Naughty & Nice - Aurora Theatre Company

Aurora Theatre Company plans a ‘Naughty & Nice’ Christmas

NAUGHTY & NICE is sure to be a yuletide treat.
Broadway San Jose presents RAIN, a Tribute to Beatles. Photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann

Theater Review: Beatlemania all over again in ‘RAIN’

I wondered: can I endure more than 15 minutes of Beatles music?
Ebenezer Scrooge (James Carpenter, right) scolds his overworked employee Bob Cratchit (A.C.T. core acting company member Gregory Wallace) on Christmas Eve. Production photos by Kevin Berne (www.kevinberne.com).

A.C.T. ushers in the holidays with ‘A Christmas Carol’

"Dickens realized that if Scrooge’s imagination could be stimulated, it would be possible for him to wake up on Christmas morning an entirely new man."
Danny Rahim, Raad Rawi and Michael Cochrane star in The Great Game: Afghanistan, an epic production from London receiving its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep. Photographer: John Haynes

Review: ‘The Great Game: Afghanistan’ an Anderson Cooper-free marathon

Oozing Lawrence of Arabia-like aesthetic it's a truly marvelous scene.
Dial M for Murder - Hillbarn Theatre

Theater Review: ‘Dial M for Murder’

One of my worries is that kids today aren’t getting enough Hitchcock.
James Wagner and Kathryn Tkel in the Regional Premiere of the biomedical thriller Secret Order at San Jose Repertory Theatre. Photo: Kevin Berne

Theater Review: ‘Secret Order’ a question of ethics at SJ Rep

Dynamic and flashy, the Rep's production even conveys a sense of Matrix-like cutting edge.
James Wagner in the Regional Premiere of the biomedical thriller Secret Order at San Jose Repertory Theatre. Photo: Kevin Berne

Theater Ticker: Secret Order, Dial M for Murder, The Great Game: Afghanistan, Dracula

"Drama assumes an order. If only so that it might have -- by disrupting that order -- a way of surprising."
Or, - Magic Theatre

West Coast premiere of ‘Or’ comes to Magic Theatre

In Duffy Adams’ comedic play, Aphra Behn is getting out of the spy game and into showbiz.
Whatever you do..don't answer the phone! The cast of Hillbarn Theatre's Dial M for Murder includes (from left to right) Fred Pitts (Max Halliday), Steve Schwartz Inspector Hubbard), Kelly Rinehart (Margot Wendice), Frederick Goris (Tony Wendice) , and Max Reinhardt (policeman Thompson).

Classic Hitchcock thriller ‘Dial M for Murder’ arrives for Halloween

Tony arranges what he thinks is the perfect murder…or is it?
l-r Arthur (Howard Swain) and Franco (Lance Gardner) in the regional premiere of SUPERIOR DONUTS at TheatreWorks. Photo Credit: Tracy Martin

Theater Review: ‘Superior Donuts’

However, inasmuch as these darker threads are woven into a larger fabric, they also raise the possibility of connection without getting maudlin.