Arts & Culture :: Theater

'English' at Berkeley Rep: What have we learned?

'English' at Berkeley Rep: What have we learned?

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Apr 11, 2023

Our theater critic gives Sanaz Toossi's "English," set in an Iranian ESL class and now playing at the Berkeley Rep, a solid B. But three of its cast members deliver A-plus performances that elevate the entire production to honor roll status.

'Merrily We Roll Along' - a rewinding Sondheim revival at 42nd St. Moon

'Merrily We Roll Along' - a rewinding Sondheim revival at 42nd St. Moon

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Apr 4, 2023

An enjoyable production of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Merrily We Roll Along," now being staged by 42nd Street Moon, is well worth catching in one of its final five performances before closing after Sunday's Easter matinee.

Sasha Velour's 'Big Reveal' - drag artist brings new show to Palace of Fine Arts

Sasha Velour's 'Big Reveal' - drag artist brings new show to Palace of Fine Arts

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Mar 28, 2023

Drag artist Sasha Velour takes to the stage of the Palace of Fine Arts Theater on April 6 with a new show that's also a celebration of the publication of "The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag," her first book.

Beastly, priestly 'Locusts Have No King' at NCTC

Beastly, priestly 'Locusts Have No King' at NCTC

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Mar 28, 2023

New Conservatory Theatre Center, never afraid to take on hot-button topics, is once again about to touch the third rail of homosexuality vis-à-vis Catholicism with the West Coast premiere of C. Julian Jiménez's "Locusts Have No King."

Bored Game: 'Clue' at SF Playhouse

Bored Game: 'Clue' at SF Playhouse

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Mar 21, 2023

With its borrowed brand name and broad physical comedy, "Clue" seems to be gunning for the stupefying success of "The Play That Goes Wrong," but instead unintentionally fumbles along the way.

Thomas Mallon's 'Up With the Sun'

Thomas Mallon's 'Up With the Sun'

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Mar 21, 2023

Readers can discover Dick Kallman, a gay miniscule has-been yet fascinating celebrity, in the new novel on his tumultuous life, "Up With the Sun" by Thomas Mallon, perhaps the country's foremost historical fiction writer.

'Cockettes: Res-Erection' - Oasis musical revue recalls famed queer theater troupe

'Cockettes: Res-Erection' - Oasis musical revue recalls famed queer theater troupe

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Mar 14, 2023

Oasis will come alive with the sound of The Cockettes on March 23-25. For those who may not know, The Cockettes were a queer theater troupe that performed in San Francisco from around 1969-1972.

Tyler Henry: 'Hollywood Medium' at the Golden Gate

Tyler Henry: 'Hollywood Medium' at the Golden Gate

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Mar 7, 2023

Tyler Henry, the star of Netflix's "Life After Death" says he inadvertently began receiving messages from the dead at age 10 and, over time, honed his ability to where he says he can facilitate communications between the living and deceased loved ones.

Welcome 'Homesick' - Theatre Rhinoceros is back in charge

Welcome 'Homesick' - Theatre Rhinoceros is back in charge

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Feb 28, 2023

Something remarkable is happening in a tiny former gallery space on 18th Street in the Castro. It's a play called "A Guide for the Homesick" on which I'm happy to bestow a secondary title: "How The Rhino Got Its Groove Back."

Sick beats at 'Six' - Tudor musical's dangerously derivative

Sick beats at 'Six' - Tudor musical's dangerously derivative

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Feb 28, 2023

'Six,' the fan-magnet musical about the wives of Henry VIII, now at the Orpheum Theater on its first national tour, is a work of hit-list stitchery like its current Broadway peers "Moulin Rouge" and "& Juliet."

Unusual duo: Capp Street and Headlands paired art installations

Unusual duo: Capp Street and Headlands paired art installations

  • Feb 28, 2023

Although miles apart geographically, two conceptual art exhibits at the David Ireland House and the Headlands Center for the Arts bridge the work of pioneering designers and artists.

Noir Town: stage meets screen in A.C.T.'s 'The Headlands'

Noir Town: stage meets screen in A.C.T.'s 'The Headlands'

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Feb 21, 2023

The stars of 'The Headlands,' local playwright Christopher Chen's San Francisco mystery, now playing at A.C.T.'s Toni Rembe Theatre, are the scenic and projection design by Alexander V. Nichols.

Remembering Olympia Dukakis: late star's brother mounts tribute at Strand Theater

Remembering Olympia Dukakis: late star's brother mounts tribute at Strand Theater

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Feb 21, 2023

Known for her Oscar-winning performance in 'Moonstruck' and as Anna Madrigal in 'Tales of the City,' the late Olympia Dukakis will be honored in a multimedia production at The Strand theater produced by her brother.

Claybourne Elder: gay Broadway star plays two Bay Area shows

Claybourne Elder: gay Broadway star plays two Bay Area shows

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Feb 14, 2023

In advance of his concerts in Napa and San Francisco, Claybourne Elder, star of 'Company,' 'The Gilded Age' and more, shared a few remarkable stories of his Mormon upbringing and theatrical good fortune.