Exploring the varied results of the Reardons’ rearing

September 1, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little review, Carson Duper, Dragon Theatre, Jean Conger, Jon Toussaint, Jonathan Covey, Kelly Rinehart, Kyle Wood, Lessa Bouchard, Mary Lou Torre, Paul Zindel, reader, Ruth E. Stein, Sheila Ellam, Shereen Merriam, WPLongform

By Ande Jacobson

Paul Zindel’s And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little isn’t your typical play although the plot is largely drawn from Zindel’s experience. He credits his early years with his eventually becoming a writer. He often retreated into his imagination to escape the drudgery of his family life after his father deserted them. He also had fortuitous timing as an undergraduate in taking a creative writing class taught by playwright Edward Albee who later became Zindel’s valued mentor and friend. Although Zindel majored in chemistry, spent some time in industry, and later taught high school chemistry, he indulged his love of writing in his spare time. After his death, his New York Times obituary reported, “…he never went to the theater, he said, until he was already a published playwright.” Continue reading →

All’s fair in families and politics

August 26, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Alexander Dodge, James Sutorious, Jon Robin Baitz, Julia Brothers, Kandis Chappell, Kate Turnbull, Other Desert Cities review, Richard Seer, Rod Brogan, TheatreWorks, WPLongform

By Ande Jacobson

TheatreWorks opens the 2013/2014 season with another Regional Premiere – Jon Robin Baitz’ Other Desert Cities. Baitz’ title was inspired by a California freeway sign and two cities in the Middle East. The freeway sign is an odd one along Interstate 10 near Palm Springs where most of the story takes place; the cities are Baghdad and Kabul in reference to a war that figures prominently in the plotline. Topical, volatile, and political only partially describe the tone of this production. Between the witty writing, dramatic theme, superb cast, and gorgeous set, this production is a find equal to a lush desert oasis. There’s no doubt that audiences are in for a gripping evening of theatre. Continue reading →

Finding happiness where you can

August 17, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Courtney Walsh, Don DeMico, Happy Days review, reader, Rush Rehm, Samuel Beckett review, SST 2013, WPLongform

By Ande Jacobson

Samuel Beckett has been described as an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet known for his use of dark humor, absurd situations, and extreme precision in his writing. The second stage production of Stanford Summer Theater 2013 is Beckett’s Happy Days, a play that’s billed as a comedy “unparalleled in its comic precision and deep humor.” Some may quibble with that description, but for Beckett aficionados this is a “not to be missed” production. For those not so enamored, it could make for a very tedious evening. Continue reading →

Kander and Ebb make the music go ’round

August 3, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Afton Bolz, Bob Sunshine, Diane Milo, Hayley Lovegren, Joe Reichert, Kander and Ebb, Kereli Sengstack, Michael Johnson, Molly Thornton, reader, Tabard, The World Goes 'Round review, Tim Reynolds

By Ande Jacobson

Tabard Theatre Company starts its 13th season with The World Goes ‘Round, a musical revue featuring the works of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The show was conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and David Thompson who weaved an interesting musical journey using the Kander and Ebb oeuvre from the worlds of stage, film, and television. The original production premiered Off-Broadway in 1991 and went on tour in 1992. In its current form, the show features works from New York, New York; 70, Girls, 70; The Happy Time; The Rink; The Act; Woman of the Year; Liza with a Z; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Funny Lady; Chicago; Cabaret; Zorba; Flora, The Red Menace; and two original songs written specifically for the revue. As director Diane Milo points out in her program note, the performers in this Tabard production have “all done the show before … and keep coming back for more.” Continue reading →

The Devil is in the details

July 28, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Catherine Snider, Damn Yankees review, Daniel Mitchell, FMT, Foothill Music Theatre, Jeff Clarke, Jen Wheatonfox, Katie O'Bryon, Mary Melnick, Matt Tipton, reader, Tom Gough, WPLongform

By Ande Jacobson

The boys of summer keep the balls flying and the bats swinging, and Foothill Music Theatre combines with Foothill College Theatre Arts to capture the spirit of baseball in their energetic production of a longtime Broadway favorite, Damn Yankees. Director Tom Gough has large shoes to fill as he grabs the reins after Foothill Music Theatre thrived under its originator, Jay Manley, for over 30 years. This year for the first summer production under his guidance, Gough states in his program notes that he gravitated toward a show that combined three of his favorite things: baseball, live theatre, and the Faust legend. Gough’s drive and love of the theatre program have kept the FMT summer tradition alive for audiences to enjoy. Continue reading →

Dragon finds the right car

July 15, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Becky's New Car review, Ben Ortega, Dragon Productions Theatre Company, Helena G. Clarkson, James Nelson, Jim Johnson, Julia Sussner, Kevin Copps, Lance Huntley, Mary Lou Torre, reader, Roneet Aliza Rahamim, Sam Bertken, Steven Dietz, Will Poulin

By Ande Jacobson

Life can be a very windy road, and in Dragon’s current production of Steven Dietz’s play, Becky’s New Car, we travel some of that road with our protagonist Becky Foster (Mary Lou Torre). In her opening monologue Becky tells us that when a woman “says she wants a new car, she wants a new life,” and she takes some very interesting turns. Continue reading →

“Superior Donuts” serves up more than “dessert cakes”

June 30, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Alonzo Cook, Ann Kuchins, Brandon Jackson, Chase Kinsey, Christopher Carter, Doug Brook, Durand Garcia, Gordon and Jeanie Smith, Patricia Tyler, Ray Renati, reader, Richard Branden, Ron Gasparinetti, Stephanie Crowley, Superior Donuts review, The Pear review, Tracy Letts, Valerie Clear, WPLongform

By Ande Jacobson

Playwright and actor Tracy Letts describes Superior Donuts as involving a “clash of cultures”. Letts intersperses some light moments and witty exchanges between several colorful and diverse characters with some darker, more serious situations. Much of the story provides background on unseen family members and circumstances that encumber, or scar the visible characters. The play is well written, and right from the start, the action turns the quaint little donut shop on its head. In the first blackout at the top of the show, the shop is transformed from a neatly kept eatery into a disheveled establishment with chairs overturned, rubbish strewn everywhere, and graffiti on the wall. Continue reading →

Flights of fancy land on the Lucie Stern Stage

June 17, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Boeing Boeing, Damiaris Divito, Evan Michael Schumacher, Jeanie K. Smith director, Mary Moore, Michael Rhone, Nicole Martin, Palo Alto Players review, Pat Tyler, Patrick Klein, reader, Robyn Winslow, Shannon Maxham

By Ande Jacobson

It can be hard to keep up with the hubbub of juggling work and one’s personal life, though keeping to a predictable schedule can help. Now imagine how one might use airline timetables to arrange liaisons with multiple fiancées, carefully ensuring their visits don’t overlap. Imagine further how such a plan might go awry, and you have the foundation for Palo Alto Players’ current show, Boeing Boeing, written by Marc Camoletti (originally in French), and translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans. Continue reading →

Happiness is remembering a mother’s love

June 10, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Colman Domingo, Danny Scheie, Duane Boutte, reader, Richard Prioleau, Sharon Washington, TheatreWorks, West Coast Premiere, Wild With Happy review, WPLongform

By Ande Jacobson

Losing your mother is tough. Things can sometimes be a bit surreal as you try to deal with that loss while fanciful memories flood your mind at the most inopportune times – like when you’re at the funeral home trying to make final arrangements. Mix all that with a sideways Cinderella story, and you have actor and playwright Colman Domingo’s Wild With Happy which just opened at TheatreWorks in its West Coast Premiere. Continue reading →

“Dear Broadway…my play is named Spacebar”

June 3, 2013September 11, 2015 A Good Reed Review Review Adrienne Walters, City Lights Theater Company, CLTC, George Psarras, Jeff Kramer, Jeremy Helgeson, Keith C. Marshall, Lisa Mallette, Michael Mitnick, Morgan Voelleger, reader, Ron Gasparinetti, Spacebar

By Ande Jacobson

Motivated by myriad reasons, many a playwright dreams of having his magnum opus performed on a Broadway stage, but how does he achieve that goal? Enter Kyle Sugarman, a 16-year-old high school sophomore from Fort Collins, Colorado. His manuscript looks more like a telephone book than a script for a play, but he writes letters to “Broadway” (as though it were a person) asking him to please produce his play entitled, Spacebar. We soon find out that his title refers to a bar in outer space in the distant future, not part of a computer’s keyboard. Such is the premise of Spacebar: A Broadway Play by Kyle Sugarman by Michael Mitnick. Continue reading →

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