Chuck Louden

ONE FOR THE HEART A tender romance outshines a less engaging character study Word for Word is known for staging fiction by renowned authors, literally ‘word for word.’ This time, the company pairs works by E. L. Doctorow and Tatyana Tolstaya, both of Russian descent. Their separate stories are each about Russians who have immigrated…

PETER PAN GOES WRONG GOES VERY, VERY WRONG A two-hour farcical flight to Neverland that you may wish had never taken off San Francisco Playhouse’s current fall offering is Peter Pan Goes Wrong, a comedy that, for me, produces considerably more aggravation than laughter. It’s brought to you by the same people who produced 2024’s…

WRONG TURN AT MOUNT RUSHMORE Emma Rice sends Hitchcock’s classic thriller spinning into musical-comedy territory, with decidedly mixed results American Conservatory Theater opens its 60th season with Emma Rice’s stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic North by Northwest, which starred Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. Taking such an iconic film and adapting it…

A LITTLE SHOP WITH A BIG BITE NCTC’s colorful, high-energy revival feeds on terrific voices, sharp comedy, and one increasingly hungry plant New Conservatory Theatre Center starts its 2026–27 season with a musical that is a fun musical as well as a dark comedy. With book and lyrics by the late, great Howard Ashman and…

BEND, SNAP, AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF Berkeley Playhouse gives Elle Woods plenty of energy, heart, and high-octane dancing in a buoyant musical about refusing to be underestimated Berkeley Playhouse opens its 2026–27 season with Legally Blonde: The Musical, the stage adaptation of the popular 2001 movie starring Reese Witherspoon. With music and lyrics by Laurence…

THE FRAGILE THINGS WE CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND Center REP’s intimate revival finds the suffocating bonds of family at the heart of Tennessee Williams’ enduring memory play Center REP launches its 2026–27 season with Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, the 1944 classic that helped establish Williams as one of America’s great playwrights. Directed by Matt M….

SOBERING THOUGHTS A funny, affecting recovery comedy that lingers too long on relapse Kicking off its 60th season, Marin Theatre presents the Bay Area premiere of The White Chip: A Sobering Comedy of Errors. In the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, there are various traditions in the process of recovery. A “white chip” (similar to a…

THE HIGH PRICE OF HIGH RETURNS A smart, timely dark comedy asks what happens when the pursuit of profit starts costing more than money Bay Area theatergoers need to act fast to see San Francisco Playhouse’s latest production, the dark comedy R.O.I. (Return on Investment). Unlike most of its productions, which usually run up to…

SACRIFICE WITHOUT SENTIMENT Alicia Mason delivers a fearless performance in a modern tragedy that refuses easy sympathy Gary Owen‘s Iphigenia in Splott transplants Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis from ancient Greece to working-class Wales, where the gods have been replaced by poverty, bureaucracy, and institutional neglect. In Shotgun Players’ first-ever solo production, directed by Michelle Talgarow,…

WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A PAY TOILET This irreverent musical entertains while refusing to let its audience off the hook After more than 25 years of producing fun, hip musicals all over San Francisco, Ray of Light Theatre is still in its honeymoon phase of finally having its own theater, The Barbary Stage, downtown…

GOOD MORNING, SAN FRANCISCO The songs, the dancing, and the joy remain impossible to resist The summer’s most fun musical has arrived at the San Francisco Playhouse: Hairspray is here, and it has something for everyone. There’s singing, dancing, comedy, and drama, all performed by a talented cast. Hairspray was first introduced to audiences in…

TRAGEDY, DISTILLED Peter Brook pares Bizet’s masterpiece to its emotional essence Since 1957, the San Francisco Merola Opera Program, in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera Center, has offered an extensive training program for talented opera singers, conductors, and directors. Every summer, it showcases its emerging artists in a series of public performances. This season…

PRESS BUTTON. REGRET LATER. Word for Word pairs two visions of the future with mixed results Z Space, known for developing original and experimental theater, is also home to Word for Word, a resident company that transforms works of fiction into stage productions by performing short stories exactly as written. This summer, they presented Absolute…

YOU LEARN… OR YOU DON’T The songs still hit hard, but the family drama built around them feels overly familiar More often than not, as a critic, I like to go into a show cold, without many expectations. Given that Jagged Little Pill is built around Alanis Morissette’s landmark 1995 album, I assumed it might…

THE JOURNEY AFTER THE JOURNEY P. Carl’s autobiographical drama explores what happens after becoming the person you’ve always known yourself to be Z Space continues its tradition of presenting challenging new work with Becoming A Man, playwright P. Carl‘s semi-autobiographical drama about gender transition and its impact on family, friendships, and long-term relationships. Directed by…

CLIMATE OF CONFUSION Bess Wohl’s Hollywood satire delivers ideas more successfully than laughs Nowadays everyone is aware of the climate crisis. We know about recycling, composting, and driving electric cars. If you are a successful filmmaker, you can make a movie about the effect on the environment. Directed by Emilie Whelan, Shotgun Players’ latest production…

SPECIAL DELIVERY A charming Bollywood-inspired musical serves up romance, music, and a feast for the eyes From its first moments, Berkeley Rep’s new musical The Lunchbox wins you over. The vibrant, multi-level, expansive, beautifully detailed set by Mimi Lien depicts a bustling working-class neighborhood in Mumbai, while a colorful ensemble emerges mixing and mingling from…

BITE MARKS AND BATTLE CRIES Kate Hamill’s revisionist take offers a few fresh ideas, but Dracula remains the real attraction Since its publication in 1897, Bram Stoker’s gothic horror novel Dracula has been regarded as one of the most famous books in English literature and is certainly the original vampire novel. The subject of vampires…