San Francisco! San Francisco! Just about everything gets spoofed with zealous energy, except, of course, our hometown which gets plenty of crowd pleasing, pride pumping pomp and circumstance. And why not? At Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon it's all about big hats and big laughs. It's a formula that works....

Directed by Joe Duffy, the Palo Alto Players’ RENT opened to a standing ovation.  With its high energy, strong vocals, it’s sure to be on theater-goers’ short list of what to see on the Peninsula until it closes on May 9. Staging such a well-known show is particularly challenging for small...

Fine dining with a twist. Yes, indeed, the brochure has it right. And what a twist... or twists would be more like it. Teatro ZinZanni is part cabaret, part circus, part improvisational comedy. All together, it's a wild evening of non-stop entertainment. When the four-hour evening came to a rousing...

Magic Theatre brings a strong season to a close with An Accident, a visceral and emotional story about recovery, memories and, even discovery of the self. Introspective at times, and often seething with cynical humor, the production by playwright Lydia Stryk is uncompromisingly human in its portrayal of a...

This is a trip back in time for those of you who remember "The Rat Pack" allegedly so nicknamed by their 5th member's wife. We had the opportunity on Saturday night to visit "The Sands Hotel" as it was on a similar night in 1940. For just...

Summer love. Baseball. Drive-in movies. And music—plenty of it. Berkeley Rep might be onto something. First with the white hot, soon-to-open on Broadway American Idiot musical powered by Green Day and now Girlfriend set to Matthew Sweet's 1991 album of the same name, the Rep seems to be perfecting...

Palo Alto Players has announced the availability of a limited number of student “rush” tickets for their upcoming production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, opening April 24, 2010 at the Lucie Stern Theater in Palo Alto. This much-loved and multiple award-winning musical will have a paid preview on April 23...

In the end hope prevails in TheatreWorks' To Kill a Mockingbird. And despite a down South journey involving serious—and very relevant—issues including racism, rape, and justice, we're left feeling inspired and convinced that humanity can triumph. Yes, Harper Lee's classic novel still packs emotional punch. In fact, it serves as a...

Indeed James Carpenter does make for the perfect lone wolf. Howling at the moon, so to speak, and trying to convince anyone that will listen to his delusional rants, he truly believes he was—and is—a savior in Aurora Theatre's John Gabriel Borkman. He's equally brooding and charismatic. And, as always...