Steve Murray - Page 11

Susi Damilano gives a career-defining performance in the Bay Area premiere of Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated writer Nia Vardalos' emotionally rewarding adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's best-selling book. Gorgeously directed by husband Bill English, Tiny Beautiful Things will touch everyone's heartstrings in numerous aspects, leaving you moved, exhilarated and yes, maybe even a tiny bit healed.

San Francisco theatre goers got gypped! Oh, not by this sensationally funny satire on America's gun culture, but by the fact that it only got a limited three-performance run. Running for the past 18 months in LA, a musical comedy that pokes fun at our warped political processes, conservatives and 'woke' liberals is perfect fodder for San Francisco audiences. Three sold put audiences here were treated to a perfect musical comedy- great performances, a compelling story and a fantastic hummable score.

A fun party among best friends takes a decidedly dark turn in the World Premiere of Ryan Fogarty's cautionary tale of the deleterious effects of gossip, judgement and miscommunications. Based on a series of real-life encounters, Fogarty presents a nightmare orgy of sniping, back-stabbing and behavior most decidedly un-friendly. While my generation had The Broken Hearts Club and Longtime Companion, You'll Catch Flies feels like a millennial version of 1968's Boys in the Band'. Playing to a young demographic, this play, like its predecessors, should scare the bejesus out of gays by representing an unapologetic vision of the worst of human nature.

Hershey Felder has mastered the niche of incorporating the beauty of classical music with a dramatic arc to create compelling works of theatre that satisfy emotionally and educate as well. Channeling the masters Gershwin, Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin and others, Felder is a master portraitist, concert pianist and storyteller. Here, he adapts the amazing story of Mona Golabeck's mother Lisa Jura, a pianist and survivor of the Nazi atrocities in WW II. There's no denying the artistry of Golabeck's skill as she presents the works of Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Edvard Grieg and her loving tribute to her mother's journey is powerful and authentic.

Four-time Obie Award-winner Caryl Churchill is the pre-eminent writer of feminist themes involving sexual politics, abuses of power and gender equality. There's no better metaphor of these themes than the witch hunts of 17th century England which provide the backstory of Vinegar Tom, an allegory that rings so true today. The play, which includes a modern score by Diana Lawrence sung by a Greek chorus dressed as street walkers, bridges time to illustrate the continuity of women's struggle against shaming, disempowerment and inequality. In director Ariel Craft's skillful hands, Churchill's sad satire blazes anew with a remarkable cast and technical crew that conjure both history and the present in vivid detail.

BWW Review: A NOH CHRISTMAS CAROL at Theatre Of Yugen is a stunning traditional Japanese theatre re-imagining of Dicken's famous tale.

BWW Review: BULL IN A CHINA SHOP at Aurora Theatre dramatizes the love letters of early women's rights activist Mary Wooley, President of Mt. Holyoke 1901-1937.

BWW Review: GROUNDHOG DAY THE MUSICAL at SF Playhouse is a story of redemption and hope.

BWW Review: THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX at Berkeley Repertory Theatre is PigPen Theatre Co.'s stunning re-imagining of the award-winning book and film.

BWW Review: MOTHER OF THE MAID at Marin Theatre Company is dramatization of the life of Joan of Arc as seen through the eyes of her mother.

BWW Review: THE CAKE at New Conservatory Theatre Center is a smart dramatization based on the true story of a baker who refused to bake a same-sex cake.

The trials and tribulations of two thirty-something middle class Single Black Females (SBFs) is presented in a series of comedic vignettes in Lisa B. Thompson's 1999 effort that is being simultaneously being produced here and in Ft. Worth, Texas. Starting with the premise that their niche is invisible and ignored, these gals look at their peer images presented in media; Claire Huxtable, Diahann Carrol's Julia, Anita Hill, Condoleezza Rice and of course Oprah and elaborate on how they've attempted to manipulate those stereotypes into a workable model for finding love and fulfilment. Stepping into this feminine racial quagmire, I thought 'what does this gay male audience member have in common'- seems quite a lot. The search for love is universal, irregardless of gender, race and class.

BWW Review: THE CHINESE LADY at Magic Theatre is a dramatization of the life of Afong Moy, the first Chinese Lady to set foot on American soil.