By Ande Jacobson
California Theatre Center’s 28th Summer Repertory season opener, Around the World in 80 Days, adapted by Mark Brown and based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name, is quite a trip. Intending to appeal to the widest possible audience – children and adults alike – Brown adapted Verne’s story into his stage play and published his work in August 2007. Originally requiring only four men and one woman in the cast, any number of actors up to 39 could be employed. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
California Theatre Center’s 28th Summer Repertory season opens this Friday, 3 June, with Around the World in 80 Days, adapted by Mark Brown and based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name. Verne’s story chronicles Phileas Fogg and his manservant Passepartout on their 80-day, around the world journey, all in an effort to win an unlikely wager. Set in the days before air travel or rapid ocean vessels, this seems an impossible task for our heroes, but it should be fun to watch as they risk life and limb to cover all seven continents within their allotted timeframe.
CTC Resident Director, Will Huddleston, has pulled together a dexterous cast of 6 actors to play 39 parts using all manor of theater invoking quick changes, puppetry, and shadow play, along with sound effects provided by the actors onstage.
Around the World in 80 Days will run performances on June 2 (Preview), 3 (Opening) 4, 18 & 30, and July 8, 14, & 22 at 7:30pm; and June 12 & 18 and July 10 at 3:00pm. I’ll be there on opening night to catch the start of the season, so look for my review soon.
Note that the full repertory season includes Around the World in 80 Days in rotation with three other plays through late July including: Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee, The Servant of Two Masters, and The Emperor’s New Clothes, the last one suitable for children of all ages.
All performances will be held at the Sunnyvale Theatre – Sunnyvale Community Center, 550 E Remington Drive, (between El Camino Real and Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd) in Sunnyvale. Single tickets range from $10 – $25. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups of 6 or more. For tickets and more information, call the CTC Summer Rep Box Office at 408-720-0873, or visit www.ctcinc.org.
(Photo Credit: Will Huddleston)
By Ande Jacobson
Playwright Lisa Loomer’s Distracted at the City Lights Theater Company is many things: a commentary on the Attention Deficit Disorder epidemic pervading today’s society, a view into the social morays surrounding the malady, and an intelligent and whimsical play bringing into focus the myriad distractions of those dealing with a loved one so afflicted. Treating a serious subject with humor and artistic flair, this is a production worth seeing as it chronicles a mother’s quest to do right by her son. Be forewarned though, due to strong language and adult content, Distracted is not appropriate for young children. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Next up on A Good Reed Review’s docket is this weekend’s opening of playwright Lisa Loomer’s Distracted at the City Lights Theater Company. A virtual epidemic today, Attention Deficit Disorder will be brought to the stage and explored from many points of view. Treated with humor and whimsy, this promises to be an entertaining production. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
South Bay Musical Theatre (SBMT) closes its current season with Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s Mack and Mabel which chronicles a fictionalized account of the real-life relationship between silent film director Mack Sennett, best known for his Keystone Kops, and his find, Mabel Normand. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
What could be better than a new adaptation of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to continue Pear Avenue Theatre’s Americana celebration? Twain, published his work in 1889. The book is as much a commentary on his current society as it is a work of science fiction given its time-travel bent. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
While there are some shows opening this weekend, A Good Reed Review is taking one more week off before diving back into the theatre world. Next up on the A Good Reed Review calendar is a return to the Pear Avenue Theatre and their world premiere of Diane Tasca’s and Rebecca Ennals’ adaptation of the Mark Twain novella, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, which runs at the Pear Avenue Theatre in Mountain View 13-29 May 2011. The Twain classic explores many traditionally “American” traits, and again fits within the season’s theme. This new adaptation promises to show its relevance to today’s American attitude. See http://www.thepear.org for more information. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Cabaret first came to Broadway in 1966, and at the time, it was rather ground-breaking. The second of many John Kander and Fred Ebb musical collaborations, Cabaret, based on the book by Joe Masteroff, is a dark story juxtaposing two worlds – real life in 1931 Berlin, where things are quickly unraveling as the Nazis rise to power, and the devilish decadence inside the cabaret (named the Kit-Kat Klub) where our host, the Emcee, proclaims “life is beautiful”, but more on him later. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Tabard Theatre Company presents Inferno Theatre Company’s South Bay premiere of playwright and director Giulio Cesare Perrone’s fifth work, Galileo’s Daughters, at Theatre on the Square in San Jose. The Inferno Theatre Company, founded by Perrone, along with his contingent of fellow artists, is based in Oakland, CA, although it has no theatre it can call home. Instead, the Inferno contingent strives to bring the arts to the surrounding communities, viewing theatre as a collaborative process, crossing cultural boundaries, and bringing with it enrichment to all who partake, from all sides of the box. Interested in art, science, religion, and historical controversy, Perrone brings these together in this latest creation. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
This weekend marks several local community theatre openings. Continue reading
A Good Reed Review 