The SF Bay Area Theatre Blog

It rears its ugly head about as often as we hear "Where are the women in...[fill in the blank]?" meme here in Silicon Valley. It's the "What's wrong with Broadway?" meme, and having lived in NYC in the late 80s, you can imagine I've heard that question a time or two.

Kimberly Kaye tackles the issue for, of all things, The Economist. I didn't even know they had more of a lifestyle outlet entitled "Intelligent Life".

A factor Kaye brings up that I really hadn't thought about was the economy's impact not on Broadway, but on significant Off-Broadway houses...many have closed, apparently. And that leaves certain shows with more quirk, less sure-fire spectacle, with nowhere else to go but to attempt Broadway. Sometimes it works; often it doesn't.

It's a good read, and as she points out: Nothing new is wrong, specifically, with Broadway. Broadway has long been the most commercial of enterprises, vs. purely an artistic enterprise, and therefore it lives and dies by tourists and their dollars.

Could producers examine the model of lowering prices to bring in a higher volume of audience member? I think they should. It's part of a vicious cycle that's been going for decades...spectacle begets cost. Cost begets higher ticket prices. Higher ticket prices begets expectations of something "spectacular" is going to happen. Expectations beget spectacle. And so on. And this all also begets more dependence on tourists vs. theatre-loving locals.

Vicious circle, as I mentioned.

Here in the Bay Area, over the last few years my theatre-going habits have changed dramatically as I've had less time...but also due to that expectations cycle.

Of course, 42nd Street Moon is always on my list, since I'm on their board. And one of the things I like most about their productions is the intimate space and unamplified voices.

But my other theatre-going has shifted from a brief subscription with TheatreWorks and a very long-term subscription to American Musical Theatre of San Jose (AMT) to the more recent 3 years my S.O. and I have been subscribers to San Jose Rep.

With TheatreWorks, I felt like the prices (and local media hype) begat expectations they couldn't live up to for me. I wanted a level of quality I didn't feel I was getting for the price.

With AMT, I felt like they were resorting to more and more old and tired fare...to fill a 3,000 seat theatre they couldn't really be too out there...not too dissimilar from Broadway I suppose. When it became clear that our subscription was always going to include way more Camelot and Music Man than Spring Awakening or Assassins, we moved on from that subscription too.

Now, with San Jose Rep, we're seeing way fewer musicals, more straight plays.We're seeing more new works. We're seeing things we haven't see (a hundred times) before. And we really like it. And think we're getting our money's worth.

But it is not a big, commercial, for-profit theatre. And it likely never could be.

What's wrong with Broadway: The same thing that was always wrong with it.

But what's right with Broadway also remains: Amazing talent. Beauty, not just spectacle. The shared, live experience of something you can't get anywhere else.

I'm heading to NYC in late January, and I'll be saving an evening for Broadway, no doubt about it.

Labels: AMTSJ, Broadway, San Jose Rep, The Economist, TheatreWorks

Tonight the S.O., my folks and I are headed downtown to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the San Jose Rep.

I actually saw the national tour of the show when it came through San Francisco a few years back, but it should be fun to see it again, especially with some local faves in the cast. Faves like Molly Bell and James Iglehart, among others. Kudos to SJ Rep for casting local!

Hopefully I'll have time to write a review and let you know what I think. In the meantime...did you see it? And what did you think?

Labels: San Jose Rep

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

OK, after months of being in a live theatre desert, I'm hitting a busy two week period, filled with theatre-going opportunities.

Last night we went and saw Bat Boy at Foothill Music Theatre. It closes today, so unless you movie quickly, you've missed your chance, but we really enjoyed. it. I saw it at TheatreWorks a few years ago, and really wasn't that into it...I felt it lacked the inherent heart that a show of similar style and tone (LIttle Shop of Horrors) had. BUt last night's production convinced me that this was a problem of direction and acting approach, not the piece itself. When you take your characters absolutely seriously in the face of completely absurd comedy, it's the only way to make the audience care from curtain to curtain. Foothill and Jay Manley excel at that approach, which is why I've typically enjoyed Foothill productions of such shows more than TheatreWorks.

Next Saturday night we're seeing The Kite Runner at San Jose Rep. Great book, local connections, world premiere. Fascinated to see how they adapt this to the stage. I didn't see the movie, so only have the book in my head.

On April 11th, my birthday, I'll be seeing High Spirits at 42nd Street Moon. This is the musical adaptation of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, which I've never seen. This will be the first show I've seen there in a while, and since I joined their board. Last time I went they were still holding binders and doing staged concerts, so it should be quite fun to see them to more traditional stagings. I love the glamour of this photo of Dyan McBride as Elvira.

That leaves only one question mark. A good friend is playing Guenevere in the Lyric Theatre's production of Camelot. I don't understand these theatres that do runs of only two weekends. We lead busy lives, people, come on!! I don't know if I can make it. There is literally only one date that I can make, and I need to check with the S.O., but it's on a week night...which he usually totally shuns for social activities (this is a night owl software engineer, folks.) I'll have to play it by ear :(

So, seen any of those? What's on your March/April theatre agenda?

Labels: 42nd Street Moon, Foothill Music Theatre, Lyric Theatre, San Jose Rep, TheatreWorks

Karen D'Souza picks her 2008 Top 10 in Theatre here.

It is:

Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage at Berkeley’s Shotgun Players
Splitting Infinity at San Jose Rep
The Andersen Project at Berkeley’s Cal Performances
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at SF’s Best of Broadway Series
Caroline, or Change at Mountain View’s TheatreWorks
Bone to Pick at SF’s Cutting Ball Theater
Coronado at SF Playhouse
The Devil’s Disciple at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company
Tragedy: a tragedy at Berkeley Rep
Wishful Drinking at Berkeley Rep (and later San Jose Rep)

Of which I saw a whopping ONE, Splitting infinity at the Rep.

So, clearly 2008 was not the year I can judge her picks, because my own theatre-going was so sporadic.

How about you? Anyone agree/disagree/have their own list?

Labels: san Jose Mercury, San Jose Rep, Top 10 2008

So, what theatre are you going to see during this holiday season?

The one confirmed show on my list is the latest offering from San Jose Rep, which is the only season subscription I have: Around the World in 80 Days. It doesn't seem particularly holiday-ish, but perhaps it qualifies simply by being very festive. I'm seeing it in a couple of weeks.

The other show I need to see and have yet to buy tix for is Plaid Tidings over at the West Valley Light Opera in Saratoga. It's a Christmas-focused sequel to Forever Plaid, and this production features a couple of guys I know. I have to get off my butt on this one, since it only plays through December 6th! (What up with that anyway?)

Finally, my buddies over at Bus Bar Theatre in Los Altos are putting on Seasons Greetings, which sounds like a wacky, holiday farce from playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It's playing through December 20th, like any good holiday show should!

What are you going to see this holiday season?

Labels: Bus barn Theatre, San Jose Rep, theatre, West Valley Light Opera

Going to see Splitting Infinity at the San Jose Rep tomorrow night.

I probably hadn't been to the Rep in half a decade when we got the mini-season for a wedding present last year. We decided to renew, and it's been a nice change of pace from our usual 100% musical theatre menu. The last show was The Foreigner, which I never did write an official review for, but it was quite good.

I was familiar with The Foreigner because the summer stock theatre I apprenticed with back in the mid-80s did it the first season I was there. It's from back in the early 80s, but it holds up fairly well.

While The Foreigner is more light fun, Splitting Infinity is supposed to be "smart and witty." I'm pretty wiped out from a week of travel, hitting three cities in 6 days, so I think I better get some good sleep tonight, or I won't be able to keep up with the smart and the witty.

I'll keep you post on what wins: the wit or the exhaustion.

Labels: San Jose Rep

I've been head down, focused on my company (BlogHer) for a few months now, and I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a movie in the theatre or stepped out to the live theatre itself. (It was probably when I was in NYC and saw SUnday in the Park.)

But next month I may actually hit the local theatre scene three times! What's on my agenda?

1. We were given a mini-subscription to the San Jose Rep as a wedding present last year, and we decided to renew. It's really very convenient, and having a built-in excuse for a date-night several times a year is a good thing in our (or at least my) workaholic world. Their season opener is The Foreigner by Larry Shue (who also wrote The Nerd). Back when I did summer stock during the summers of 1985 and 1986, we did The Foreigner. I wasn't in it, so instead i got to see it as an audience member. I remember it being quite charming and amusing, but I'm wondering how it will hold up some 25 years after its initial debut. I'll find out, I guess.

Side note: San Jose Rep honestly needs some help on their web presence. The show, and therefore their season, opens in a week and there is still no link to more information about the play, just the little blurb on the home page. Plus they have a link to their "new blogs:, which still features a "blog" by their now-gone Artistic Director, and another "blog" by the Managing Director...whose actual goal is only to post once per month (and he doesn't always achieve that.) I mean I know I'm a bad blogger too, but this ain't a marketing tool for a business here, you know? End side note.

2. Having never seen it, I'm a bit intrigues to see San Jose Stage Company's Altar Boyz. I've heard the show is fun and funny a la Forever Plaid or Nunsense. It stars friend CJ Blankenship, who I haven't seen perform in quite some time.

Anybody out there seen Altar Boyz and can vouch for it as a fine evening's entertainment?

3. It's a no-brainer that I'm going to see Broadway By the Bay's Into the Woods. One of my favorite shows, and starring some of my favorite performers, including buddy Paul Araquistain in one of his dream roles he has yet to play, the Baker.

Those are my September theatre choices. What are yours?

Labels: Broadway by the Bay, San Jose Rep, San Jose Stage

So i finally broke down and called the SJ rep again, resisting my hasty impulse to stop payment on my check and forget the whole idea. After much being put on hold and confusion I was finally connected to the original guy who called me. I honestly don't think he really knew who I was or what I was talking about at first, even though he was trying to answer my question and get me off the phone. But I will not be dismissed so easily, especially when his "answers" seemed completely unrelated to my questions...and he didn't seem to get that he had called me.

Bottom line: I'm still not really sure, but I think his original call was only to inform me that he couldn't guarantee the same seats as I had requested. That was it. Just a little heads up.

It's just a shame that it took 4 phone calls and a lot of wasted time on hold and trying to explain my question to figure this out.

Labels: customer service problems, San Jose Rep

Sometimes I really don't understand.

Almost three weeks ago now I sent in a subscription renewal for the San Jose Rep. The S.O. and I were given a mini-season for a wedding present, and we decided to renew for a full season. I sent in our form, a request to keep our same seats, and a hefty check.

Then the confusion started.

I got a call from the Assistant Box Office Manager, saying that because this season's subscription was a mini-season, we really couldn't request the same seats, so we'd have to pick new ones, and I should call him. I did, getting his voicemail and leaving a message including both my work phone and cell phone.

A week later (!) I called again, and he finally called back, trying only my work phone, and left another voicemail, saying to just call the regular box office number and anyone would be able to help me.

So, I did call the box office...where they, of course, had no idea what I was talking about and had no record of me, my order, my check. So, they dutifully took my info and said they'd check with mr. asst. box office manager and get back to me.

And still haven't.

I mean, they haven' cashed my check either, so that's good.

But my goodness, with the way theatres whine about needing more subscribers I cannot imagine how they put me in a position of having to call them what will be, I think, four times just to make them take my money.

I'm an impatient person. I'm also someone who thinks companies that give poor customer service don't deserve to have me as their customer. I'm this close to just stopping payment on the check and giving up on the whole idea.

Do I make one more attempt? Stay tuned...

Labels: San Jose Rep

Is online at my personal blog.

Oh, and just to warn you. I totally give away the ending. This is a big, fat spoiler alert.

Labels: San Jose Rep

You can check out my thoughts on my personal blog.

Labels: San Jose Rep, theatre review