This astonishing performer's show combines vaudeville, cabaret, circus, and raucous good fun in a not-to-be-missed entertainment.
Suzanne WeissTheaterSan Francisco,
A pussycat she’s not, in spite of the name. (And who knows what her real name is?) No, she can purr on occasion and preen and lick her fur, but Meow Meow has claws, and she’s not afraid to show ...
Patricia Racette, stunning in the title role, is matched in vocal power by tenor Brandon Jovanovich and bass Raymond Aceto in a new and moving production of Carlisle Floyd's tale of lust and hypocrisy in 1930s Tennessee.
Suzanne WeissMusicSan Francisco,
“Ain’t it a pretty night,” sings the soprano and, whenever “Susannah” is in town, the night is more than pretty. It’s gorgeous.
Carlisle Floyd’s 1955 work, written when he was only 27, may be the quintessential American opera ...
Despite a cluttered set and problematic staging, this new production soars on the voices of Sondra Radvanovsky and Jamie Barton.
Suzanne WeissMusicSan Francisco,
Bel canto means “beautiful singing” and that’s what you get in San Francisco Opera’s new production of Bellini’s “Norma.” With the fantastic American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, once utterly owned by the likes of Maria Callas ...
This fluffy rendition of Shakespeare's dream-heavy comedy is populated by actors giving right-on performances in a production that is a start-to-finish delight.
Suzanne WeissTheaterSan Francisco,
“To sleep, perchance to dream…” The Bard of Avon sure loved the scenarios and fantasies that visit mankind once the head hits the pillow and we drift off into sleep. From Lady Macbeth’s nightmares to the monstrous Caliban’s dream of ...
The cast in this fast and funny revival couldn't be better at underlining Shaw's acerbic wit.
Suzanne WeissTheaterSan Francisco,
Once upon a time there was a Greek sculptor who, so legend has it, created a statue so beautiful that he fell madly in love with it and, with the help of the omnipresent gods, infused her with life. Trouble ...
Emily S. MendelFeaturesSan Francisco,
Highlights of the Jewish Film Festival
“Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholem Aleichem”
“The Green Prince”
“Run Boy Run”
“112 Weddings”
“Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story”
“Above and Beyond”
“Havana Curveball”
“The Sturgeon Queens”
The 34th San ...
David Mamet's early masterpiece weathers an uneven emphasis on laughs in this Aurora Theatre production.
Emily S. MendelTheaterSan Francisco,
David Mamet’s searing 1975 masterpiece about a botched robbery by three Chicago low-lifes fizzled rather than sizzled through its opening night at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre. Not that the play isn’t worth seeing, it is. But this production of "American Buffalo" ...
The American premiere of this opera about human trafficking and sexual slavery rises above agitprop and emerges a true work of art.
Suzanne WeissMusicSan Francisco,
Earlier this year a film called “Twelve Years a Slave” walked away with the Best Picture award at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes. The true story of a free American man of color who was kidnapped in Washington ...
The principals' voices soar and blend in this stunning new production of Puccini's masterpiece on star-crossed love.
Suzanne WeissMusicSan Francisco,
As a stunning curtain, decorated with modernistic kimonos, rises on an equally striking set, all light and platforms in primary colors, it seems that the new San Francisco production of “Madame Butterfly” is going to be about Jun Kaneko’s production ...
Lavish sets and costumes notwithstanding, this production is, musically, a mixed bag.
Suzanne WeissMusicSan Francisco,
“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 first reason to go and see the revival at San Francisco Opera. The second is the production, originally directed by ...
