SAN FRANCISCO / BAY AREA THEATER REVIEWS

SF Playhouse continues its steaming on demand season with its 2nd re-telling of Brian Copeland's 2013 alt-Xmas tale The Jewelry Box. I consider this an alternative to the typical Christmas fare and for that purpose it deserves consideration for its simple lesson of holiday giving seen through the pe...

Marin Theatre Company partners with Working Theatre (NYC) and five other theatre companies in presenting the West Coast Digital Debut of Leila Buck's interactive theatrical experience, American Dreams. In the year of COVID-19, digital productions are the new medium and companies are experimenting wi...

One friend's purchase of an expensive painting is the catalyst for darkly comic examination of friendships and how easily the bonds can be stretched and broken. Yasmina Reza's sharp, clever script is delivered by three outstanding actors to create a searing metaphor on the deep divisions in our nati...

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Baritone Lucas Meachem and his wife, pianist Irina Meachem, sang an aria-filled recital on to open the Merola Opera Program Recital Series September 27, 2020. The Meachems opened the recital with the aria a?oeBella siccome un angeloa?? (a?oeBeautiful as an Angela??) from Donizettia??s Don Pasquale. ...

For the second year in a row, Transcendence Theatre Company will offer a Mobile Unit Arts Curriculum program to participating community partners in Sonoma County. Originally a 5-week series of in-house workshops taught by the Mobile Unit's specialized teaching artists, ...

Drama revolving around the behind-the-scenes White House from the perspective of the Butler. Looking Over President's shoulder at the Tabard Theater San Jose, CA starring James Creer...

Straight out of recent headlines of #metoo, Bill Cosby, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein comes the World Premiere of Kate Cortesi's Love, a clever, well-acted examination of sexual abuse from the perspective of abuser and victim that challenges the black and white image of right and wrong by add...

Opening night of San Francisco Ballet's triumphant production of George Balanchine's a?oeA Midsummer Night's Dreama?? was both a thrilling and heartbreaking occasion. Thrilling because SFB gave a masterful performance of this Balanchine classic that has gone missing from its repertoire for far too l...

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There are some plays, even enjoyable ones, that you forget almost instantly after seeing them. There are others you find yourself thinking of for days afterwards, still mulling them over, savoring their certain moments from them, revisiting their ambiguities and unlocking their mysteries. a?oeDon't ...

Sometimes it IS enough just to be entertained, ya know? I don't care how socio-politically engaged you are, I think everyone needs at least an occasional break from all the angst and mishegas out there, and that's exactly what Foothill Music Theatre provides with its antic musical comedy 'The Myster...

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BWW Review: GLORIA at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater is a sharp, shrewd work that is bound to be a classic, and a chance to see one of the most skilled writers of our day at the height of his powers....

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a?oeThe Full Montya?? in its stage musical incarnation is certainly a curious show. While largely a raucous comedy, it also touches on a host of seriously unfunny issues, including economic disparity, body image, parental rights, homophobia and suicide. The script contains countless f-bombs and much...

San Francisco Ballet's latest mixed repertoire program, a?oeDance Innovations,a?? covers a lot of territory thematically and choreographically, and has a wealth of transcendent moments. Two of the ballets were made expressly for SFB, and the other is a classic from the mid-20th century....

'In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.' Thus famously begins both F. S...

How lucky we are to be living in the age of Mark Morris! My first thought watching San Francisco Ballet's opening night performance of their a?oeClassical (Re)Visiona?? program was a?oeGod, they're good!a?? SF Ballet presents a sparking and varied program of contemporary ballet that will leave you s...

Chicago is a class act at the San Jose Stage Theatre as it brings out the razzle-dazzle with one of the longest running Broadway musicals to date.The a?oeStage'sa?? production, directed by Randall King,  has an earthy grit to it that makes the sensual Bob Fosse Choreography all the more irresistib...

Susi Damilano gives a career-defining performance in the Bay Area premiere of Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated writer Nia Vardalos' emotionally rewarding adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's best-selling book. Gorgeously directed by husband Bill English, Tiny Beautiful Things will touch everyone's...

Wakey Wakey is a superbly-acted exploration of what it means to be alive in the modern world that will provoke you and ultimately lift you out of your seat with a deeper appreciation for the life you're leading....

San Francisco theatre goers got gypped! Oh, not by this sensationally funny satire on America's gun culture, but by the fact that it only got a limited three-performance run. Running for the past 18 months in LA, a musical comedy that pokes fun at our warped political processes, conservatives and 'w...

The Pear Theatre threads an intricately interwoven tale strewn with fun and laughs. Confusion and chaos abound in Alan Ayckbourn's fantastically fun farce a?oeTaking Stepsa?? now playing at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View, CA ...