ROLE PLAYERS ENSEMBLE OF DANVILLE IS CURRENTLY STAGING Charles Morey’s “The Ladies Man,” a high-octane situation comedy set in Belle Epoque Paris in which “one tiny, little lie” turns into a riot of ridiculous circumstances. “Ladies Man” is chock full of mockery, deception and mistaken identities — plenty of fodder for laughs — but while […]
On the Stage: Happy Dog Duo wows symphony fans at ‘Concert for the Animals’
A PAIR OF VIRTUOSIC YOUNG PIANISTS wowed the crowd at the winter performance of the Vallejo Symphony Orchestra at Hogan Auditorium in Vallejo on Sunday, whizzing through brisk animal-themed works including “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “Carnival of the Animals” in a collaborative effort with the Humane Society of the North Bay, proceeds from which […]
Review: California Symphony offers intriguing musical evening
RIVERSIDE COUNTY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR Tomasz Golka took the podium at the Lesher Arts Center in Walnut Creek on Sunday as guest conductor for the California Symphony’s winter concert, “Whimsy and Virtuosity.” Golka proved to be a passionate conductor and the orchestra produced some polished sound, though at times the group lacked cohesion and even […]
On the Stage: Power of story carries ‘Panhandle’ at Live Oak
WALTER DAVIS WROTE THE MUSICAL “PANHANDLE,” a play about how one small community in Texas was devastated by a series of catastrophic events around the time of the Great Depression, as a college project in 1972, together with musician Jeremy Sullivan and composer Marc Ream. Davis has won numerous awards for “Panhandle” and other written […]
On the Stage: 2 women star in City Club’s 1-woman tour de force
THE RELEASE OF AN ENORMOUS COLLECTION OF CORRESPONDENCE between former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena Hickok in 1978 set off a renewed flurry of speculation concerning the nature of the women’s relationship. In “HICK: A Love Story,” currently enjoying a four-week run at the Berkeley City Club after a successful San Francisco debut […]
On the Stage: Lower Bottom Playaz nail ‘Jitney’ at new Oakland venue
LOWER BOTTOM PLAYAZ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Ayodele Nzinga has set herself and her troupe a lofty goal: to be the first to stage all 10 installments of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson’s “Century Cycle,” a set of full-length plays depicting African-American life in the inner cities, set in Pittsburgh, Pa., and spanning the 20th century a […]
Comedy, music fill in during area theaters’ holiday lull
MOST AREA THEATER COMPANIES wrapped up their production runs early this month, taking a break for the holidays until about the end of January. One exception is Missouri Street Theatre, whose “Into the Woods” opened last Thursday and continues through Sunday at the Downtown Theatre in Fairfield, 1035 Texas St., 940-0700, www.downtowntheatre.com. Meanwhile, music and […]
On the Stage: VOENA shines holiday light at Camel Barns, City Winery
VOENA, Benicia’s own world-renowned children’s choir, sang the second of three scheduled performances of its annual “Voices of the Season: Wintersong” program at Benicia Historical Museum at the Camel Barns on Saturday. The final performance of the 2014 holiday program will be at the City Winery in Napa on Dec. 20. A few of the […]
On the Stage: ‘Angels’ strange but funny in Masquers’ capable hands
IT MAY REQUIRE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF TOLERANCE on the part of the audience to accept the unlikely circumstances behind the action in “My Three Angels,” Sam and Bella Spewack’s oddball comedy set at the infamous Devil’s Island penal colony in northeast Africa, but the play does contain plenty of funny lines and they are […]
On the Stage: ‘Mockingbird’ still poignant in Contra Costa production
IN 1988, THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH reported that Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” was required reading at three-quarters of American high schools. To this day it remains so at Benicia and other area public schools. The well-crafted story about a black man in Depression-era Alabama unjustly accused […]