In "Red Speedo," Ray is an Olympic hopeful who finds a promising career on the line when his coach discovers a stash of performance-enhancing drugs in the club's refrigerator.

Arguably the original promulgator of Black Lives Matter, the African-American lesbian playwright Lorraine Hansberry, though dead 53 years, hasn't been forgotten.

"If I was 6' 3" and muscular, I'd have to make peace with playing romantic leads," wisecracks toothy-grinned, Cyranosed actor/singer Will Roland. "We are all stuck within our types a little bit."

Big news arrived cheek-by-jowl from the side-by-side theaters on Geary Street.

In Tim Pinckney's "Still at Risk," now in its world premiere at New Conservatory Theatre Center, the central character is angry at those younger than himself for not being able to do the impossible.

Most audiences know that Harold Pinter is more about setting up situations than providing solutions.

There was a time when "Man of La Mancha" was cool.

Tim Pinckney had reached that pivotal point in a young actor's career: He was finally spending more time on stages than waiting on tables.

But the thing about a Marga Gomez solo show - a form distinct from her standup comedy routines - is that it sounds so much like a spontaneous creation.

With a new year aborned, and the theatrical lull of the holidays and attendant distractions behind us, it's time to take stock of how 2018 will begin to unfurl on our stages.

Fans of Marga Gomez, you have just 12 opportunities to see the Puerto Rican/Cuban American lesbian performer's final solo show, "Latin Standards," which premieres at the Brava Theater Center on January 11.

It's fitting on many levels that the last play Carey Perloff will direct as ACT's artistic director is Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party."

Here are 10 excellent productions seen in 2017 that provoke the stoutest memories.

2017 has been a great year for comic Paula Poundstone, whose new book repeatedly hit the Amazon bestseller list, and whose concerts have been often been selling out.