Linda Hodges - Page 7

The persistent legend, mystique and fascination of what may have happened to Anastasia during Russia's revolution finds a new home in the musical ANASTASIA

Marin Shakespeare's SPAMALOT is an altogether delightful and uproariously zany production that has their audiences laughing almost non-stop throughout the show. Playing its final week now through August 25, SPAMALOT is a not-to-be-missed, hugely enjoyable show.

Bay Area Musical's production of HAIRSPRAY rocks the house early 1960s style, with lacquered bouffants and non-stop music, dancing and comedy – all wrapped up in a story about spunky, plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad of Baltimore and her dream to be a dancer on the local TV dance program, “The Corny Collins Show.”

BWW Review: Disney's NEWSIES Shines Now Through July 13 at Woodminster Summer Musicals

SHNSF's Golden Gate Theatre was electric with excitement as the house filled to capacity for the touring company of RENT. Now thru June 23!

BWW's Linda Hodges talks with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's founding artistic director Robert Kelley about winning the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award!

Pack up the kids and head to San Francisco's Golden Gate Theater, now thru May 12, to see Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." It's like winning your own golden ticket.

Marin Musical Theatre Company's stunning and provocative production of Spring Awakening is a no-holds-barred, deep dive into repression, control and the painful process of growing up.

As the house lights went down and the familiar strains of 'Before the Parade Passes By' wafted through San Francisco's Golden Gate theatre, a buzz of excitement and a ripple of clapping could be heard from the front of the house on up to the balcony seats. The sound of times gone by, captured by the tuneful Jerry Herman score, ushered the audience into the opulent gift of gilded age perfection, the revival of Michael Stewart's 1964 musical, Hello, Dolly.

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is a bit of fluff that's easy on the brain, but you absolutely forget your troubles and isn't that a great gift in these troubling times?

BORDER PEOPLE, written and performed by Dan Hoyle, is based on his conversations with people who straddle, confront or live in the liminal border spaces where they deal with rejection and acceptance, hope and fear.

Come From Away is far and away one of the best ensemble pieces to come to the Broadway stage in recent memory, and now theatre-goers in the San Francisco Bay area can see it at the Golden Gate Theatre, now through February 3, 2019.

Broadway San Jose welcomed the touring company of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, which made a short stop at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, bringing with it the magical music of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Carol de Giere's revised and updated second edition to her earlier biography, 'DEFYING GRAVITY: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz,' was a necessary Act II, since, as we all know, Schwartz's star has only continued to rise since 2008. It's a wonderful addition with brand new behind-the-scene insights on his latest projects. As her webpage states, 'This new edition features a Foreword by Alan Menken and four new chapters covering Schwartz's more recent projects like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt, and Wicked after Broadway. DEFYING GRAVITY Second Edition includes additional 'Creativity Notes' with comments from Schwartz about overcoming creative blocks, collaboration, and the artistic life.' A stunning 512 pages (with photographs and handwritten notes), de Giere's book is a thoroughly fascinating read as well as something of a musical theatre master class in written form -- one that has been lovingly lensed through the life and creativity of Stephen Schwartz.

Latin Standards is a belly-laugh funny and loving, side-by-side tale of Willy Chevalier and what he did for laughs and love - and about Marga Gomez - the daughter who followed in his comedic footsteps.

Currently playing at San Jose's 3Below, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' is at once a dramatic tour-de-force and a Vaudevillian comedic masterpiece that will have you laughing (not to mention cheering and hissing) and leave you thoroughly entertained. Playing now through November 11, it's a grand, must-see show.

Broadway San Jose is serving up some hot Latin Salsa with the hit Broadway show 'On Your Feet,' a jukebox musical that follows the life -- and rise to stardom -- of Gloria and Emilio Estefan and their band, Miami Sound Machine.

I highly recommend this modern-day war of the roses. If NATIVE GARDENS is a prognosticator of things to come in this country, then the art of compromise and not the art of the deal is what will be needed to overcome all our border disputes and prejudices.

Woodminister Summer Musicals is closing its season with a dynamic production of In the Heights, which won four Tonys (Best Musical, Score, Choreography and Orchestrations) in 2008. The show was conceived in the heart and soul of composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was homesick for his Washington Heights, Manhattan neighborhood, and poured all of that longing into song and the first glimmers of a story, which was later fleshed out by playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes. What emerged was a rap-infused, slice-of-life tale about a modern immigrant community on the cusp of change. Who will stay? Who will go? Whose dreams will thrive and how will the neighborhood survive the gentrification that is slowly beginning to take place?

Bay Area Musical's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame came to glorious life on opening night in San Francisco's Victoria Theatre in the heart of the Mission district this past weekend. The show, written by Peter Parnell with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, is based on Victor Hugo's classic novel as well as the Disney animated film of the same name. This version of 'Hunchback' debuted in 2015 and immediately labored under the heft and ubiquitous branding of the Disney animation, when in fact it is much more of a tragedy in the manner of Les Miserables. As such, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a searing and evocative tour de force that didn't leave a dry eye in the house on opening night. Playing now through August 5, this professionally mounted production is an absolute must-see.