Victor Talmadge

What did our critic think of THE ROAD TO MECCA at Z Below? They say there’s a thin line between madness and genius. Aging widow Helen finds herself caught in a battle between her artistic freedom and conservative moralism. The battle plays out in an attempt to move her from her eccentric, fantasy-filled home to an old-age home supposedly for her safety. Athol Fugard’s award-winning play comes to life with three of the finest acting performances in recent memory.

BroadwayWorld talks to director Timothy Near about her new production of Athol Fugard's incandescent 'The Road to Mecca' playing at Z Below in San Francisco June 4 to 30.

Athol Fugard’s incandescent and thought-provoking The Road to Mecca is coming to San Francisco’s Z Below, presented by Weathervane Productions.

What did our critic think of INDECENT at SF Playhouse? Co-Founders Bill English and Susi Damilano were obviously emotional on the eve of their 20th Anniversary Season opener, mentioning that Paula Vogel's Tony award-winning Indecent mirrors their intention of creating theatre that challenges audiences, exposes our humanity and opens minds. In what may be Susi's finest directorial work, Indecent soars with poignant imagery, gut-wrenching emotion, and thrilling performances. As a play about the creation of a play, it's an intimate portrayal of artistic expression, freedom, repression, and courage that ultimately uplifts the spirit.

San Francisco Playhouse announced casting for Indecent by Paula Vogel, the first production in the Playhouse's 20th Anniversary Season. The play will run on the San Francisco Playhouse Mainstage from September 22 through November 5, 2022. Susi Damilano will direct, with music direction by Dmitri Gaskin and choreography by Nicole Helfer.

San Francisco Playhouse has announced casting for Indecent by Paula Vogel, the first production in the Playhouse's 20th Anniversary Season.

The Winter's Tale is part of Cal Shakes' ongoing Season of Shared Light that included performances from Destiny Arts and Bandaloop, West Edge Opera, Papermoon Presents, and Good Medicine: A Night of Native Stand-Up Comedy, among others. 

Today (January 15) in live streaming: Adam Pascal in concert, Blue Ridge ​by Abby Rosebrock, and more!

Due to critical and box office success, California Shakespeare Theater extends The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht, adapted by Tony Kushner from a translation by Wendy Arons, through July 28, 2019 at the Bruns Amphitheater. Tickets will continue to be available through TodayTix, online at calshakes.org, or through the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666.

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2019 summer season with The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Wendy Arons and adapted by Tony Kushner, playing July 3 through July 21, 2019 at the Bruns Amphitheater. A Pay What You Can performance will be held on Wednesday, July 3. Tickets will be available starting at 10am on the day of the show through TodayTix and the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666.

BWW Review: THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at Center Repertory Company beautifully tels the enduring tale of hope and humanity in the face of horrific inhumanity

On Today, January 25, 2019, NapaShakes celebrates the birthday of Scotland's Bard: Robert Burns, and the music, food and culture of Scotland, with its first ever Burns Night Supper. Guests will savor the words of Scotland's greatest poet (and a bit of Shakespeare's Macbeth) accompanied by bagpipes and a lively Ceilidh band, plus engaging performances by two acclaimed actors from Britain and Broadway: Jane Carr and Victor Talmadge. The evening includes a delicious Napa Valley-style feast with traditional haggis (meat or vegetarian), neeps and tatties, and other delights in the candle-lit Gallery of St. Helena's Brasswood Napa Valley. The event is for age 21 and older, and attendees are welcome (but not required) to wear kilts and other traditional attire.

On Friday, January 25, 2019, NapaShakes celebrates the birthday of Scotland's Bard: Robert Burns, and the music, food and culture of Scotland, with its first ever Burns Night Supper. Guests will savor the words of Scotland's greatest poet (and a bit of Shakespeare's Macbeth) accompanied by bagpipes and a lively Ceilidh band, plus engaging performances by two acclaimed actors from Britain and Broadway: Jane Carr and Victor Talmadge. The evening includes a delicious Napa Valley-style feast with traditional haggis (meat or vegetarian), neeps and tatties, and other delights in the candle-lit Gallery of St. Helena's Brasswood Napa Valley. The event is for age 21 and older, and attendees are welcome (but not required) to wear kilts and other traditional attire.

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 44th Season with the West Coast Premiere of Everybody, a sparkling new riff on the 15th-century morality play The Summoning of Everyman by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, whom the New York Times calls 'one of this country's most original and illuminating writers.' A finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Everybody is Cal Shakes' second official offering under the New Classics Initiative (NCI), exploring what it means to be a classical theater in the 21st century, and to allow living writers to expand our classical canon. Directed by Nataki Garrett making her Cal Shakes debut,

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 44th Season with the West Coast Premiere of Everybody, a sparkling new riff on the 15th-century morality play The Summoning of Everyman by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, whom the New York Times calls "one of this country's most original and illuminating writers.' A finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Everybody is Cal Shakes' second official offering under the New Classics Initiative (NCI), exploring what it means to be a classical theater in the 21st century, and to allow living writers to expand our classical canon. Directed by Nataki Garrett making her Cal Shakes debut, Everybody plays July 18 - August 5 at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda. Low-priced previews take place July 18-20; Opening Night is July 21. Tickets (ranging from $20?$92) are available through the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666 or by visiting www.calshakes.org. Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.

The co-producers behind The Kilbanes' Weightless, a hit rock opera-retelling of Ovid's Metamorphoses, as well as New York's Obie Award-winning The Tricky Part and Lucille Lortel Award-winning All the Rage, return to San Francisco with a new production of A Lesson From Aloes, to be presented at Z Below. Written by internationally-acclaimed playwright Athol Fugard and directed by Obie Award winner Timothy Near, this inventive revival will feature a star-studded cast of regional theatre's finest actors. A Lesson From Aloes will be presented June 3 - 29, 2018 (press opening: Thursday, June 7, 2018) with performances 7:30pm Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2pm Sundays at Z Below, 470 Florida Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($25-$50) and information can be found at www.alessonfromaloes.com or by phone at 415-626-0453.

The co-producers behind The Kilbanes' Weightless, a hit rock opera-retelling of Ovid's Metamorphoses, as well as New York's Obie Award-winning The Tricky Part and Lucille Lortel Award-winning All the Rage, return to San Francisco with a new production of A Lesson From Aloes, to be presented at Z Below.

Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add an additional 6 performances of its current hit production of Obie-winning playwright Amy Herzog's (4000 Miles, Belleville, The Great God Pan) family drama AFTER THE REVOLUTION. Joy Carlin (Body Awareness, Jack Goes Boating, Awake and Sing!) directs this drama about what we do with history and how we appropriate it for our own personal needs. Featuring Adrian Anchondo, Jessica Bates, Peter Kybart, Sarah Mitchell, Ellen Ratner, Rolf Saxon, Victor Talmadge, and Pamela Gaye Walker, AFTER THE REVOLUTION plays at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley now through October 6 (added performances: Tuesday, October 1, 7pm; Wednesday, October 2, 8pm; Thursday, October 3, 8pm; Friday, October 4, 8pm; Saturday, October 5, 8pm; Sunday, October 6, 2pm). For tickets ($32-50) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 22nd season with the Bay Area Premiere of Obie-winning playwright Amy Herzog's (4000 Miles, Belleville, The Great God Pan) family drama AFTER THE REVOLUTION. What happens when the person you revere isn't exactly who you think they are? The young, brilliant Emma Joseph is a high achiever shaken to the core by disillusion. She proudly carries the torch of her family's Marxist tradition by devoting her life to the memory of her famously blacklisted grandfather, but when a new book reveals shocking truths about the man himself, the entire family is forced to confront questions of honesty and allegiance they thought had long ago been resolved.