All stories by Chuck Louden on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Theater Review: COLLECTIVE RAGE: A PLAY IN 5 BETTIES (Shotgun Players in Berkeley) by Chuck Louden

WHAT'S ALL THE HOO-HA? Last Saturday, Berkeley's Shotgun Players opened a play by Jen Silverman which is so provocative that some publications won't publish its full title: Collective Rage: …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:50AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 5, 2024

Theater | Music Interview: DEBBY BOONE (Appearing in "Broadway & Beyond" for REAF at the Marines Memorial Theater) by Chuck Louden

DEBBY BOONE DOES INDEED LIGHT UP MY LIFE On Sunday July 14, the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation (REAF) is celebrating 30 years of producing Cabaret Concerts to fundraise for HIV and AIDS with …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:48AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Theater Review: HEAD OVER HEELS (Berkeley Playhouse) by Chuck Louden

MY HEAD SAID "STAY" BUT MY HEELS SAID "RUN" Since 2007 the Berkeley Playhouse is one of the few theaters in the Bay Area that offers classes and camps for youths. Consequently their shows fe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:00AM[SHARE]
Saturday, June 1, 2024

Theater Review: CABARET (Center Repertory Company at the Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek) by Chuck Louden

COME TO THIS CABARET Cabaret is a masterpiece of American musical theater that has been presented in a vast variety of musical and physical shapes and sizes since its premiere on Broadway in…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:53PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Theater Review: TORCH SONG (Marin Theatre in Mill Valley) by Chuck Louden

A SONG WHICH HAS BECOME A STANDARD Harvey Fierstein wrote his semi-autobiographical Torch Song Trilogy in the late 1970s. In it, Arnold Beckoff, a gay, Jewish man and professional drag qu…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:50AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Theater Review: THE TUTOR (NCTC in San Francisco) by Chuck Louden

New Conservatory Theatre Center is offering The Tutor, a gripping and thought-provoking three-person drama that tells a timely story of love, lies, survival, and culture. With insightful min…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:01AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 12, 2024

Theater Review: THE PRIDE OF LIONS (Theater Rhinoceros) by Chuck Louden

A MAJESTY OF DRAG QUEENS BECOMES A PRIDE OF LIONS Founded in 1977 The Castro District's Theatre Rhinoceros is the longest-running queer theater in the nation. This month is the world premier…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:57AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Theater Review: SIGN MY NAME TO FREEDOM (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company at Z Space) by Chuck Louden

FREEDOM WRITER San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) is presenting a terrific production that tells the amazing true story of Bay Area icon Betty Reid Soskin, known to residents i…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Theater Review: THE 39 STEPS (San Francisco Playhouse) by Chuck Louden

THE STEPS TO SUCCESS They say that timing is everything. Timing certainly is everything in The 39 Steps, the English spy spoof that occupies a delightful, often amazing, and even suspense…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Theater Review: PIPELINE (African-American Shakespeare Company, San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center) by Chuck Louden

A PIPELINE TO GREAT THEATER Theater can do more than entertain. A good drama can not only pull at your heartstrings, it has the ability to educate, influence and inform. Pipeline, now playin…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:26AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Theater Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (Shotgun Players in Berkeley) by Chuck Louden

Some consider A Midsummer Night's Dream to be one of William Shakespeare's greatest tributes to love: both romantic and platonic. "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind. And therefo…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:24AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Theater Review: THE FAR COUNTRY (Berkeley Rep) by Chuck Louden

THE DEMONS ON ANGEL ISLAND We've all heard stories about coming to America through Ellis Island. We've read the books and seen the movies set in the early 1900s about the immigrants sailing …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:06PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 15, 2024

Theater Review: UNPACKING IN P'TOWN (New Conservatory Theater Center) by Chuck Louden

UNPACKING PACKS IN TOO MUCH INFO WITHOUT PACKING ENOUGH PUNCH Set in the East Coast Summer gay mecca Provincetown in 1959, four old vaudeville friends reunite anxiously awaiting the promisin…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:40PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 8, 2024

Theater Review: DIRTY WHITE TESLAS MAKE ME SAD (Magic Theatre World Premiere) by Chuck Louden

SURVIVING THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO Theatres took a big hit after COVID. Many lost a third of their audience. Now, regional theatres " those that haven't shuttered " are turning to a new …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:58AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Theater Review: FALSETTOS (42nd Street Moon, San Francisco) by Chuck Louden

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY? BRING YOUR KLEENEX The musical masterpiece Falsettos follows Marvin (William Giammona), an appealing, brainy, anxious, obsessive, wealthy Jewish gay man who struggles to…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Theater Review: BIG DATA (American Conservatory Theatre) by Chuck Louden

In the 21st century with the advancement of social media, anyone has the ability to be the star of their own reality show. Communicating with friends, expressing personal politics or even sh…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:31AM[SHARE]

Theater Review: RENT (Berkeley Playhouse) by Chuck Louden

SEASONS OF LOVE A PRODUCTION OF LOVE Founded in 2007, Berkeley Playhouse is known for its youth programs and summer theater camps for Bay Area youth. Classic family friendly shows such as Pe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:57AM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 10, 2024

Theater Review: MY HOME ON THE MOON (San Francisco Playhouse) by Chuck Louden

WHAT THE PHO IS GOING ON? Pho (pronounced in 2 sounds, sliding up at the end: fo/É™, like your saying "fur" with a strong New York accent) is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, r…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 4, 2024

Theater Review: CULT OF LOVE (Berkeley Repertory Theatre) by Chuck Louden

CULT OF LOVE TAKES YOU FROM "HO, HO, HO" TO "HOLY CHRIST!" The Dysfunctional Family, whether in a comedy or drama, is a staple of storytelling, from The Bible and Shakespeare to Netflix. We …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 28, 2024

Theater Review: KOOZA (Cirque du Soleil in Oracle Park) by Chuck Louden

KOOZA RETURNS TO THE CITY OF ITS 2007 U.S. PREMIERE Circuses since the 19th century conjure up images of clowns, fire eaters, men walking on stilts and lion tamers with jungle felines jumpin…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:39AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Theater Review: MIRIAM AND ESTHER GO TO THE DIAMOND DISTRICT (World Premiere at Magic Theater) by Chuck Louden

ANDREA GORDON'S NEW PLAY IS A DIAMOND In Andrea Gordon's lovely and engaging play Miriam and Esther Go to the Diamond District "  which opened last Friday at Magic Theatre " two estran…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:01AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 19, 2024

Theater Review: EVERY BRILLIANT THING (Center Repertory Company at The Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek) by Chuck Louden

EVERY BRILLIANT PLAY Now playing at Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek through Jan. 28 is the fantastic one-man show Every Brilliant Thing. Written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Dona…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Theater Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (A.C.T.) by Chuck Louden

For two generations, a yearly outing to see A Christmas Carol has been a feel-good tradition for San Francisco families. American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has staged adaptations of t…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Highly Recommended Theater: KALEIDOSCOPE (Circus Bella) by Chuck Louden

A WINTER BIG TOP HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls! Step right up. Come one, come all. The Circus is in town. Circus Bella - Full Company (Daisy Rose Coby) Stage and C…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:58AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 14, 2023

Theater Review: RUTHLESS! (New Conservatory Theater) by Chuck Louden

WHO DOESN'T LOVE A RUTHLESS CHILD? (ON STAGE, THAT IS) Just in time for some holiday fun, New Conservatory Theater presents the 1992 Off-Broadway smash hit Ruthless. With Book and Lyrics by …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:20PM[SHARE]
Monday, September 25, 2023

Theater Review: BEFORE THE SWORD (World Premiere at New Conservatory Theater Center) by Chuck Louden

TURNING SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES British author Terence Hanbury "Tim" White (1906-1964), better known as T.H. White, is best-known for The Once and Future King (1958) a collection of four nove…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:35PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 17, 2023

Theater Review: CRUEL INTENTIONS: THE '90s MUSICAL (Ray of Light at Victoria Theatre) by Chuck Louden

RAY OF LIGHT ROCKS! The Bay Area's Ray of Light Theater is known for putting fresh interpretations on classic shows, most notably musicals that push boundaries, such as Kinky Boots and The F…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:12AM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 9, 2023

Theater Review: HIPPEST TRIP"THE SOUL TRAIN MUSICAL (Pre-Broadway World Premiere at A.C.T.'s Toni Rembe Theatre in San Francisco) by Chuck Louden

A LOTTA SOUL IN THIS EXPRESS TRAIN TO JOY Officially starting A.C.T.'s 23/24 Season is the Broadway-bound world premiere musical based on the iconic TV Show Soul Train, which opened last Wed…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:25PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Theater Review: RECIPROCATING PUMPS (The Marsh San Francisco) by Chuck Louden

HEATED PUMPS Now playing at The Marsh Theater, San Francisco's independent theater for new performances, writer and director Dirk Alphin's original production, Reciprocating Pumps, is a rive…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:23PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 12, 2023

Theater Review: SPRING AWAKENING IN CONCERT (Ray Of Light Theater) by Chuck Louden

SHINING A RAY OF LIGHT ON PUBERTY This past weekend, San Franciscans were treated to a special treat with Ray Of Light Theater's version of Spring Awakening " yet while it was subtitled "In …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:59AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 9, 2023

Theater Review: THE WIZARD OF OZ (American Conservatory Theater at the Toni Rembe Theatre) by Chuck Louden

OOHS AND OZ Just in time for summer and for Pride Month, a new, colorful and fun version of everyone's childhood favorite movie based on L. Frank Baum's books is here in San Francisco. Ameri…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:55PM[SHARE]

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