Sunday, April 27, 2025

Review: Crowded Fire’s latest shows that not everything needs to become a play by Lily Janiak

The breakup play “The Last of the Love Letters” by Ngozi Anyanwu is indulgent, repetitive and trite. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:21PM
Saturday, April 19, 2025

Marin Theatre’s chaotic ‘It’s True’ struggles to capture the fierce spirit of Artemisia Gentileschi by Steven Winn

The U.S. premiere of the courtroom drama blends historical testimony, modern elements and feminist themes of revenge with mixed success.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 01:31PM
Saturday, April 12, 2025

From Beyoncé to Broadway: Why ‘Six’ is redefining musical theater by Lily Janiak

The show reimagining Henry VIII’s six wives makes clear that the boundary between pop concert and musical theater is increasingly blurring, to salutary effect.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 12:28PM
Sunday, April 6, 2025

Gentle or just plain boring? Why ‘The Boiling’ fails to heat up the stage by Lily Janiak

Magic Theatre’s world premiere about birdwatching and a disease carrier is gentle to the point of nonevent.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:00PM
Friday, April 4, 2025

Forget ‘To be, or not to be:’ Eddie Izzard’s ‘Hamlet’ makes us ask: Why? by Lily Janiak

The comedian, actor and trans activist’s approach to Shakespeare’s tragedy is that of a speeding steamroller.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:34PM
Monday, March 31, 2025

An S.F. theater that’s actually growing? Its 2025-26 season shows how by Lily Janiak

Stephen Sondheim and David Henry Hwang mark two highlights in San Francisco Playhouse’s 23rd lineup.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 12:00PM
Friday, March 28, 2025

Review: Ellen McLaughlin’s ‘Penelope’ is a mesmerizing fusion of myth and memory by Steven Winn

The playwright’s drama masterfully intertwines Homeric myth and personal memory in a poignant solo performance.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:16PM
Thursday, March 27, 2025

Review: ‘Fat Ham’ at S.F. Playhouse reinvents ‘Hamlet’ with humor and flair by Steven Winn

Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is reimagined in this production, directed by Margo Hall, as a vibrant comedy exploring the complexities of modern manhood.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 04:02PM
Sunday, March 16, 2025

If you’ve ever silently raged an an art snob friend, feel catharsis at Shotgun’s ‘Art’ by Lily Janiak

In Yasmina Reza’s 1994 play, an exorbitant purchase of an all-white painting turns men into beasts. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:34PM
Saturday, March 15, 2025

‘Doomers’ review: Play based on Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI is still in beta by Lily Janiak

The boardroom drama seizes an opportunity many established local theaters have been slow to act on: the chance to delve into the current events dividing the tech world in its own backyard.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:27PM
Thursday, March 13, 2025

‘Nobody Loves You’ review: Love ‘The Bachelor’? Hate it? You need to see this musical by Lily Janiak

In American Conservatory Theater’s “Nobody Loves You,” a skepticism about the show’s own mechanisms lends it an agreeable edge.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:04PM
Sunday, March 9, 2025

Review: ‘Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical’ needs less exposition, more sex by Lily Janiak

If TheatreWorks and Center Rep’s world premiere more galumphs than fizzes, failing to root for it anyway would be like cheering against true love. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:47PM
Saturday, March 8, 2025

Review: ‘Push-Pull’ examines toxic pursuit of male physical perfection by Lily Janiak

The Berkeley City Club is always an up-close-and-personal venue, but it’s a special thrill when actors’ necks are bulging and steaming to lift giant weights. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:41PM
Tuesday, March 4, 2025

There’s no resisting reality dating shows in ‘Nobody Loves You’ by Lily Janiak

American Conservatory Theater’s musical, written by Berkeley natives Itamar Moses and Gaby Alter, explores whether authentic, old-fashioned love is possible in the age of “The Bachelor�…

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Thursday, February 20, 2025

Misha Berson, an influential Bay Area theater Critic, dies at 74 by David John Chávez

For more than a decade starting in the early 1980s, author and critic Misha Berson led Theatre Bay Area as one of its earliest executive directors.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 04:58PM
Monday, February 17, 2025

Review: S.F. play about ‘dumbasses’ saving the world is flawed, but playwright shows promise by Lily Janiak

“Cuckoo Edible Magic,” inspired by gaming and anime, suffers from typical early-career shortcomings, but playwright Reed Flores proves himself a rising star.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:06PM
Sunday, February 16, 2025

Review: Video games and theater play on the same side in ‘Froggy’ by Lily Janiak

Center Repertory Company’s world premiere is a one-of-a-kind construction, complete with GoPros and foley sound effects.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:41PM
Friday, February 14, 2025

‘Back to the Future: The Musical’: Worth the ride, or better left in the past? by Lily Janiak

The remake at BroadwaySF’s Orpheum Theatre recalls a theme park in both joyous and infelicitous ways.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:09PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Review: Ultra-relevant drama ‘Waste’ gets at fundamental societal truths by Steven Winn

Marin Theatre’s production of “Waste” delves into English Parliamentary power struggles, captivating with its enduring societal truths.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 05:43PM

CHamorro culture gets overdue representation in SFBATCO’s ‘Cuckoo Edible Magic’ by Lily Janiak

Reed Flores’ world premiere seeks to represent CHamorro cuisine, language and culture onstage as part of a tapestry of AAPI identities.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Monday, February 10, 2025

In the second Trump term, we need Ibsen’s plays more than ever by Lily Janiak

“An Enemy of the People” has rarely felt as true-to-life as it does in San Jose Stage Company’s trenchant production.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:22PM
Saturday, February 8, 2025

Review: ‘Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play’ is perfectly seasoned but undercooked by Lily Janiak

San Francisco Playhouse’s production is “inject this into my veins” funny but shambolic, as if a ouija board is in charge. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 03:39PM
Thursday, February 6, 2025

Review: In this brilliant, disgusting play, a man appears to inhale thousands of calories by Lily Janiak

In Geoff Sobelle’s “Food,” in a four-day Stanford Live run, our appetites write history itself.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:40PM

This sleepy suburb is home to the Bay Area’s edgiest new play by Lily Janiak

Center Repertory Company’s world premiere of “Froggy” is a departure on multiple fronts.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Tuesday, February 4, 2025

You know Hugh Bonneville from ‘Downton’ and ‘Paddington.’ Now he’s onstage in a Chekhov masterpiece by Lily Janiak

Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s “Uncle Vanya” marks its first play from the theatrical canon since Johanna Pfaelzer became artistic director in 2019.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Monday, February 3, 2025

Cirque du Soleil returns to S.F. with a stage set condensed into a single shape by Lily Janiak

Cirque du Soleil returns to Oracle Park with “Echo,” featuring a unique cube set and running Nov. 20 to Dec. 21.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 12:00PM

Artistic Director Lance Gardner returns to the stage in personal-meets-political play ‘Waste’ by Jessica Zack

Lance Gardner, Marin Theatre’s artistic director, rediscovers his passion for acting in new collaboration with Carey Perloff. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Tuesday, January 28, 2025

The silence is alive in Berkeley Rep’s stage adaptation of ‘The Thing About Jellyfish’ by Jessica Zack

Ali Benjamin tells the Chronicle about writing her bestselling novel about a griefstruck girl, and what’s exciting about its theater adaptation. 

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 01:23PM
Wednesday, January 22, 2025

‘I wanted to theatricalize the taste of MSG’: How an S.F. play explores racism in food by Lily Janiak

‘Exotic Deadly’ at San Francisco Playhouse was inspired partly by playwright Keiko Green’s experience as the granddaughter of a MSG food scientist.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Friday, January 10, 2025

Review: ‘Some Like It Hot’ doesn’t know what kind of show it wants to be by Lily Janiak

You start to wish Daphne’s story could take life as its own new musical instead of being shoehorned into preexisting intellectual property.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 02:25PM
Thursday, January 9, 2025

Monet X Change to bring one-woman show to S.F. by Tony Bravo

Monét X Change shares her process of building her show, the comeback of classical art songs and why she thinks her teen years would be the next great sitcom.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 08:09PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre