Year: 2016

A pauper, a poet, a swordsman, a nose – it’s “Cyrano”!

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Cyrano Production 3_Kevin Berne-cyrano-christian-roxaneBy Ande Jacobson

What do you think of when you hear the name Cyrano de Bergerac? Perhaps you might first think of a protuberance entering well before the man. That name should bring to mind the classic story of unrequited love, mixed with humor, hijinks, and verse written by Edmond Rostand and first performed in 1897. Since then, numerous adaptations have sprung to life on stage and on screen, some with casts of hundreds, and others with casts of dozens. TheatreWorks is honored to present the California premiere of a cozy new adaptation of Rostand’s play translated by Michael Hollinger and adapted by Hollinger and Aaron Posner. This new version keeps all of the poetic beauty of the original and adds even more swordplay. Continue reading →

PYT’s Mary Poppins flies for one more weekend

A Good Reed Review Promo

mary_poppins_show_image_FebBy Ande Jacobson

Mary Poppins first hit London’s West End over a decade ago, and finally made it to Broadway in 2006. It toured the US in 2009, and now Peninsula Youth Theatre (PYT) is bringing this charming, and lively, tale to you. The show draws elements from the original stories by P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film, but it’s not exactly the same.

Mary Poppins is still the “practically perfect” nanny to Jane and Michael Banks, but her charges are more mischievous than we remember. Many of the Sherman Brothers’ musical favorites are still here such as “Feed the Birds”, “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”, “Spoonful of Sugar”, “Supercaligragilisticexpialidocious”, and “Chim-chiminey”, but there is also quite a bit of new music written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Even some of the old favorites are recast in different locations and at different points in the story. Continue reading →

Praise the simplicity of rural Russian life at The Pear

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UV_5423By Ande Jacobson

Did Anton Chekhov write tragedies? Comedies? Dramas? Dave Sikula has taken a very deep dive into Chekhov’s legacy, writing translations of several of his major works, including The Pear’s current offering, Uncle Vanya. As Sikula noted in a 2013 San Francisco Theater Pub blog post while working on this translation, Chekhov thought his plays were comedies, and he tends to agree with that assessment. Stanislavski, from Chekhov’s time, disagreed and thought his plays were heavy dramas of the darkest order, which is reputed to have driven Chekhov to distraction. So what is Uncle Vanya? Continue reading →

Do you or don’t you?

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IDID_Irene & JamesBy Ande Jacobson

Can you imagine being married to someone for 50 years? At Tabard’s first I Do! I Do! Saturday matinee, as Leslie and Jerry Lloyd gave the curtain speech, they queried the audience to see how many couples had been married for at least 20, 30, 40, 50, 55, 60, and finally 70 years. It was surprising how many hands shot up, and stayed up through 55. Once they got to 60, only one couple still had their hands up, so the Lloyd’s started counting by one’s. The wife’s hand went down when they got to 70, but the husband’s hand was still up. His confusion was understandable as their 70th anniversary is coming up in June this year. Continue reading →

Playing at light speed – the music behind “Driven”

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titleBy Ande Jacobson

Have you ever watched an animated film and while watching the film thought, “This is great music!” Have you then wondered how that music came to be, and which came first, the animation, or the music? After all, something had to come first.

If the music came first, then the animators would have a timeline to fill, perhaps forcing the story to stretch, or to shrink, to match the music. On the other hand, if the animation came first, then the music would have to fit like a glove, leaving no room for error. Continue reading →

Hershey Felder brings “The American Mozart” to life at TheatreWorks

A Good Reed Review Review , ,

HersheyFelder as IrvingBerlin8_EightyEightEntertainmentBy Ande Jacobson

Israel Isidore Baline became an American legend though he was known worldwide by a different name – Irving Berlin. Hershey Felder brings Berlin to life on stage in Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a one-man show that he both wrote and performs in as it now enjoys its Northern California regional premiere at TheatreWorks. Continue reading →