Our San Francisco / Bay Area Critics
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Review: THE WOMAN IN BLACK at Center Rep
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. ...
Review: THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
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....
Review: SALLY AND TOM at Marin Theatre
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....
Review: A DRIVING BEAT at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
What did our critic think of A DRIVING BEAT at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley?...
Review: STEREOPHONIC at Curran Theatre
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 deb...
Review: THE WISDOM OF EVE at Altarena Playhouse
THE WISDOM OF EVE blends the magic of the stage with the shadows behind to expose the full world of theater. Here you find the blood, sweat, and tears that can take people to the top as well take people down as they climb. Altarena Playhouse’s THE WISDOM OF EVE takes you on a wild ride through the...
Review: SPANISH STEW at New Conservatory Theatre Center
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 secu...
Review: SUFFS at Orpheum Theatre
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 precurso...
Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT at BROADWAY SAN JOSE
San Jose is turning up the heat with SOME LIKE IT HOT! It bursts onto the stage in a blaze of jazz, joy and unapologetic flair. With dazzling choreography, comedy, and a story that balances the 1930s Prohibition era with 21st-century heart, this Broadway tour redefines what musical comedy can be....
Review: HARD TIMES - APPALACHIAN STORIES at Z Space
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....
Review: MURDER FOR TWO at Hillbarn Theatre
What did our critic think of MURDER FOR TWO at Hillbarn Theatre?...
Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW at SF Oasis
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....
Review: BILLY STRICHT - ALL FOR YOU at Feinstein's At The Nikko
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....
Review: & JULIET A Must-See At Broadway San Jose
What did our critic think of & JULIET AT BROADWAY SAN JOSE NOW THRU OCTOBER 12 at Broadway San Jose? Playing now through October 12 at Broadway San Jose, & Juliet is a much-needed confection of mayhem, laughter and empowerment all delivered by one of the most professional casts and creative teams I'...
Review: NOISES OFF at SF Playhouse
What did our critic think of NOISES OFF at SF Playhouse?...
Review: NORM LEWIS at Feinstein's At The Nikko
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 ca...
Review: LITTLE WOMEN at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Theatreworks Silicon Valley opens its 55th season in spectacular fashion with some familiarity and something quite new and extraordinary....
Review: LES MISÉRABLES at Orpheum Theatre
What did our critic think of LES MISÉRABLES at Orpheum Theatre?...
Review: KIM'S CONVENIENCE at American Conservatory Theatre
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....
Review: THE SOILED DOVE at Radium Runway, Alameda Point
Imagine the opposite of Dorothy's dull house landing in the tehnicolor world of Oz, and you'll have an idea of what Vau de Vire Presents The Soiled Dove is like!...
Review: SHUCKED Pops at Broadwaysf's Curran Theatre
SHUCKED opened last night at BroadwaySF’s Curran Theatre and let me just say—the show popped! The story begins in the idyllic and insulated, corn-reliant town of Cob County, where a wedding is about to take place—until the corn suddenly begins to wither, threatening the town’s very existence...
Review: JANE EYRE at Orinda Starlight Village Players
Travel back in time to the days of Georgian England with the Orinda Starlight Village Players’ production of Jane Eyre. With bonnets and corsets and riding boots, the audience is swept into an era where propriety and etiquette ruled, and women had few choices. Jane Eyre reminds us of the power of ...
Review: EMMA at Silicon Valley Shakespeare
Emma, the well-intentioned matchmaker from Jane Austen’s first published novel is brought to life on the stage as the closing show for the 2025 Summer Repertory Sanborn Park Series. Kate Hamill’s fresh adaptation retains all the classic features of the story while using humor and physical comedy...
Review: GOOD PEOPLE at Altarena Playhouse
GOOD PEOPLE is a good story with good acting. Class struggle, opportunities and societal constraints are all on display. Ultimately, it all comes down to choices, the ones you make and
ones you allow others to make for you. What makes a good person good? How does a good person react when faced with...
Review: PLAZA SUITE by Neil Simon at Hillbarn Theatre
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....
Videos
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Anastasia the Musical Douglas Morrisson Theatre (5/22-5/31) |
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Macbeth Santa Cruz Shakespeare (7/12-8/30) |
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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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Broadway Under the Stars - Radio Recall: The Soundtrack of Your Life Transcendence Theatre Company (7/10-7/12) |
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Comedy Oakland at Quinn's Lighthouse Sun June 21 7pm Quinn's Lighthouse (6/21-6/21) |
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New Canon Theatre Co. Anniversary Celebration & Fundraiser Stanton Center (6/17-6/17) |
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Romeo and Juliet Outdoor Forest Theater (6/11-6/28) PHOTOS |
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Secret Improv Vice, San Francisco Noir Shelton Theater (5/31-5/31) |
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The Phantom of the Opera San Jose Center for the Performing Arts (10/07-10/18) |
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Dracula Orpheum Theatre-San Francisco (7/03-7/12) |
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