Who Watches Big Brother?

February 2, 2012
Who Watches Big Brother?

Little Brother, Custom Made Theatre Co. I reviewed Josh Costello’s adaptation of Cory Doctorow’s novel for today’s Marin Independent Journal.  Head over there to read all about it before the review expires or becomes otherwise unlinkable. (Short version: I liked it. It’s good.  Go see it.) Little Brother runs through February 25 at Gough Street...
Read more »

Rephrasing Cain

January 30, 2012
Rephrasing Cain

THEATER REVIEW: SAN JOSE Double Indemnity, San Jose Repertory Theatre. By Sam Hurwitt If crime doesn’t pay, it’s not for lack of trying. Though it’s a quick and pulpy read, hardboiled crime writer James M. Cain’s 1935 novella Double Indemnity gives some of the same moral lessons as Fyodor Dostoevsky’s literary classic Crime and Punishment—that murder, no...
Read more »

Tesla Foiled

January 27, 2012
Tesla Foiled

THEATER REVIEW: SAN FRANCISCO Future Motive Power, Mugwumpin. By Sam Hurwitt It’s hard to imagine what Future Motive Power would have been like if the ensemble Mugwumpin hadn’t managed to obtain use of San Francisco’s Old Mint to stage it in. It’s not that the Mint has anything to do with the story of inventor and electricity...
Read more »

A Laughable Feast

January 26, 2012
A Laughable Feast

THEATER REVIEW: SAN FRANCISCO & OAKLAND The Pink Dot Stories, SF Sketchfest. The Thrilling Adventure Hour, SF Sketchfest. The Black Version, SF Sketchfest. The Drawing Room Apocalypse, SF Sketchfest. Eddie Izzard in Conversation, SF Sketchfest. By Sam Hurwitt Once a humble assemblage of local sketch comedy acts, SF Sketchfest now brings a staggering number of comedy heavyweights to San Francisco every...
Read more »

Fathers and Sons

January 23, 2012
Fathers and Sons

THEATER REVIEW: BERKELEY & SAN FRANCISCO Ghost Light, Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Humor Abuse, American Conservatory Theater. By Sam Hurwitt It’s a remarkable coincidence: In the last couple of weeks both Berkeley Repertory Theatre and American Conservatory Theater have opened plays about sons grappling with their memories of their fathers, both prominent Bay Area figures of the 1970s....
Read more »

This List Goes to ‘11

December 24, 2011
This List Goes to ‘11

By Sam Hurwitt It’s a good problem to have: Looking over the list of the 118 local shows I saw this year, I had a hard time narrowing it down to a Top Ten. There are plenty of ways in which 2011 was a tough, lousy, no-good year, but in terms of what I saw...
Read more »

Grim Fairy Tale

December 20, 2011
Grim Fairy Tale

THEATER REVIEW: BERKELEY Show #117: The Wild Bride, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, December 7. By Sam Hurwitt “You know, for a feminist folk tale, this book isn’t half bad.” It’s the devil who says that in The Wild Bride at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, but in this case he’s not steering you wrong. The only misleading thing is that...
Read more »