Thursday, April 18, 2024

Broadway’s unlikely usher: How ‘A Strange Loop’ became a decorated musical by David John Chávez

Michael R. Jackson dishes about his Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning show, set to run at ACT in San Francisco.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Review: Golden Thread’s ‘Returning to Haifa’ is theater helping you understand the war in Gaza by Lily Janiak

Witnessing Ghassan Kanafani’s 1969 barn burner onstage is like discovering a midcentury classic.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 04:32PM
Sunday, April 14, 2024

Review: NCTC’s ‘The Tutor’ makes Slip ‘N Slide of love triangle by Lily Janiak

In Torange Yeghizaran’s world premiere, three characters fill the playing space to bursting.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:52PM
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Got overbearing Asian American parents? Confront them vicariously with ‘Tiger Style!’ by Lily Janiak

Mike Lew’s comedy at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is balm for any thwarted adult who’s ever fantasized, “I’m gonna yell at my mom like a white girl.” 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:11PM
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

In the AI age, how have artists envisioned robots in theater, film and ballet? by Lily Janiak

Pieces such as S.F. Ballet’s ‘Mere Mortals’ help us understand our place in the ChatGPT era.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Monday, April 8, 2024

In ‘Hangmen,’ Martin McDonagh is the maestro of macabre, the bard of bloviation by Lily Janiak

San Jose Stage Company’s West Coast premiere about an English hangman forced into early retirement trades moralizing for high style.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Friday, April 5, 2024

Review: ‘Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord’ validates everything you’ve gone through since 2020 by Lily Janiak

The S.F. native’s solo show at American Conservatory Theater tells the true story of how a strawberry red Hello Kitty sewing machine started a mutual aid society.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:01PM
Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Rumi Missabu, performer and original member of Cockettes, dies at 76 by Tony Bravo

The actor and theater creator was part of the pioneering drag group, the subject of a documentary and preserved LGBTQ archives. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 05:04PM

How San Francisco prepared this actor for a career in arts and activism by David John Chávez

San Francisco native Kristina Wong’s play “Sweatshop Overlord,” which was a Pulitzer finalist, is set to make its Bay Area debut at ACT.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Saturday, March 30, 2024

Review: The profound life and scintillating music of Betty Reid Soskin shine in ‘Sign My Name to Freedom’ by David John Chávez

The many lives of Soskin’s 102 years is the premise of San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company’s world premiere musical at Z Space in San Francisco.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:48PM
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Review: Shotgun Players’ ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ lacks youthful passion by Steven Winn

The production at Berkeley’s Ashby Stage struggles to find nimble footing, but still manages to entertain.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:14PM
Friday, March 22, 2024

American Conservatory Theater’s 2024-25 season invites S.F. to ‘see anew’ by Lily Janiak

Two world premieres and the return of rotating rep are among the goodies in the 59-year-old San Francisco company’s lineup. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:00PM
Saturday, March 16, 2024

Review: In Oakland Theater Project’s breathtaking ‘Cost of Living,’ caregiving is a lens for vulnerability by Lily Janiak

Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play writes characters with disabilities who aren’t defined by their physical limitations.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:26PM
Friday, March 15, 2024

Review: ‘The 39 Steps’ demonstrates the peril of conservative programming by Lily Janiak

Though some moments shine, San Francisco Playhouse’s production is mostly a joyless sprawl of unmade choices.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:53PM
Thursday, March 14, 2024

Review: Berkeley Rep’s ‘The Far Country,’ set on Angel Island, probes the promise and lie of immigration by Lily Janiak

Lloyd Suh’s Pulitzer Prize finalist insists on the dignity of those who came to San Francisco during the Chinese Exclusion Act.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:28PM
Sunday, March 10, 2024

Review: “Queen” loses momentum in high-stakes environmental drama by Steven Winn

In San Jose playwright Madhuri Shekar’s eco-play, two women dream of breaking academia's glass ceiling and rescuing honeybees.  

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:46PM
Thursday, March 7, 2024

Edward Bond, a playwright who shocked the stage world with ‘Saved,’ dies at 89 by Jill Lawless, Associated Press

Bond shocked the British theater world with his explosive 1965 drama “Saved,” a scandal that led to the abolition of theater censorship in Britain. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 11:54AM

Chris Hardman, founder of Antenna Theater and pioneer in experimental works, dies at 73 by Sam Whiting

Chris Hardman, who had a 40-year run of presenting experimental and immersive theater, died Feb. 1. He was 73.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Bay Area theater: Spring brings shattering dramas, queer romps, immersive experiences by Lily Janiak

This season’s highlights include Klanghaus, African-American Shakespeare Company and Killing My Lobster, among many others. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Sunday, March 3, 2024

Review: In ‘Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad,’ an S.F. native tries to take her city back by Lily Janiak

Ashley Smiley’s Magic Theatre world premiere is SOS alert and valentine, high-tech heist and keenly observed family portrait.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:14PM
Saturday, March 2, 2024

Review: Buckley and Baldwin once had a public debate about race. Today, it’s stirring theater by Lily Janiak

Elevator Repair Service’s “Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge” at Cal Performances permits no self-congratulation about racial progress.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:37PM
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Magic Theatre’s ‘Dirty White Teslas’ examines the future of Black San Francisco by David John Chávez

Ashley Smiley’s world premiere play explores the current challenges of Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco’s most prominent Black neighborhood.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Saturday, February 24, 2024

Review: In ‘Bark of Millions’ Taylor Mac reveals theater as queer church by Lily Janiak

“Our goal this evening is to make you queer,” or queerer still, Taylor Mac said near the top of the sweeping, 55-song show at Cal Performances.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:19PM
Thursday, February 22, 2024

Review: ‘Big Data’ shows S.F.’s theater can be just as revolutionary as its tech by Lily Janiak

Kate Attwell’s frame-splitting, acute yet expansive script is about how complicit we are in tech’s takeover of both our interactions and consciousnesses.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 04:26PM
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Review: ‘Bees & Honey’ might’ve worked better as TV by Lily Janiak

Marin Theatre Company’s actors have a muffled quality, as if they’re hoping to believe, rather than actually believing, what they’re saying.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 01:57PM
Friday, February 16, 2024

Review: Relevant, ambitious ‘Manahatta’ sags under weight of its scaffolding by Steven Winn

Though Mary Kathryn Nagle’s play lays out carefully engineered juxtapositions, the Aurora Theatre production gets in its own way more often than not.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:40PM
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

If the social media algorithm were a play character, what would he be like? by Lily Janiak

ACT’s “Big Data” by Kate Attwell says that when we give up our digital privacy, our homes, family, love and sex lives feel the cost.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

BroadwaySF’s 2024-25 season is full of fan favorites and new hits. Here are the titles by Lily Janiak

“Kimberly Akimbo” and “& Juliet” are among the highlights of next year’s offerings from the owner of the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran theaters.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:30PM
Friday, February 2, 2024

Review: Familial dysfunction soars in ‘Cult of Love’ by Steven Winn

Most families dread the holiday season. The Dahls in Berkeley Repertory's latest drama, written by “Russian Doll” co-creator Leslye Headland, are no different.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 11:26AM
Thursday, February 1, 2024

Review: Tasty phở, terrifying AI in SF Playhouse’s ‘My Home on the Moon’ by Lily Janiak

Minna Lee’s play asks: In a simulation where all your existential crises are gone and everything’s hunky-dory, why even bother doing anything?

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:29PM
Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Luis Alfaro’s ‘The Travelers’ wins the Will Glickman Award for best play to premiere in the Bay Area by Chronicle Staff

Magic Theatre’s production garnered the Los Angeles playwright his second win of one of the most prestigious awards in Bay Area theater. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 08:31PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards