Linda Hodges - Page 5

With a book by Winnie Holzman and music and lyrics by the great and powerful Wizard of Broadway, Stephen Schwartz, Wicked has won over 50 major awards and, as Variety stated, it truly is 'A Cultural Phenomenon." All the elements of great theater conspire and come together in this gravity defying show. Playing now through April 16, Wicked is guaranteed to thrust you into the stratosphere of sheer artistry and visual delight even if you've seen it before and especially if this is your first time.

Woodminster Summer Musicals celebrated opening night of The Producers, the hit Broadway musical based on the 1968 Mel Brooks film of the same name. With a Book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan and Score by Brooks, The Producers won 12 out of its 15 Tony nominations in 2001. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his nervous accountant, who together come up with a scheme to make a million dollars (each) by producing the worst flop in Broadway history. They embark on a search to find the worst script, the worst director, the worst designers, and the worst actors. The scheme backfires, with many comic consequences, when their gloriously offensive Springtime for Hitler turns out to be a huge hit. Running now through August 16 at Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland's Joaquin Miller Park, The Producers is one show you won't want to miss.

FEINSTEIN'S AT THE NIKKO WELCOMES GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SINGER, SONGWRITER MELISSA MANCHESTER, FOR TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY JULY 10 & 11, 2015!

The first ever San Francisco theatrical event on record was held on June 22, 1849. Lacking a true venue, that performance by 'Jeemes Pipes of Pipesville' took place at the police station and didn't exactly put the City by the Bay on the map. They couldn't know then that the San Francisco Bay Area would grow to be the third largest theatre center in the country, boasting over 400 companies in nine counties.

It was a night to remember as the Oakland Youth Chorus (OYC) took to the risers and promptly raised the roof on the 1st Presbyterian Church on Broadway in Oakland, belting out some amazing Broadway tunes and putting on an all-around great show for the sold-out crowd. This was not just a concert for doting parents and dewy-eyed devotees. These kids can sing! The performances from the many choral groups that comprise OYC were impressive and fun and definitely high-energy entertainment.

Riding the wave of enthusiasm for his newly released book 'Ham: Slices of a Life,' singer and entertainer extraordinaire Sam Harris played to a sold-out crowd at Feinstein's at the Nikko in San Francisco. They came expecting a great show and he did not disappoint. Calling his performance a 'liter-usical,' a combination of literary book tour and Broadway musical extravaganza, he alternated between reading juicy morsels (amuse-bouche, if you will) from his book with songs that served to highlight the chapters of his life.

Tucked away in a corner of the Nikko Hotel is Feinstein's - a 140 seat, intimate nightclub with cozy banquettes and tables graced with crystal chandeliers and a stage on which the Steinway holds pride of place. As the 8 o'clock hour approached, smartly dressed San Franciscans along with tourists in casual wear made their way into the hotel, the buzz in the air clearly indicating that they were here to enjoy the best that San Francisco had to offer. And tonight that 'best' was powerhouse performer Joan Ryan.

Celebrating the release of his new book, HAM: Slices of a Life (a collection of stories and essays), Tony Award nominee Sam Harris will make his Feinstein's at the Nikko debut in a show of the same name on Friday, January 24 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, January 25 at 7:00 PM.

The enchanting musical Beauty and the Beast delighted audiences at San Francisco's Curran Theater on opening night and is the perfect dose of holiday entertainment for children of all ages. Disney's timeless tale of love and transformation is touring the country and will be in San Francisco through January 5, 2014. A NETworks Presentations event, this show forgoes some of the more costly set designs of the original Broadway show but loses nothing of the melodic magnificence of Menken, Ashman and Rice's original masterpiece. Musical Director/Conductor Kevin Francis Finn helms the lush orchestrations of Danny Troob, while the beautifully crafted book by Linda Woolverton brings her animated original to the stage in superb fashion.

San Francisco, please join me in welcoming Tony Award winning 'Voice of Broadway,' Betty Buckley to the BroadwayWorld SF page! She brings her acclaimed show, 'The Vixens of Broadway,' to San Francisco's Feinstein's at the Nikko for 8 performances -December 5 - 15, 2013.

'The Book of Mormon' has been hailed as one of the top musicals of the decade and now through January 19, 2014, San Francisco audiences will have the opportunity to judge for themselves as to whether a musical about Mormons on a mission to win converts to the Church of Latter-day Saints deserves such an accolade.

Berkeley Rep's Tristan & Yseult is one of those shows that combines the best elements of modern theatre with good old-fashioned storytelling and does so with amazing brilliance.

San Francisco audiences were delighted to welcome a powerful and wistfully evocative production of The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess to the bay area and to the stage of the Golden Gate Theatre where it plays now through December 8. Opening night was also the launch of the much anticipated national tour of this Tony award-winning revival. Directed by Diane Paulus, with a book adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks from DuBose and Dorothy Heyward's original book, Porgy and Bess's dramatic story of love, death, addiction and hope comes alive once again for a whole new audience of theatregoers.

Swashbuckling adventure and hilarious hijinks await patrons of SHNSF's Curran Theatre with 5-time Tony Award winning Peter and the Star Catcher, which has sailed into San Francisco for a magical turn before returning to Neverland or other parts unknown. This clever prequel to J.M. Barrie's beloved Peter and Wendy is powered by starstuff (which figures prominently in the play) and a high-energy cast that is the tightest ensemble I've seen in a long time. Good, old-fashioned storytelling, reliance on late, 19th century stagecraft -- and two directors (Roger Rees and Alex Timbers) whose imaginations were allowed to run amok -- have created a wildly enjoyable and enchanting show. Playing now through December 1, Peter and the Star Catcher is one show you will definitely want to see.

San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater's Production of 'Underneath the Lintel' has extended its run due to advance ticket sales. Catch this solo performance by Academy Award nominee David Strathairn now through Nov. 23.

SHNSF's Curran Theatre in San Francisco hosts the world premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical - a hit-filled bio-musical about the woman whose songs epitomized the late 60s and early 70's. Her album 'Tapestry' (with songs like 'It's Too Late,' 'I Feel the Earth Move,' and 'You've Got A Friend') soared to #1 and stayed on the charts for a record-breaking six years. King's story is the stuff of dreams, but heartache came first as it often does. How she moved from churning out hit after hit for other artists, to playing Carnegie Hall as a solo artist, is what 'Beautiful' is all about. Playing now through Oct. 20 before it heads to Broadway, 'Beautiful' is a hit show with a bullet.

Virago Theatre Company's 'shameless passion for theatre' comes alive - twice in one night - with AROUSAL, a new play by George Pfirrmann, and The Lover by Harold Pinter. Together, the two sensuous one acts equal one impressive night of theatre that you won't want to miss. Playing now thru September 28, this double feature satisfies the desire for excellent and though-provoking theatre even as it tantalizes the audience with unanswered questions, and toys with erotic situations and the roles we play in life and love.

Beneath the rollicking good time (not to mention the sequined glitz and flashy feathers) of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Musical, is a story about the difficulties of living an authentic life when you don't fit into the social norm. In this case that norm is the hetero world of 1990s Australia where two gay men and one trans woman, drag queens all, team up to take a trip through the outback in order to perform at a casino owned by, of all people, the wife of one of the queens. Enter 'Priscilla' a dilapidated bus that's a traveling dressing room and bar for the trio of performers. Road trip! Playing now through August 31 at the Orpheum Theatre, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is boy-sterous, outrageous, campy fun, but it also heartwarming and touching.

In 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, Americans were looking for escapist entertainment and they found it in Cole Porter's frothy, screw-ball comedy, Anything Goes. Since then the show has seen many updates and revivals, the latest of which won the 2011 Tony for Best Revival. The plot remains a zany farce set on a cruise ship where disguises, mistaken identities and malapropisms contribute to a very de-lovely evening at the theatre. The show sets sail now thru August 25 with Curtain Call Performing Arts (CCPA) in San Leandro, California.