall about her newest work, the darkly comic thriller 'The Kind Ones,' now receiving its world premiere production live onstage at San Francisco's venerable Magic Theatre through February 20th.
February 7, 2022
San Francisco Ballet's remarkable new Program 2 features 3 terrifically enjoyable works, including a new dance by William Forsythe set to the music of James Blake, and Jerome Robbins' rapturously romantic classic 'In the Night.' It runs through February 13th at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco.
February 3, 2022
San Francisco Ballet fairly leaps for joy in the opening program of its 2022 season live onstage at the War Memorial Opera House. Program 1 includes George Balanchine's eternally effervescent 'Symphony in C' and the world premiere of 'Mrs. Robinson' by Cathy Marston, based on the seminal novel 'The Graduate.' Performances continue thru 2/12/22.
December 23, 2021
BroadwayWorld reviews TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's gorgeous new production of 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play' running thru December 26th at the Lucie Stern Theatre, with streaming available thru Jan 2nd.
December 17, 2021
BroadwayWorld talks to lyricist Adam Gwon and TheatreWorks Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli about their collaboration with Montalvo Arts Center on the development of the new musical 'Alice Bliss.'
December 16, 2021
BroadwayWorld reviews San Francisco Ballet's enchanting production of the classic 'Nutcracker' ballet, now running at the SF Opera House through December 30th.
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