The Vietnam War shaped Eric Hollenbeck. American “missions” in Iraq, Afghanistan and countless others since have shaped generations of veterans who struggle to function in a world that has little or no understanding of their experiences. Radioman, currently playing at Dell’Arte’s Carlo Theatre in Blue Lake, is a powerful tribute to those veterans that will […]
Pat Bitton
Posted inArts + Scene
Space Force
As a Brit, I’m a sucker for a good pantomime and this year’s offering at the Arcata Playhouse is up there with the best. Robin Hood – Knight of the Stars: A Space-Capade is a space-capade of the highest comedic order. It has everything a good panto should — a ludicrously over-costumed and over-made up […]
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It’s a Mad, Mad World Out There
Steamships and railroads ushered in an era of mad adventuring in the 19th century, so it’s no surprise that Phileas Fogg, a gentleman of means, decides to circumnavigate the globe. The difference is that Fogg, a member of London’s progressive Reform Club, has been challenged by the club’s president to complete his journey in no […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Epic Battles
Ripcord David Lindsay-Abaire’s Ripcord, the current production at Redwood Curtain, reunites three local favorites, director Cassandra Hesseltine and lead players Peggy Metzger and Susan Abbey, who teamed up for Lindsay-Abaire’s excellent Good People at Redwood Curtain earlier this year. It’s a dream team that’s clearly at home with the touching and humorous perspective on life […]
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Murder Mystery with an English Twist
There’s nothing quite like a good murder mystery (especially a British one — I admit I may be biased on this point). That’s just what’s on offer with the latest production of Frederick Knott’s Dial ‘M’ for Murder at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. If you’re not familiar with the story from the Hitchcock movie, […]
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In the Prime of (Artificial) Life
Anyone who’s spent any time online in the last few years has undoubtedly encountered a chatbot — that helpful cyber-entity that’s always ready to (try to) answer your questions. Now imagine that chatbot — and its self-limiting conversational skills — has left cyberspace and moved in with you, taking on the holographic form of a […]
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Portrait of the Wizard as a Young Man
Myths and legends can hold more truth than any history book, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the 12th century monk who first wrote down the story of young Merlin, the boy who became his own legend and mentor to the great King Arthur Pendragon. The latest retelling of this many-layered story, The Legend of Young […]
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When Worlds Collide — The Last Weekend of Mad River Festival Theatre
#//<EMBEDDED>//# and Life Beneath the Stars at the Arcata Playhouse, Eli and the Bear at the Carlo Theatre in Blue Lake all challenge our perceptions of reality and our role in the world. #//<EMBEDDED>//# For anyone concerned with humankind’s increasing overlap with, and dependence on, internet-connected machines, this is must-see theatre. The central character, a […]
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Behind the Mask of the Universal Soldier
The connection between the title of this year’s Mad River Festival summer show Ruzzante Comes Home from the War and Dell’Arte International may seem a bit of a stretch, but digging under the surface uncovers a timeless tribute to theatre of place. The original version of this play was written in the Commedia dell’Arte style […]
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Will We Ever Get Out of Here? A review of Dell’Arte’s Let Me Out!
Let Me Out! explores what happens when theater meets role-playing game meets escape room, wrapped up in a murder-mystery evening that may or may not be trapped in an endless repeating cycle. The outcome of a year of research and development by Dell’Arte graduates Eric William Jones, Marguerite Boissonault and Linnea Ytterlid, Let Me Out […]
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Thesis Festival Time
May is always an exciting month at Dell’Arte. It’s when the multinational class of graduating students stages its final ensemble creations — the culmination of the school’s three-year MFA program. Each of this year’s thesis pieces has been written, performed and directed by the students and brings together Dell’Arte’s signature theater of place with their […]
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Hay Fever Breaks Out at HSU
The Bliss family at the center of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, now playing at Humboldt State University’s Gist Hall Theatre, is the epitome of English eccentricity and over-the-top-ness. Judith (Susan Abbey) is the matriarch, a retired stage actress and leading lady in her own drama. She is alternately jealous of and disappointed by her bratty, […]