Arts & Culture :: Theater

'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.

Silicon Valley TheatreWorks'  'Little Shop of Horrors' is a kick in the plants

Silicon Valley TheatreWorks' 'Little Shop of Horrors' is a kick in the plants

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 6, 2022

Forget the poinsettias and celebrate this holiday season with an Audrey II. Perennial stage favorite "Little Shop of Horrors" is blooming in the Bay Area for a second time this year, and for good reason.

One Night Only @ Strand Theater

One Night Only @ Strand Theater

  • by photos by Steven Underhill
  • Nov 29, 2022

The cast of the Broadway touring company of "Ain't Too Proud" and special guest Paula West filled A.C.T.'s Strand Theater with soulful jazzy music on November 28 at the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation's first live benefit concert in three years.

A kiki with Herb: Kenny Mellman on breaking up and reuniting with Justin Vivian Bond

A kiki with Herb: Kenny Mellman on breaking up and reuniting with Justin Vivian Bond

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 29, 2022

"In retrospect, it had to be a violent end," says Kenny Mellman, recalling the demise of "Kiki and Herb" back in 2007, not long after the locally-formed twosome's last San Francisco performance. They've now reunited for a holiday-themed tour.

'Natasha, Pierre' & 'Wuthering Heights' hit Berkeley

'Natasha, Pierre' & 'Wuthering Heights' hit Berkeley

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Nov 29, 2022

There's a super-abundance of energy on Berkeley stages this holiday season. Shotgun Players' "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" and Wise Children's "Wuthering Heights" at the Berkeley Rep each compress the soul of an epic literary masterwork.