Ben MarksSF Station Writer |
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| | TheatreWorks presents a world premiere about possessions and the people they own WITH its comic-book set and toy-piano background music, [i]Auctioning the Ainsleys[/i], the new production at TheatreWorks, creates a mood of absurdist unreality before the first words come out of the first character’s mouth. The fast-paced comic drama by Laura Schellhardt (directed by Meredith McDonough) opens with second-generation auctioneer Avery Ainsley (Heidi Kettenring) selling the last possessions of her domineering mentor father—a Stetson hat, a man’s coat and a pair of size-10 shoes. More » |  | | | City Lights Theater Company of San Jose presents a powerful gay love story PLAYWRIGHT Andrew Black is quick to acknowledge the debt his play Second Weekend in September, now at City Lights Theater Company, owes to Same Time, Next Year, among other predecessors. But Michael (Christopher P. Kelly) and David (Bradly Mena) are so much more than gay versions of George and Doris, their heterosexual counterparts. For starters, they are more interesting, both as individuals and a couple, and the dialogue that Black has put in their mouths is uniformly sharp, whether the scene is poignant or laugh-out-loud hilarious. More » | | | | Palo Alto Players satisfies fans of musical ‘Rent’ in new production FROM NOW to the end of this summer, just about every community theater company in the greater Bay Area will be littering their stages with trash cans, cyclone fencing and fake punk-rock flyers in order to mount their versions of Rent. Palo Alto Players takes its turn through May 9. Getting a jump on the competition has apparently drawn some amazing voices to the cast. In particular, Scott Fish as Mark, David Saber as Roger, Nicole Frydman as Maureen and Victoria Morgan as Joanne bring down the house through the sheer power of their singing. More » | | | | The Palo Alto Players want us to root for Shakespeare's ‘Romeo and Juliet’ all over again Palo Alto Players trims some crucial dialogue in its new version of Shakespeare classic tragedy of star-crossed lovers. More » | | | | There is a line late in the second act of Murray Schisgal’s [i]Luv[/i], now being presented by Northside Theatre Company in San Jose, that is apparently important enough to the playwright that he has put the words into his characters’ mouths no fewer than five times in the span of about a minute. “Love,” begins Ellen (Susannah Greenwood) “is a giving and taking, an interchange of emotions, a gradual development based on physical attraction, complementary careers and simple social similarities.” More » | | | | TheatreWorks presents Lisa Loomer's play about a mother and her struggle to understand her troubled child Like a child with ADD, Lisa Loomer’s "Distracted," presented by TheatreWorks, darts impulsively from scene to scene. Actors abruptly enter ongoing monologues, which they interrupt with fast-paced dialogue, before exiting, their services no longer required. Chairs are wheeled into view from offstage before being hustled into position by the actors themselves. More » | | | | A musical revue about the blues at TheatreWorks strays a long way from the genre’s roots TheatreWork’s new production, "It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues," is a old-fashioned crowd-pleaser designed to leave audiences feeling good about themselves. Built around the talents of seven singing actors (some also play instruments) sitting on chairs in front of a three-screen slide show, the self-described “musical revue” is a didactic, if weirdly meandering, journey through the history of the blues—from its roots in Africa to its flowering on the streets of Chicago. For the most part, the singing is strong, and the musical accompaniment is polished (a tight backup band sits in for Act 2). It is, in short, a perfectly pleasant experience. More » | | | | A new play at Teatro Vision explores the dynamics of Latino brothers in L.A. There are so many good moments and strong performances in the current Teatro Visión production of Richard Montoya’s "Water & Power" that I scarcely know where to begin. So let’s start with the play’s prologue, delivered by the gruff, wheelchair-bound shaman gangbanger Norte/Sur (Rubén C. González), who rolls himself onto the stage to inform us that the lords of death are severely pissed off (his language is more colorful). More » | |
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