Lynne FriedmannTheaterSan Diego,
The Old Globe's artistic director, Barry Edelstein, has crafted a memorable production of "Romeo and Juliet" that melds the timeless love story with pop and rock music, switches the gender of some of the supporting characters, and gives a playful nod to iconic contemporary treatments ...
Karen WeinsteinTheaterLos Angeles,
In what can be construed as a forward or prelude, John Leguizamo announces he is about to “undue your entire education.” Had you used some of that education to peruse the program you would have come across a daunting bibliography and reading list with 56 entries and nine “extracurricular ...
Emily S. MendelTheaterBerkeley,
The good news and not-so-good news is that Shotgun Players’ production of “The Flick” is three hours long (including a ten-minute intermission). Good news, because this brilliant 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner takes the time it needs to reveal naturally and fully the three main characters’ lives, personalities, fears, and, ...
Emily S. MendelTheaterSan Francisco,
After two years on Broadway, the evocative and entertaining musical “Anastasia” is now touring the United States, to be followed by stops in major European cities and Japan. Indicative of its lasting, universal appeal is the public’s love of the improbable tale of the amnesiac Anya, who may just ...
Nella VeraTheaterNew York,
“Eureka Day,” a new play by Jonathan Spector, centers around today’s headline grabbing topic of mandatory vaccinations. The dramedy (a very funny first half is followed by a more sober second half that shifts in tone following an inevitable plot twist) is produced by Colt Coeur, in association with ...
Asher LubertoFilm
Sorry to pop your balloon, but "It Chapter Two" is a mess. The second chapter in the clown saga feels as long as Stephen Kings' 1,138 page novel (it's nearly 3 hours!), and twice as bleak. It's astounding that Andres Muschietti could have made such a ...
Asher LubertoFilm
Issa Lopez was an archaeologist before she was a filmmaker, and it's clear she took notes. Her latest, "Tigers Are Not Afraid," is about digging up the past to make sense of the present. It's a premise that fits right in with the current Mexican New Wave. As ...
Nella VeraEtcNew York,
Former BBC Journalist Catherine Higgins-Moore started researching birth experiences after her first child was born in 2013. The traumatic birth and hospital stay inspired her to interview other women and a play emerged. The Maternity Monologues builds on those transcripts, adding some fictional scenarios and characters to create a ...
Emily S. MendelTheaterSan Francisco,
Cal Shakes’ world premiere of “House of Joy” by emerging playwright Madhuri Shekar is a dramatically staged and spectacularly costumed action-adventure romance set in a harem during the impending collapse of the storied 17th century Mughal Indian Empire. For over two hundred years, this empire reigned over virtually the ...
Toba SingerDanceSan Francisco,
Even if your beat is strictly limited to ballet, you can’t write about dance in the San Francisco Bay Area without running into the classical dances of India. In the case of Drive East, Indian Classical Dance--to exploit the analogy--ran into me! Thanks to the efforts of an intrepid ...
