I remember when Lea Salonga and Daisy Eagan won Tony awards in the same year, 1991. Watching a Filipina and an 11 year old recognized on Broadway’s biggest night was inspirational and transformative as it affirmed all that is possible in the art I was quickly falling in love with. Likewise, watching performers like Michaela Band, […]
Front Row
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‘Imaginary Invalid’ is Farce for What Ails You
North Coast Repertory Theatre’s adaptation of Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid is a social comedy that exposes the ridiculousness of station, pride and matters of the heart. This adaptation was set sometime in the regency era, judging by the elegant costumes by Megan Hughes and Linda Muggeridge, and rich set design by Nora East. While much […]
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‘Khan!!! The Musical!’ Prospers
Khan!!! The Musical! A Parody Trek-Tacular by Brent Black and Alina Roth, now entering its final weekend at Dell’Arte’s Carlo Theatre, is exactly as described in the title and every bit as fun as it sounds. I had assumed the Venn diagram of Trekkies and musical theater fans was two nearly separate circles, but the […]
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‘Sherwood’ Makes Merry in Ferndale
Had I known Ferndale Repertory Theatre’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood is a complete “huzzah” and “tally-ho” audience-inclusive affair, I’d have rethought my regular theater attire in favor of Renaissance fair garb. Though the show doesn’t take it to the extremity of a Rocky Horror Show cult, this production pleasantly invites the audience to […]
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‘Bat Boy’s’ Bloody, Messy Fun
Let there be blood. Not blood represented in scarlet scarves pulled from a jugular like a macabre magic trick, but thick and tacky liquid lifeforce spilled across the stage splattering the audience with its faint metallic scent. Bat Boy: The Musical can be the production to do it. Perhaps it even should be that production. […]
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‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’ Live Again
Classes consistently bludgeon young directors to simply tell the story of theater works — stick to themes, find rhythms, push characters’ objectives and explore consequences. Then you’re given a work like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, forcing you to question or challenge those teachings. After all, theater, like life, doesn’t come with rule books […]
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No Vonnegut, No Glory
Humboldt Light Opera Co.’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater It’s a rotten state in America. Obscene wealth, unyielding poverty, war, alternative altruism, repressed freedom — this being post-World War II in a 1979 musical based on a 1965 novel by Kurt Vonnegut. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, presented by Humboldt Light Opera Co., may seem […]
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A Full Friendship
The Half Life of Marie Curie at Redwood Curtain The Half Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson is a glimpse into the lives of two historical women of science, Marie Curie and Hertha Ayrton. The events that took place during their lives and their part in them changed them and the world. Gunderson tells […]
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Arcata Playhouse Rolls the Dice
With The Dungeon, the Dragon and the Wizard of Doom: A D&D Holiday Show Adventure Arcata Playhouse is bringing the British tradition of a Christmas pantomime to Humboldt once again. Pantomimes are often thought of as silent endeavors but this incarnation is the opposite. Christmas pantomimes, or “pantos,” are community centered, derived theater that combines […]
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The Wizard of Oz Leads with Its Heart
The excitement for this beloved show coupled with the inspiration that wide-eyed children get when they see their peers on stage is already well worth the ticket price to Ferndale Repertory Theatre’s newest production of The Wizard of Oz. As more families swoop up the already scarce tickets, this is one of those shows that sparks the imagination of a new generation of superstars that we will be awed by in future productions. Where the […]
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A Christmas Carol Sings in the Season
Devised theater is (or should be) an exciting and fun process. It is the process of collaboratively creating new work through improvisation and exploration. The final product can be inspiring, whimsical and impactful when executed perfectly, or messy, unfinished and forced as productions balance creating a cohesive ensemble and an innovative piece simultaneously. Further, predicting the impact on the audience can be challenging as some elements that the collaboration loves in rehearsal could be lost in its transference to the stage. Luckily, North Coast Repertory Theatre’s newest offering of the devised A […]
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Exit Theatre’s Getting Dark Stays Sharp
While Cal Poly Humboldt stages Greek tragedy, above the Arcata Plaza, the Exit Theatre presents Getting Dark: Three One-Act Comedies by local playwright Daniel Lehman. The theme of getting dark is presented differently in each vignette where Lehman asks heavy questions in light ways without ever getting saccharine. The first, Is He Sick? is an […]