Nella VeraEtcWashington,
“A Thousand Splendid Suns”, a new play based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini (“Kite Runner”), focuses on the lives of two women in war-torn Afghanistan. Adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma and directed by Carey Perloff, the critically-acclaimed show made its way across ...
David E. MorenoDanceSan Francisco,
When the Paul Taylor Dance Company last appeared in San Francisco in 2017, it was just months before the dance world would lose one of its greatest choreographers—Paul Taylor. Soon, the dance maker whose innovative career set contemporary dance standards for over six decades--appearing regularly in San Francisco for ...
SInger & SonDanceSan Francisco,
We are inclined to follow Johnny Eliasen anywhere. In his staging of this special delivery rendering of “Études,” our devotee sentiments are richly rewarded. Yes, there are moments that could have done with a preemptive spring cleaning, but overall, Harald Lander’s academic standard bearer, reminds us that Jennifer Homans ...
Emily S. MendelTheaterBerkeley,
“Gatz,” the extraordinarily creative and intelligent combination of an oration and recreation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, “The Great Gatsby,” opened on February 13, 2020, at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater to well-deserved bravos and huzzahs. The enactment was skillfully performed by members of New York ...
David E. MorenoEtcBerkeley,
“A Thousand Thoughts, a thousand questions, mine, yours, ours, theirs, questions that perhaps open up things that definitive answers would only nail shut. Kronos Quartet’s long trajectory offers a series of questions that are solid and answers are elusive. How do you find the path between predictability and instability? ...
Josh BaxtTheaterSan Diego,
Hurricane Diane is about two-thirds satirical comedy and one-third social activism. The comedy part is fantastic. Set in a (mostly) pristine New Jersey cul-de-sac, the show pits the Greek god Dionysus against four Jersey housewives. Bored with Mt. Olympus, and concerned with mankind’s environmental mayhem, Dionysus ...
Emily S. MendelEtc
It was a pleasure to watch some of my favorite Bay Area artists and director doing their best work at the Aurora Theatre’s West Coast premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s “The Children.” This three-person drama is about the reunion of nuclear scientists in the aftermath of a nuclear power station ...
Lewis WhittingtonTheaterPhiladelphia,
The Wilma Theater has been redesigned as a multi-tiered amphitheater to frame Rajiv Joseph’s provocative 2017 political play ‘Describe the Night.’ A sterile sunken stage lined with hundreds of file boxes, and looming behind, a distant forest in Poland circa 1920. In the dark shadows of the forest, Isaac ...
Marisa HayesEtcParis,
“If you allow me the time to exist, everything will be all right,” announces a gregarious gender fluid puppet. Inspired by Sweden’s gender-neutral pronoun, HEN is the latest production from French theatre artist Johanny Bert and his Théâtre de Romette. While closer to rock opera than ...
Emily S. MendelTheaterBerkeley,
The extraordinary and applauded theatrical production of “Gatz” has played to sold-out theaters in the United States and Europe since 2005, and it is finally coming to Berkeley Rep (February 13–March 1, 2020). This unusually creative and intelligent work is a surprise hit because it includes a real-time reading ...
