I’d even wager that Pink Martini could have Bill Ayers and John Boehner doing a cheek-to-jowl conga out the door.

This scene is informed by understatement, both in the orchestra pit and on stage. The slightest hesitation of a hand on the door and the hint of drawn out strings convey more meaning than much of the bombast found in later sections.

Admittedly, Sir Elton John has composed some of the most memorable pop melodies of our time, but he fails to deliver a single one for this disappointing, albeit often entertaining, extravaganza.

We take our Wagner seriously in this town. Despite the 135 years since this was first performed as a cycle in Bayreuth Germany in 1876, the Ring is always new, always worth plumbing – and accordingly, we treat it with a combination of gravitas and hype not seen elsewhere.

"There's often a fine line between doing the stupidest thing, and doing the sexiest thing."

Like Violet and Florence, they’re a pair of opposites with Robbilet (who looks like Pablo Escobar played by Groucho Marx) being silent and Davis being irrepressibly loquacious.

"Metamorphosis wouldn't make as good a film, I think, because the bug would inevitably be rendered in CGI, leaving nothing to the audience's imagination."

With this production, Ray of Light Theatre has once again proven itself to be a force to be reckoned with in Bay Area musical theatre.

Scenic designer Patrick Klein must have worked over time creating a lush, well-appointed set.

You name it, and chances are you'll find here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the third (possibly second if you consider LORT count) largest theater market in the U.S.