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Broadway San Jose's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is Spectacular Now Thru Oct. 2
San Jose opened their season with the reimagined production of Phantom of the Opera. For going on three decades this show has enthralled audience members young and old and has once again captured the minds of Bay Area audience members at the beautiful San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Playi...
BWW Review: Lamplighters' NEW MIKADO is Excellence Itself
There has been plenty of talk about the "lack of sensitivity" in Gilbert and Sullivan's British farce, "The Mikado," set in a Japan most often comprised of a white ensemble. But - as ready as this critic may be to defend the "great and virtuous man" - this review must sing the praises of a "new," al...
BWW Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Enchants at the Orpheum Now Thru July 10
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Enchants at the Orpheum Now Thru July 10!...
CABARET: Searing and Sexy Tale for our Times Now Thru July 17
San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre plays host to the provocative and still darkly daring, Cabaret now through July 17. Set in 1931 Berlin, on the cusp of all that was to come with the rise of the Nazis, the Kander and Ebb musical revolves around the Kit Kat Club and its cast of characters who are deter...
BWW Review: A Magical Weekend of Transcendence Theatre's 'Broadway Under the Stars', Wine and More in Northern California
Northern California is home to miles of gorgeous Pacific coastline, over 50 parks with hiking and cycling trails, world-class restaurants, boutique shopping, and of course, majestic vineyards. Sonoma, in particular, offers the rustic charm of down-to-earth locals, farmers, winemakers, tasting rooms...
BWW Review: MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is Solid Gold
Broadway San Jose's Motown the Musical is a solid gold hit and played to an enraptured audience last night at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Motown the record company was dreamed up by Berry Gordy in 1959 and the music world has never been the same. Gordy and his cavalcade of artists...
BWW Opera Review: What's Old is New Again in CARMEN from Bad-Boy Bieito for US Debut at San Francisco Opera
For a director known as opera's bad boy, Calixto Bieito turned to something awfully familiar in CARMEN for his US debut. Then again, he didn't actually show up for it, tied up with a new production of Aribert Reimann's LEAR in Paris and dispatching one of his top collabortors, Joan Anton Rechi, to p...
BWW Review: LAST FIVE YEARS at ACT
Relationships are complicated because people are complicated. Take Jason Robert Brown's 'Last Five Years,' which opened Wednesday evening at American Conservatory Theater. The 85-minute, two-person musical is simple. A couple recounts the rise and fall of their love. But just when you think you know...
BWW Review: BIG FISH is a Big Catch at Playhouse Merced
Andrew Burkum's enthusiastic Edward leads a glistening Playhouse Merced production with his determined "Alabama stomp" (the glistening much due to a fantastic lighting design). Robert Hypes' direction and casting anchor the show to bottom of the sea, where, perhaps, a rather big fish awaits....
BWW Review: Marin Theatre Presents a Regal ANNE BOLEYN
Like its title queen, Howard Brenton's 'Anne Boleyn' knocks at curiosity's door, difficult to grasp, but fascinating nonetheless. Henry VIII nearly erased the historical figure from the books, with religious leaders and historians labeling Anne a martyr or a harlot over the years. In his revised his...
BWW Review: SHNSF's WICKED Mesmerizing!
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 sh...
BWW Review: FROZEN on Ice
The fame of the phenomenon-hit film "Frozen" has already landed it Broadway and theme park versions in the works. But there was one venue for which the popular musical was more than meant. Given its lead female's "cool" powers, it was only a matter of time before Elsa, Anna, and all their friends re...
BWW Review: Hershey Felder is IRVING BERLIN in Superb TheatreWorks Production
What do you give the person who has everything? For Irving Berlin, the answer was a song. According to Hershey Felder, the composer wrote for "the people" - in some cases, specifically for his wife and children. Perhaps Felder had the same audience in mind when he wrote his one-man show, "Irving Ber...
BWW Review: Jodi Benson and Charlie Brown at SF Symphony
San Francisco continues a – hopefully – new tradition this week with “A Charlie Brown Christmas – Live!” This delightful program had its West Coast premiere last season, with first-half vocals from Lisa Vroman and the Symphony Chorus. This week, the concert features “Little Mermaid” vo...
BWW Review: Brian Stokes Mitchell at SF Symphony
Performer Brian Stokes Mitchell speaks of his desire to uplift his audience by adding character to his music. Davies Symphony Hall discovered his exact meaning Wednesday when "Stokes" - "affectionately" called so by conductor Randall Craig Fleischer - immediately lit up the stage with a hearty smi...
BWW Review: Enchanting EMMA Returns to TheatreWorks
Clever, sharp and witty, "Emma" the musical is as charismatic as it title character. Creator Paul Gordon took the Jane Austen classic and gave audiences a crisp, well-paced and engaging script with a score that wonderfully serves its characters' acerbic humor and innermost thoughts. Gordon's soliloq...
BWW Review: BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY II
Bugs Bunny at the Symphony closes its 25th Anniversary, 2015 tour at San Francisco's Davies Hall this weekend. Outside, Civic Center has its holiday decorations up and a community brass group occasionally plays down the street, while inside the San Francisco Symphony continues its tradition of beaut...
BWW Review: SCROOGE IN LOVE A New Audience Favorite
Only in San Francisco will theatregoers find the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and, yes, even Future dancing together on one stage. The mysterious figure clad in all black bops its head back and forth in just one of many surprising delights awaiting audiences throughout new musical "Scrooge in ...
BWW Review: Merced's MARY POPPINS Makes the Sun Shine Bright
One word describes Playhouse Merced's production of 'Mary Poppins,' and it isn't supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Rather, in a version of the Disney classic that refuses to take itself too seriously, the word of the day is fun. Pure fun. Merced has its share of mishaps. Mary does not fly and Bert...
BWW Review: IF/THEN - Captivating Tale of What Might Have Been, Now Thru Dec. 6
IF/THEN - Captivating Tale of What Might Have Been, Now Thru Dec. 6...
BWW Review: Audiences SAIL AWAY with a Fabulous Cast at 42nd Street Moon
Noel Coward's musical "Sail Away" has plenty of charm, but little substance. Its song and dance enchant, but in the end depend on a strong cast to sell a frail plot. 1962 London had Elaine Stitch. 2015 San Francisco has Allison F. Rich. Lively, sharp and ready with a sarcastic whip for any occasion,...
BWW Review: STOP KISS Sends Message that Love Triumphs
Live, laugh, love: my favorite motto for life, and a saying that couldn't be any more perfect to describe the play Stop Kiss....
BWW Review: Broadway San Jose's THE LION KING is Magical!
Broadway San Jose at the Center for the Performing Arts plays host to Disney's THE LION KING now through October 4 only. That's the most important thing you need to know because if you're one for keeping a bucket list of must-see things to do and see before you 'exit stage left,' then this show is ...
BWW Review: Woodminster's AIDA Passionate and Powerful - Now Thru Sept. 13 Only
AIDA at Woodminster. The love triangle between Nubian Princess Aida, Egyptian Captain Radames and his Princess Amneris will tug at your heartstrings. But only thru September 13. Get your tickets now!...
Hodges & Hodges Set the Stage for Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA at Woodminster Now thru Sept. 13
Hodges & Hodges Set the Stage provides a wide-ranging look into select productions that are premiering or touring in the Bay area.
Dedicated to enhancing the theater-going experience, Hodges & Hodges act as your very own dramaturges, theater critics and local restaurant, local tour guides so that y...
Videos
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Anastasia the Musical Douglas Morrisson Theatre (5/22-5/31) |
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DRACULA ORINDA STARLIGHT VILLAGE PLAYERS (9/04-9/26) |
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San Francisco Boys Chorus Spring Concert: Coming Together to Sing - Saturday, June 6 Calvary Presbyterian Church (6/06-6/06) |
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Sister Act Cabrillo Crocker Theater (7/09-8/02) |
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Beauty And The Beast Orpheum Theatre (7/24-7/24) |
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Ah Ha! Circus Bella (6/03-7/26) |
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Comedy Oakland at Quinn's Lighthouse Fri June 5 8:30pm Quinn's Lighthouse (6/05-6/05) |
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Madison Beer Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (6/23-6/23) |
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Comedy Oakland at Quinn's Lighthouse Fri June 12 8:30pm Quinn's Lighthouse (6/12-6/12) |
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Disney''s Beauty and the Beast San Jose Center for the Performing Arts (9/08-9/13) |
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