The opening scene of Aurora Theatre's The First Grade indeed sends us back to the classroom, with Sydney (Julia Brothers) introducing the word of the day, "congenial." Repeat after me, she says with exuberence: con-ge-nial. It's one of several wonderful moments in the world premiere of Joel Drake Johnson's...

I can't imagine many things worse in life than losing a child. We would all agree it is horrible, devastating. But as we find out in the moving production of Rabbit Hole by Palo Alto Players, the process of grieving is individual, painful, and, perhaps for this family, a...

Guest post by Pat Reardon. “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”  – Shel Silverstein And, anything does happen at Dragon’s latest production, An...

Guest post by Pat Reardon. Jean Webster’s charming 1912 novel Daddy Long Legs is the inspiration for TheatreWorks newest production. This delightful world premiere romantic musical is a feast for the spirit.   Webster’s classic novel tells the story of Jerusha Abbott, a talented orphan who unexpectedly receives the gift of a...

Last night, the eagerly awaited stage production of Dead Man Walking premiered at City Lights Theater in downtown San Jose. It was an evening of compelling drama, pulling at our heart strings as we contemplated capital punishment, forgiveness and atonement. Tim Robbin's script is, of course, a classic, turned...

Lucile Ball, your new play has arrived. It's called Bermuda Avenue Triangle, and just opened at the Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City. Oh, I must warn you. Times have changed. A lot. I hope you don't mind a bit of choice language. This is Las Vegas after all. And,...

You might think AIDS and South Africa aren't exactly a romantic combination for an enjoyable night on the town. But in Coming Home playwright Athol Fugard tells us a heartbreaking story with such patience, earnest and utter charm that we can't help but walk out of the theater inspired,...

No one can ever accuse Carey Perloff, ACT artistic director, from shying away from a challenge, even if it means staging a tricky, complex French play written in the 17th century. In 2008, she was invited to Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival to workshop a new translation of the classic...

Puppets sure have changed since I was a kid—in a good way, a very good way. Don't look for them on PBS though. You're more likely to find this raucous lot on HBO. Last night, the tony award-winning musical Avenue Q rolled into town with a bunch of starry-eyed,...

So what will it be: an action-packed summer blockbuster prison movie, or a cerebral, somewhat depressing film about radiation and the end of the world? Art vs. money. In David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow we learn that Hollywood moguls are what they are—nothing more, nothing less—despite occasional attempts to change the...