Category: Theatre Reviews

Theater Review: Eugene O’Neill Foundation’s Powerful One-Woman Show I Will Speak for Myself

Kimberly S. Fairbanks brings to life a collection of 15 women in a one-woman show. Photo courtesy of Alison Bodden, 2018.

“Can you name three African-American women who lived before 1865?”

Playwright and director Valerie Joyce set out on a mission to answer that question. A span of 250 years, and yet, complete silence. Not atypical, as women of color’s voices have had a long history of being diminished; none of us are shocked that, beside a few big names like Harriet Tubman, we come up blank. And if we can recall, we most definitely do not hear their stories spoken in their own words. Continue reading “Theater Review: Eugene O’Neill Foundation’s Powerful One-Woman Show I Will Speak for Myself“

Theater Review: Redwood City Players is a company to watch with stunning production of Dogfight

Raissa Marchetti-Kozlov shines as Rose in coming of age Vietnam musical, Dogfight. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Canant/Wilderspace Photography, 2018.

On their last weekend in San Francisco before their deployment to Vietnam, three young soldiers play the cruel tradition of finding the “ugliest” girl in town. Rules are set, bets are made, and the search begins.

Eddie Birdlace (Jason Mooney) stumbles upon a young woman with a gorgeous voice at a local cafe. A dreamy singer-songwriter wannabe a few years ahead of her time, Rose Fenny (Raissa Marchetti-Kozlov) is everything Birdlace could ever want… to win the bet. Continue reading “Theater Review: Redwood City Players is a company to watch with stunning production of Dogfight“

Theater Review: East-West meet in the world premiere political musical Soft Power

Conrad Ricamora and Francis Jue brainstorm sitcom ideas in the world premiere of David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s SOFT POWER.

In a crisp clean office, Chinese movie producer Xue Xing (Conrad Ricamora) meets Chinese-American playwright DHH (Francis Jue, playing a version of David Henry Hwang) to discuss his idea for a new sitcom based in Shanghai. What Sex and the City did for New York, he exclaims, and so, a debate ensues about whether to leave in Shanghai’s flaws or leave them out. In a matter of minutes, Soft Power has deconstructed every stereotype and cliche about Asia and what it means to be Asian-American.

Continue reading “Theater Review: East-West meet in the world premiere political musical Soft Power”

A.C.T. presents world-premiere musical A Walk on the Moon

Pearl (Katie Brayben) sings about her youthful dream of being a reporter and wonders why she stopped believing it was possible. Photo by Kevin Berne.

A Walk on the Moon is the moody, gorgeous tale of a young Jewish housewife coming to terms with her destiny. Alongside is her daughter’s coming of age. Their two stories juxtapose as they try to figure out their purpose in life in the midst of the socio-political turmoil of 1969. Continue reading “A.C.T. presents world-premiere musical A Walk on the Moon“

Theater Review: Award Winning Hit Musical Jersey Boys Returns to Broadway San Jose

(l to r) Chris Stevens (Nick Massi), Corey Greenan (Tommy DeVito), Jonny Wexler (Frankie Valli), and Tommaso Antico (Bob Gaudio). Photo by Joan Marcus, 2018.

The hit musical is on tour right now with a brief layover at the Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose. Absolutely stunning, the story follows The Four Seasons and their slow and steady rise as one of the biggest musical acts of their time. Frankie Valli (Ben Bogen on opening night), Bob Gaudio (Tommaso Antico), Tommy DeVito (Corey Greenan), and Nick Massi (Chris Stevens) are four guys from New Jersey trying to get out of their lackluster town. Though they run from trouble, trouble seems to follow them; guess you can take a guy out of New Jersey, but you can’t take New Jersey out of a guy. Continue reading “Theater Review: Award Winning Hit Musical Jersey Boys Returns to Broadway San Jose”

Sibling rivalry boils over: Ubuntu Theater presents Suzan Lori-Parks’ Pulitzer-winning Topdog/Underdog

Who’s the mark? Booth (Michael Curry) and Lincoln (Dorian Lockett) attempt to out hustle each other. Photos courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

Something bad that keeps rising… Booth’s words to Link. Do you feel it, too? But before Link can answer, Booth determines that Link does a better job keeping his demons at bay. After all, he’s chosen a clean life after years of hustling three-card Monte. He won’t even touch the cards.

In a season of site-specific shows, Ubuntu takes us to the Waterfront Playhouse in Berkeley, to a tiny black box theater. Here we are voyeurs into Booth and Link’s living quarters, of less than average amenities, they are two brothers barely surviving. Sleeping on crates, eating off crates, stuffing stolen clothes into crates, and storing their few beloved personal items in crates. Their parents abandoned them as children, first their mother, then their father. Each left the other brother a $500 dollar inheritance, leaving Booth to wonder, did they plan the escape together?

Continue reading “Sibling rivalry boils over: Ubuntu Theater presents Suzan Lori-Parks’ Pulitzer-winning Topdog/Underdog“

Theater Review: A.C.T. Does Justice to Suzan-Lori Parks’ Epic Tale, Father Comes Home from the Wars

Gregory Wallace’s Odyssey Dog triumphantly returns with news of Hero… and a few humor-laden prophecies. Photo by Joan Marcus, 2018.

The curtains still drawn, we are serenaded by a lone musician, played by Martin Luther McCoy. His voice is clear, but there’s something raw about his performance that brings an authenticity to the setting. When the curtain rises, we are in the south, it’s the American Civil War, and the last few bits of the guitar make it feel as though we aren’t viewers but participants.

Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) is a Greek tragedy loosely based on Homer’s The Odyssey. It’s going to be lengthy and it’s going to be epic and no one better to write it than Suzan-Lori Parks.

Continue reading “Theater Review: A.C.T. Does Justice to Suzan-Lori Parks’ Epic Tale, Father Comes Home from the Wars“

Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project’s American Jornalero

Ubuntu Theater Project explores a fresh take on the American Dream in the West Coast premiere of Ed Cardona Jr.’s American Jornalero

Edited by Jessica Vaden

From L. to R.: Jose Rodriguez (Luis), Benoît Monin (Montezuma), Cristhian Ayvar (Marcelo), Juan J. Berumen (Michigan), and the phone that won’t stop ringing. Photos courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

On the corner of Hope and Haven stand six men, waiting. Four of them are jornaleros, day laborers, waiting for the work that may not come. Two are law-abiding, border protecting Minutemen, waiting to indict them with the charge of wanting a better life.

Continue reading “Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project’s American Jornalero“

Theater Review: The Go-Go’s Musical Head Over Heels at SF Curran Theater

Go-Go’s musical Head Over Heels misses the beat

Edited by Jessica Vaden

Peppermint (center) will become the first woman who is trans to originate a role on Broadway, starring as Pythio (The Oracle of Delphi), pictured here with members of the ensemble performing the Go-Go’s “Vision of Nowness.” All photos courtesy of Joan Marcus, 2018.

San Francisco got a peek at the new musical Head Over Heels before it heads to Broadway; it features hits from the iconic ’80s new wave band the Go-Go’s, known for their fun, cheeky songs. But underneath the funky stockings and pop sensibilities is a groundbreaking band led by five women, who ventured into what turned into the boys’ club of the late ’70s Los Angeles punk scene, playing legendary venues such as Whiskey a Go Go and The Masque. They wrote fierce lyrics, jammed with the rockers, made their way onto MTV, and paved the way for an entire generation of women who play. Continue reading “Theater Review: The Go-Go’s Musical Head Over Heels at SF Curran Theater”

Theater Review: Aphra Behn’s The Rover at Danville Village Theatre

Not much has changed since 1677 — Role Players Ensemble brings Aphra Behn’s The Rover to the Danville Village Theatre

Edited by Jessica Vaden

David J. Bohnet plays Don Pedro, Florinda’s overbearing brother. Nicolette Ellis is Florinda and Terrance Smith as Belville. Photos by Marian Bliss, 2018, courtesy of RPE.

Perhaps now more than ever we are questioning the social constructs that have been put into place for us, especially for those of us on the margins, or in places where our identities intersect. In an attempt at dismantling oppression, we look at its history… starting from gender bending to gender breaking, and finally, to what we assume will become the complete elimination of gender roles. Continue reading “Theater Review: Aphra Behn’s The Rover at Danville Village Theatre”