California Shakespeare Theater, Orinda, California
Emily S. MendelSan Francisco,
How many works of literature can you name that have given rise to a regularly used English adjective? Not many? Me neither. But the word, “quixotic,” defined as “foolishly impractical, especially in the pursuit of ideals; especially marked by rash ...
Emily S. MendelSan Francisco,
Just when I was bemoaning the dearth of newly minted original musicals, along comes “Soft Power,” a wonderfully innovative, exciting, intelligent and tuneful show, created by Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang ("M. Butterfly") and Tony-winning composer Jeanine Tesori ("Fun Home").
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Karen WeinsteinLos Angeles,
Either the emperor is wearing no clothes or I need to return to the Ahmanson and watch “The Humans” again. It won the Tony 2016, for best play. It has been greeted with accolades by major critics in its ...
Lynne FriedmannSan Diego,
What goes on in the mind of someone with dementia? Way beyond the minor annoyance felt when we can’t find our car keys, it’s a world where conversations are recycled in an endless loop, time becomes meaningless and complete strangers ...
Emily S. MendelSan Francisco,
It seems that there are very few newly minted original musicals these days. They are either revivals or are based on existing books or movies, which provides producers and audiences with familiarity and confidence. With the ...
Nancy S. BishopChicago,
"Mies Julie" is a scorchingly sexy, shockingly violent adaptation of August Strindberg’s "Miss Julie," transported from 1888 Sweden to 2012 South Africa. Incidents that may or may not happen offstage in 1888 happen onstage in 2012.
In "Mies Julie" ...
Emily S. MendelBerkeley,
Two teen-aged girls on a Florida high school swim team navigate the precarious path to female adulthood and friendship in Ruby Rae Spiegel’s honest, meaningful and intense 90-minute drama, “Dry Land.” It premiered in New York City when Spiegel was ...
Lynne FriedmannSan Diego,
A young couple buys a fixer-upper in an older affluent neighborhood only to discover a fence, hastily installed by the previous owner, shortchanges their property line by two feet. Breaking the news to their neighbors – who, unaware of the ...
Nancy S. BishopChicago,
"The Originalist" profiles one term in the career of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The Court Theatre production, directed by Molly Smith, proves that although Scalia may have been a “monster,” as his opponents called him (to his ...
Josh BaxtSan Diego,
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a poignant tale about how women have suffered in Afghanistan under a patriarchal culture and a series of repressive regimes. It’s an important story, but in this case, it’s weighed down by the sheer ...
