The SF Bay Area Theatre Blog

Got an email today about the next show at the Pear Avenue Theatre in Mountain View, William Congreve's Way of the World. The email was an invite from the show's Facebook page. It's playing May 8-31 at their Mountain View space.

Labels: Facebook, Pear Avenue Theatre

Playbill.com has a nice run-down of next season at 42nd Street Moon here. Although, you gotta love the typo in the headline! ouch.

Labels: 42nd Street Moon, playbill.com

Of course I'm biased because:

Labels: 42nd Street Moon

Some weeks ago, a friend and I made a trip to the Moon Space to see an early concert reading of a new musical form the composer of Romance, Romance. It needed work, to be sure, but it had but a short time frame in which to do that work, considering it's opening tomorrow at 42nd Street Moon!

I'm going back this Sunday to see it in this new, staged incarnation, and I'm anxious to see what they've done.

According to the book author, RC Staab, "The main love relationship has been strengthened, clarified and intensified, lyrics have been rewritten, songs have been re-ordered, a new opening has been written and, importantly, the volcano Vesuvius appears as a major character in its own right."

Staab also sat down with Chad Jones to describe his perspective on that fateful reading:

“That audience was brutal,” Staab says over coffee in his downtown San Francisco neighborhood. “One guy wanted us to change the location of the show from Pompeii to Herculaneum. Another wanted the volcano to erupt at the beginning of the show. I was fairly depressed the next day.”

I can see that. We were, indeed, brutal.

But we're going back for seconds, so that's gotta mean something, right?

Disclosure: I'm on the board of 42nd Street Moon

Labels: 42nd Street Moon, Keith Herrmann, RC Staab, Shadows of Pompeii

Chad Jones delivered some high praise indeed for 42nd St. Moon's production of High Spirits in this post:

If you happen to be in New York these days, you can pop in on the revival of Blithe Spirit and see Rupert Everett, Jayne Atkinson, Christine Ebersole and the redoubtable Angela Lansbury in the roles, and lucky you. But it’s hard to imagine that starry foursome being funnier or more charming than the 42nd Street Moon crew.

Wow, pretty nice!

I saw it last Saturday, the day before they closed, myself, and enjoyed it very much. Chad brings up the point that there's not much commercial point to reviewing it so late, but I suppose I will eventually get around to it anyway!

Disclosure: I am now on the board of 42nd Street Moon

Labels: 42nd Street Moon, Chad Jones, High Spirits

Over on my personal blog I like to publish recaps of American Idol, and have been doing so since Season 3. On this blog I talk theatre.

Today these worlds collide, as the Broadway musical Rock of Ages opens, starring American Idol Season 4 contestant, Constantine Maroulis.It is basically a Jukebox musical, featuring the glam rock music of the 80s.

Imagine my surprise when the New York Times, of all publications, gave it a rave review!

Don't know if that will get me to the theatre, but I guess judos to them.

So, is Rock of Ages the kind of show you'd see if you only had one night in New York?

Labels: Broadway, Constantine Maroulis, New York Times, Rock of Ages

Patty Duke, currently appearing as Madame Morrible in Wicked, has been added to the line-up as MC of the upcoming ne-night only benefit to raise funds for The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The benefit cabaret evening will also feature performers from the casts of Wicked, Grease and Burn the Floor.

WHEN: Monday, April 13, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Club Fugazi, home of Beach Blanket Babylon, 678 Green Street, SF

The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation has worked with over 25 touring casts to date to produce "One Night Only Cabaret" events and looks forward to another successful evening benefiting these worth-while charity organizations. To date, REAF has distributed well over $2 million to AIDS service agencies.

Tickets for this "One Night Only Cabaret" range from $25 to $100. Tickets are available by phone by calling the Beach Blanket Babylon box office at 415-421-4222. A limited number of tickets are also available for the dessert party with the cast at nearby Joey & Eddie’s Restaurant at 1652 Stockton Street for an additional $20/person.

For additional information, please contact Ken Henderson, Executive Director, The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, at:

415-931-2515 or
ken@richmondermet.org.

Labels: BC/EFA, Benefits, Patty Duke, REAF

According to the Merc the Kite Runner will run through April 26th.

Good for them...happy they have a hit on their hands, and one generated by local talent!!

In case you missed it, here's my review.

Labels: kite runner, San Jose Rep

...and they are quite gushy!

The San Francisco Examiner exclaims:

Those in charge of opera houses and Broadway productions should flock to 42nd Street Moon’s tiny Eureka Theatre on Jackson Street to learn about doing a better job.

It’s where the 1964 Hugh Martin-Timothy Gray musical “High Spirits” (based on the 1941 Noel Coward play and 1945 film “Blithe Spirit”) opened Saturday, in a production that stands as a shining example of good judgment, judicious use of available resources and artistic excellence.

Wow.

The Examiner also seems to be saying that there will be a Broadway revival of High Spirits soon, starring Angela Lansbury, Christine Ebersole and Rupert Evertt...that's quite a cast!

The Contra Cost Times raves:

Cavanagh is just stunning in the Arcati role — extremely funny and worth the price of admission on her own. Gaffney, McBride and McVerry are a hilariously confused love triangle. The highlight of the show is the role of the maid, played by Rena Wilson who stumbles zanily through the house in her ill-fated attempts to please.

Nice.

I'm not going myself until the second-to-last performance on April 11th, but if you're interested in beating me to it you can visit the 42nd Street Moon Facebook page for more info, and go here for the online box office.

Let me know what you think.

Labels: 42nd Street Moon, High Spirits

I'm not remembering the last time I heard Ben Brantley axing quite so rhapsodic as in his review of the revival of Hair. This is a production that started at the Public this summer and has moved to Broadway, apparently to singlehandedly revive it.

In my crowd in high school, we didn't go see Rocky Horror at the midnight movies. We went and saw Hair. I've seen that movie many times and could practically replay the entire thing in my head. The only time I have ever seen it live and in its original incarnation was at my alma mater. SJSU did a production back in the 90s, I believe. I was so struck by how different the musical actually is than the movie, it was distracting. (Sort of like Wicked: If you love the book, you will realize after 5 minutes that Wicked, the Musical! is certainly inspired by the book, but it's not trying to present the book in musical form.)

So, normally, Hair wouldn't be tops on my list of Broadway musicals I need to see.

Brantley's review makes me re-think that, what about you?

Labels: Broadway, Hair, SJSU