Arts & Culture :: Theater

Bobby Conte: the Broadway star comes home

Bobby Conte: the Broadway star comes home

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Feb 7, 2023

Before starring in 'A Bronx Tale' and other Broadway shows, Bobby Conte, who brings his solo concert "Along the Way" to A.C.T.'s Strand Theater Feb. 11, got his start in theater here in the Bay Area.

Mark Morris Dance Group's "The Look of Love" - company director & Berkeley native Sam Black returns to his roots

Mark Morris Dance Group's "The Look of Love" - company director & Berkeley native Sam Black returns to his roots

  • by Philip Mayard
  • Feb 7, 2023

Cal Performances welcomes back Mark Morris Dance Group for the Bay Area premiere of Morris' "The Look of Love: An Evening of Dance to the Music of Burt Bacharach." Company Director and Berkeley native Sam Black discussed his work with Morris.

Who's Your Mami Comedy: stand-up with a feminist twist returns to Brava Cabaret

Who's Your Mami Comedy: stand-up with a feminist twist returns to Brava Cabaret

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Feb 7, 2023

Lesbian comic Marga Gomez, with Carla Clay and Chelsea Bearce, returns to Brava Cabaret with "Who's Your Mami Comedy."

Chingwe Padraig Sullivan: queer Native American actor in SF Playhouse's 'Cashed Out'

Chingwe Padraig Sullivan: queer Native American actor in SF Playhouse's 'Cashed Out'

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 31, 2023

In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Chingwe Padraig Sullivan reflected on growing up in New England and pursuing a career in theater as a queer Native American. Sullivan costars in the cast of "Cashed Out," currently running at SF Playhouse.

'Clyde's' - Lynn Nottage's diner comedy at Berkeley Rep

'Clyde's' - Lynn Nottage's diner comedy at Berkeley Rep

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 31, 2023

The beautifully balanced ensemble of five actors who play the owner and staff of a truck stop diner in "Clyde's" are provided with a bumper crop of fresh, zesty dialogue by Pulitzer-winning playwright Lynn Nottage.

'Getting There' - world premiere debuts at NCTC; 'tick tick BOOM' postponed

'Getting There' - world premiere debuts at NCTC; 'tick tick BOOM' postponed

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 24, 2023

"Getting There," Dipika Guha's shifting, shimmering new play asks its characters and audiences to puzzle over a half-dozen abstract but interrelated concepts: loneliness, desire, friendship, love, guilt, and aging.

New operas for the new year; 'Everest' and 'Prospero'

New operas for the new year; 'Everest' and 'Prospero'

  • by Philip Campbell
  • Jan 24, 2023

Two new opera productions from groundbreaking creators are coming to San Francisco in February and March. Collaborations between a veritable Who's Who of contemporary artists give encouraging evidence of the state of the art.

Donna McKechnie: Broadway legend sings Sondheim at Feinstein's

Donna McKechnie: Broadway legend sings Sondheim at Feinstein's

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 17, 2023

Donna McKechnie, best known for originating, and winning a Tony for, the role of Cassie in "A Chorus Line," will honor her late colleague in her solo show, "Take Me To The World: the Songs of Stephen Sondheim," at Feinstein's at the Nikko on Jan. 19 & 20.

Marshall Forte at Lyon & Swan: two sensational debuts

Marshall Forte at Lyon & Swan: two sensational debuts

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 17, 2023

Marshall Forte, a lightning bolt of charisma and musicality who, debuted as Lola in Ray of Light Theatre's production of "Kinky Boots," is now setting off sparks with his own cabaret act, "Hello My Name Is Marshall" at the new supper club Lyon & Swan.

Jason Gotay goes cabaret: 'Gossip Girl' and 'Spider-Man' star gets musically vulnerable

Jason Gotay goes cabaret: 'Gossip Girl' and 'Spider-Man' star gets musically vulnerable

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 10, 2023

Broadway and TV actor-singer Jason Gotay makes his San Francisco debut at Feinstein's at the Nikko this weekend on January 13 and 14. His new concert shares some intimate moments from his life.

Hello, Paper Dolly! - Ennio Marchetto at Club Fugazi

Hello, Paper Dolly! - Ennio Marchetto at Club Fugazi

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Jan 3, 2023

For more than 30 years he's transformed huge sheets of blank paper into the cleverly drawn, precisely folded costumes that allow him to metamorphosize into more than 60 celebrity and historical characters over the course of his frantic hour-long show.

'As You Like It' - SF Playhouse's gender-fluid frolic

'As You Like It' - SF Playhouse's gender-fluid frolic

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 20, 2022

Shaina Taub, whose similarly contemporized '12th Night' delighted on this same stage last year, exhibits a topiarist's care in trimming and reshaping Shakespeare's original script.

'Beetlejuice the Musical' - national tour's a pulpy, goofy, juicy good time

'Beetlejuice the Musical' - national tour's a pulpy, goofy, juicy good time

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 20, 2022

As played with ghoulish gusto by Justin Collette in the musical's first-ever national tour, which launched at the Golden Gate Theatre last week, this 'Beetlejuice' is a comparable Mama Rose from the Dead.

Kung Pao Kosher Comedy: annual holiday tradition celebrates 30 years

Kung Pao Kosher Comedy: annual holiday tradition celebrates 30 years

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Dec 13, 2022

It's been 30 years since Lisa Geduldig presented the first Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, now an annual Bay Area tradition. This year, Mark Schiff, Cathy Ladman, Orion Levine, Geduldig and her 91-year-old mother will perform.