Casteallo and Reitsma as Johnny and Paul. Photo: Lee Miller

Birdland

Chicago,
Paul (Joel Reitsma) is a rock star, with rock star habits and ego. He’s now in Moscow, nearing the end of a long tour and faced with going home to London. He and Johnny, his bandmate, (played by Dushane Casteallo)  ...
(from left) Doreen Montalvo, Bobby Plasencia, and Jennifer Paredes . Photo: Jim Cox.

American Mariachi

San Diego,
What do you know about mariachi music? If you’re like me, not a lot. Up to now, it’s been the background music while consuming margaritas, chips and queso. Not anymore. Set in a U.S. Latino community in the  ...
L) Paul Vincent O'Connor as Salter and (R) Joseph Patrick O'Malley. Photo: David Allen.

A Number

Berkeley,
“We’ve got thirty per cent the same [genes] as a lettuce…” The successful birth of Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, was a startling event in 1996. Now the news of Barbra Streisand’s cloned puppies has shown  ...
Daniel Chung (Dennis). Photo: Kevin Berne

Office Hour

Berkeley,
I didn’t sleep well the night I saw “Office Hour,” and to my mind that’s a good thing, because my restlessness meant that I was deeply affected by playwright Julia Cho’s tension-ridden, creative exploration of the complex natures of mass  ...
VTG_047

Vietgone

San Francisco,
”Vietgone,” an unusual blend of broad comedy with ending touches of sentiment and insight, focuses on the travails of a South Vietnamese man and woman who separately immigrate to the U.S. during the 1975 fall of Saigon, and meet  ...
Edgar7(1)

Until, Until, Until . . .

San Francisco,
"Until, Until, Until . . . is a play accompanied by a multi-media video installation. It's an interrogation of the facts and misinformation surrounding the controversy about the famous 1981 televised performance by Broadway actor and dancer Ben Vereen, that  ...
Luna Lauren Vélez Photo by Craig Schwartz.

Water by the Spoonful

Los Angeles,
Addiction is as hot a topic now as it was in 2012 when Quiara Alegria Hudes won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, "Water by the Spoonful." It may not be your number one topic, but do  ...
(from left) Christian Conn as Algernon Moncrieff and Matt Schwader as John Worthing. Photo by Jim Cox.

The Importance of Being Earnest

San Diego,
The trouble with drawing room comedies is that drawing rooms are intrinsically boring. This is part of the problem with the Old Globe's The Importance of Being Earnest - even Oscar Wilde's spirited dialogue can't quite overcome the production's inherent  ...
OV8A4218

Passing Strange

Philadelphia,
The rock musical Passing Strange was co-composed by Stew and Heidi Rodewald a decade ago and in its short run on Broadway was a sensation, garnering six Tony noms and two wins for Stew. It wasn't your typical jukebox musical  ...