The musical Kinky Boots, written by Harvey Fierstein (music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper), is about the journey of self-expression fraught with internal and external barriers. And, yes, it’s about boots. The 2005 British movie from which the musical is adapted is inspired by the real-life story of a declining family-owned shoe business that makes […]
Cleo DeOrio
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Struggles of The Elephant Man at FRT
Ferndale Repertory Theatre set aside its regular spectacle of song and dance to produce a play that explores creativity and centers acting for its latest offering, The Elephant Man. The multi-award-winning script by Bernard Pomerance tells the story of John Merrick, who suffers from a rare medical condition that severely covers his body and face […]
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Ferndale to Whoville
Wading through the gaggle of eager children and on-the-precipice-of-composed parents for Ferndale Repertory Theatre’s Seussical the Musical is part of the joy and laughter of this production. A newcomer to town may have thought the entire city in cahoots with the theatre to set the perfect scene for the Whos to peek around the alley […]
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Rocky Horror Revival Rises in Ferndale
I wish I’d brought my Erotica red lip stain to Ferndale Repertory Theatre to mark the first-time audience members’ foreheads with a large V to anoint them into the cult that is the The Rocky Horror Show, first mounted in 1973 with music and lyrics by Richard O’Brien, and adapted for the screen as The […]
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Social Dis-Dancing
They danced in their kitchens, in their tiny bedrooms, on their porches with the dog running around their feet. Amid a pandemic, Humboldt County’s dancers kept dancing, even though their studios were closed and performances were canceled. “Dance is our heartbeat,” says Humboldt State University Dance Program Leader Linda Maxwell. “There’s movement ingrained within us […]
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All for One and One for All
France was still embroiled in revolution when the story of The Three Musketeers first appeared in 1844. So, even though the story itself is set in the early 17th century, the battle between republicans and monarchists for the soul of the nation was still being hotly contested. Ken Ludwig’s fun, high-energy adaptation of the Alexandre […]
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In Transition
Thesis Festival Dell’Arte’s annual Thesis Festival represents the graduating MFA students’ transition to the world beyond school — a world to which they will bring the totality of their three-year immersion in theater of place. The four pieces presented are all very different, reflecting the broad range of techniques studied, but all also very much […]
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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 […]