Photo: David Allen.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Theater Berkeley,
“We should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.’’ — Oscar Wilde A lot of what passes for entertainment  ...
Photo: Daniel Suchman

Vanity Fair

Theater San Francisco,
“This is Vanity Fair, and it is not a moral place. Nor is it often a merry one."  It’s no easy trick to distill William Makepeace  ...
Lenn Keller Collection, Collection of Bay Area Lesbian Archives

Queer California: Untold Stories

Art & Architecture Oakland,
The distinctive multimedia and interactive exhibit, “Queer California: Untold Stories,” the first in California to focus on LGBTQ+ history and culture, just opened at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). The exhibition contains a variety  ...
Photo: Little Fang.

The Jungle

Theater San Francisco,
The West Coast premiere of the immersive theater experience, “The Jungle” assaulted the April 4th opening night audience at San Francisco’s Curran with harsh lights, loud noise, beating drums, fits of anger, bouts of tears,  ...
Photo: Robbie Sweeny @robbiesweeny.

Kill the Debbie Downers!

Theater Berkeley,
What do Anton Chekhov’s most celebrated play, “The Three Sisters,” written in 1901, and “Saturday Night Live’s” character Debbie Downer have in common? Superficially, not much. But  ...
Geoff Sobelle and Sophie Bortolussi. Photo: Kevin Berne/Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Home

Theater Berkeley,
Berkeley Repertory Theatre Why see a play that has no traditional plot or storyline to speak of, in which the performers are silent, accompanied only by occasional music? If the play is “Home,” the answer  ...
Louise Lamson . Photo: Kevin Berne/Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Metamorphoses

Theater Berkeley,
With vivid and fond remembrances of Berkeley Rep’s extraordinary 1999 production of acclaimed writer and director Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” (produced at UC’s Zellerbach Playhouse), I wondered whether a re-do could ever live up to  ...
Monet in His Garden at Giverny 1921

Monet: The Late Years

Art & Architecture San Francisco,
“Monet: The Late Years,” an exquisite and enlightening exhibition, presents the evolution of the fabulous French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) from 1913 to his death. After a lapse in painting brought on by the deaths  ...