It has been quite a long while since I’ve seen a production that transcends conventional understanding of theater. Wusatoumuduk: We Make It Burn is one of those productions. As the program notes, the original play was “envisioned by Wiyot culture-bearer Marnie Atkins and collaboratively written by an inter-tribal group with direct connections to local efforts […]
Front Row
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Not Cozy
Murder mysteries are an inherently weird concept. I say that as someone who reads them, writes them and loves them. I say that as someone whose family history includes homicide. It should feel perverse to get excited by the promise of a “good mystery.” Maybe this is why the genre has not proved to be […]
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‘Clue’ Kills at Ferndale Rep
OK, Ferndale Repertory Theatre, get it! This sentiment amplified by flamboyant snaps and giddy claps encompasses my experience at their season opener Clue On Stage. The entire sold-out production from the actors onstage to the concessions has a level of detail off which wafts professionalism while redoubling joy. Much like an inspired game night with beloved friends […]
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Sunny Side of the Hills
It’s hard not to like The Sound of Music. Rogers and Hammerstein’s instantly recognizable score has inundated popular culture with its catchy melodies and lighthearted joy since its Broadway debut in 1959 and become a musical theater repertoire juggernaut after its 1965 movie debut. Sometimes tunes like “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Every Mountain” and […]
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Prodigal Fun
Even if you don’t have fond flashback memories of the late Joan Schirle in the role of Mary Jane and the music from the 2011 production of Mary Jane the Musical, I highly recommend seeing Mary Jane the Musical 2: The Grandson at the outdoor Dell’Arte Amphitheater stage in Blue Lake. (Dress warmly, bring a […]
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River City Wows
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, […]
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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 […]