“La Traviata,” that quintessential tale of a Parisian courtesan-with-a-heart-of-gold-except-she-dies-of-consumption-at-the-end, is one of Verdi’s most beautiful and beloved operas. That’s the…
Suzanne Weiss
Suzanne Weiss has been writing about the arts for the past 35 years. Formerly Arts Editor for the papers of Pioneer Press in the northern Chicago suburban area, her work also has appeared in Stagebill and Crain’s Chicago Business, among other publications. Since moving to the Bay Area she has reviewed theater, opera, dance and the occasional film for the San Mateo Times, “J” and is a regular contributor to CultureVulture. She is the author of “Glencoe, Queen of Suburbs.”
Suzanne passed away in 2016.
It’s a very slender branch on which to hang a show. But the leaves are songs by Stephen Sondheim and…
One of my favorite Stephen Sondheim lyrics is sung by a stripper with the improbable name of Mazeppa (he rhymes…
Y’all come on down to the levee folks. The “Show Boat” is in town and it’s a singin’, dancin’ romp….
Playwright Tony Kushner may go down in theatrical history as the Richard Wagner of the stage. The two, although separated…
It has been more than half a century since Lorraine Hansberry’s iconic “A Raisin in the Sun” first took the…
“The Suit” doesn’t fit as well as expected. With the renowned director Peter Brook’s name attached, one goes in expecting…
Just when you think it can’t get any better, amazingly it does. In its brief history Opera Parallèle, under the…
Brian Copeland has a sad story to tell. But he tells it with such wit and self-deprecating humor that his…
Lovers and losers; speaking and signing; silence and sound; but, above all, family. It’s all interwoven in the intricate pattern…
Don’tcha just hate those people who, hearing of a local production of a hot new play, look down their noses…
Full disclosure: I don’t much like farce. Slapstick and pratfalls and opening and slamming doors somehow never manage to tickle…
Be careful what you wish for. That’s the painful lesson learned by the Little Mermaid, who famously traded her fins…
Opera fans, fear not. The future is here. If the recent recital by Leah Crocetto and David Lomelí is any…