Steve Murray

Sondheim fans rejoice! We have not one, but two sensational productions to satisfy that itch for smart lyrics and equally solid books. Shotgun Players is running their fabulous Sunday in the Park with George, and now Director Susi Damilano and SF Playhouse have outdone themselves with a stunning Into the Woods. Every component of this production is a winner; casting, technical, and musical.

The fictionalized account of pointillist painter George Seurat’s creation of his masterpiece A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and his great-grandson (also named George), also a troubled artist.

Jessica Huang’s Mother of Exiles, a world premiere at Berkeley Rep, suffers under the weight of its solemn intentions, perhaps attempting too many themes that left this viewer unsatisfied in each.

Russian writer Nikolai Gogol’s play The Government Inspector caused quite the stir in the 1840’s with its biting satire on political corruption in a small rural town. For Naatak theatre group’s 116th production, Harish Agastya has transposed the action to Gujarat, India and the city of Anand, where greed and bureaucratic ineptness have become an art form.

The British sure love their suspense stories. The Woman in Black, which premiered back in 1987, is the second longest-running play in the history of London’s West End, right behind Agatha Christies’ whodunnit The Mousetrap.

Jez Butterworth’s acclaimed West End and Broadway drama opens with a tried-and-true trope of a family reunion over a deathbed scenario or funeral, here, four sisters congregate as their domineering, show biz lies dying of cancer.

Back in 2017, Marin Theatre Company staged Thomas Bradshaw’s historical fiction Thomas and Sally to a firestorm of criticism, with critics damning the production for its hypersexualized view of Sally Hemings and downplaying her position as Thomas Jefferson’s slave.

What did our critic think of A DRIVING BEAT at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley?

I had the pleasure of seeing the original Broadway production of Stereophonic that ruled the 2023 awards season becoming most Tony Award-nominated play of all time, winner of five. My thoughts then were brilliant concept excellently executed, and this touring production, making its San Francisco debut duplicates the magic of this intimate look into the recording of a studio album.

Eight-year-old Marga Gomez should’ve paid more attention when her Latino parents tried to teach her how to cook. For the father, it’s a matter of cultural pride, the mother, a means to catch a man. Fast forward to 1976 when she desperately needs the recipe to Caldo Gallego (Spanish stew) to secure a cook’s job at San Francisco’s ACME Café. It’s just one of the many heartfelt anecdotes included in comic legend Marga Gomez’s lesbian coming out story making a World Premiere at NCTC.

The national touring company of Tony winner for Best Book and Best Score Suffs rolls into San Francisco with a production that is just as powerful and relevant as its 2022 Broadway debut. With its major theme of perseverance to a cause, the story of the suffragists movement can be seen as a precursor to the civil rights, gay rights, ERA, #metoo, and No Kings marches of today.

Three tender stories of human relationships, presented through the lens of Appalachian culture, are beautifully captured in Ron Rash’s Hard Times now at Z Below. We first get a comedy, then a touching tale about sadness, to the amazingly hyperreal story of deprivation and hopelessness.

What did our critic think of MURDER FOR TWO at Hillbarn Theatre?

What did our critic think of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW at SF Oasis? D’Arcy Drollinger, artistic director and owner of SF Oasis, plays her swan song appropriately as Frank-N-Furter, the mad transvestite scientist in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Show.

Billy Stricht made his Feinstein’s at the Nikko solo debut an auspicious evening, stepping into center stage, commanding the Yamaha keys, and mesmerizing his fans with a nearly two-hour set of two dozen musical gems.

What did our critic think of NOISES OFF at SF Playhouse?

It was family night at the intimate Feinstein’s as Broadway stage star Norm Lewis asked us to think of his show as a cozy living room affair with friends. The sold-out audience certainly acted like friends, singing along when required and eating up his often-humorous anecdotes about his storied career.

Theatreworks Silicon Valley opens its 55th season in spectacular fashion with some familiarity and something quite new and extraordinary.

What did our critic think of KIM'S CONVENIENCE at American Conservatory Theatre? A.C.T. launches its 2025/26 season with the charming 2011 dramedy Kim’s Convenience written and performed by Ins Choi as the title character and a solid supporting cast.

It’s no coincidence that Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite opens Hillbarn’s historic 85th season, for it was 85 years ago that the comedy opened on Broadway. Since 1968, Hillbarn and Simon have created an artistic bond, being the most produced playwright in their history.