San Francisco
(Bay Area)

IF THE HEAT IN AMERICA’S KITCHEN IS GETTING YOU DOWN, HEAD TO WAITRESS AT SF PLAYHOUSE San Francisco Playhouse has delivered an incredible gift for the winter holiday season: Waitress, Jessie Nelson’s stage adaptation of Adrienne Shelly’s popular 2007 film of the same name, with a compelling rock score by singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles. The show…

WEAVING TOGETHER THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE With our post election blues, and immigration becoming a hot button issue again, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding sends a message of love, hope and family of choice at Berkeley Rep. Debuting on Broadway last year, this traveling show is making its West coast debut. Original director Whitney White is still…

MASQUERS KNOWS THE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL, MAGICAL COMEDY Alfred Hitchcock gets a good-natured but thorough pummeling in The 39 Steps at Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond, through December 8. Sam Barksdale, Amy Stringer, Damion Clark A small theater in a quaint town at the eastern end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, Masquers is known…

“HOW LUCKY YOU ARE” TO SEE SEUSSICAL No one does youth and family theater better in the Bay Area than The Berkeley Playhouse. Everything they offer features classic and family friendly shows performed by talented ensemble actors of all ages. Even the young child performers can sing and dance to choreographed numbers with heart and…

Club Oasis, San Francisco’s premiere drag and cabaret theater showcases the best of Bay Area’s queer community’s talent, from fresh performers to campy remakes of pop culture and TV shows (their recent Rocky Horror was a hoot). The latest sitcom to be spoofed by the talented Oasis team of performers is The Nanny. the CBS…

DRAGON LADY ROARS AT CENTER REP Sara Porkalob’s solo tribute to her grandmother is both an astounding theatrical event and a master class in storytelling. Part biography, part autobiography, part cabaret musical, and part comedy, the show is a tour-de-force, on a sumptuous set by Randy Wong-Westbrooke. Dragon Lady runs at the beautiful Lesher Theatre in Walnut…

COWARD’S ANGELS ARE A LAUGH RIOT Almost one hundred years after its somewhat scandalous debut, Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels is enjoying a revival at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre, where it runs through November 17. Michael Barrett Austin & Kina Kantor The British playwright is enjoying a revival of his own in the Bay Area, with a…

EXPLORING THE GULF IN A RELATIONSHIP New Conservatory Theater is premiering in it’s West Coast debut, Audrey Cefaly’s 2017 play The Gulf – An Elegy. This intense one-act two-hander traces the seemingly laid back relationship between two women: Betty (Lauren Domingo)   and Kendra (Amy Meyers). They’re spending a lazy afternoon on a small fishing boat…

HOT PATOOTIE, BLESS MY SOUL, I REALLY LOVE THIS ROCKY SHOW If you’re a veteran fan of the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Ray of Light‘s production at the ever-fabulous Oasis Nightclub takes it not so much to another level as another dimension. If you’re a virgin (at least if only a virgin to…

IT TAKES DAN HOYLE TO CREATE GREAT JOURNALISTIC THEATER San Franciscans pride themselves on their open mindedness towards all walks of life and outlooks. But do we really listen objectively to other people’s opinions that may vastly differ from our own? We love living in our Blue bubble particularly now in our very divided political…

THIS MUSICAL IS A GOLDRUSHER Post Pandemic, New Conservatory Theatre Center is continuing to branch out in its selection of theater offerings. Primarily known for stories about gay men, coming out, and HIV/AIDS-themed shows, the busy company is now offering more diversity in both subject matter and cultures. Hopefully these efforts will appeal to a…

A BEAUTIFUL MUSICAL GEM IN SONOMA COUNTY Carole King is unquestionably one of the most influential American songwriters of the late 20th century. Through October 13, Spreckels Theater Company presents a lovely production of Douglas McGrath’s Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, in Sonoma County’s biggest and best venue, the Codding Theatre at the Spreckels…

CHOIR BOYS TO MEN Shotgun Players in Berkeley is presenting the Bay Area premiere of the Tony-nominated play, Choir Boy. It’s a fine fit. This one-year chronicle of a distinguished African-American institution — the imaginary Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys — is written by gay playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney (Head of Passes, Brother/Sister…

FUNNY HOW IT GOES WRONG, BUT IT KEEPS GETTING WRONGER AND WRONGER AND… San Francisco Playhouse launches into its 2025-25 season with the fast-paced comedy The Play That Goes Wrong. This play-within-a-play is an old-fashioned Agatha Christie whodunnit murder mystery. The action (or chaos) has already begun when patrons enter the theater. A stage crew…

JAGGED WITH SOPHISTICATION A.C.T. is bringing back a tried and true favorite: Noël Coward’s Private Lives, moving the play’s locale from France to Argentina, specifically Montevideo. An ultimate comedy of manners, this three-act play centers on a long-divorced couple, both of whom are on their honeymoons with their new respective spouses when they are hit…

STUNNING STORYTELLING Many times when I go to see a show, whether as a critic or just a patron, I’ll come in not knowing in advance what I’m going to see. With a reputable theater company, my expectations are set pretty high. The Berkeley Rep’s outings have never failed to disappoint me, sure, but not…

Arsenic and Old Lace, the classic black comedy about two sweet old sisters poisoning old men lodgers has been told on stage and screen for decades. This includes the original play written by Joseph Kessering in 1941 and a film in 1944 directed by Frank Capra featuring Cary Grant and Raymond Massey. In 1962, there…