Dancing Around the Genocide
Earnest young actors get in over their heads grappling with colonialism in Just Theater’s sharply cutting play within a play.
My review of We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884–1915 is on KQED Arts. Read more
Render Unto Cesare an Audience
Central Works does nothing but new plays developed collaboratively between the cast and creative team, most but not all of them written by company codirector Gary Graves. Every show is either a premiere or a revival of one of the group’s previous original plays. Its latest show, The Lion and the Fox, is a relative rarity—a sequel, or rather a prequel, to another Graves play from past seasons, Machiavelli’s The Prince. It’s not quite without precedent: In 2012 the company presented its first trilogy, Richard the First, the middle part of which was Graves’s 2003 play Lionheart.
Back with a Vengeance
Marin Shakespeare Company digs up the first English revenge tragedy, and it’s awesome. You can find my review in today’s Marin Independent Journal.
She’s So Quirky
You’ve scoffed about the romantic comedy wish-fulfillment archetype, now see the play! Katie May’s “graphic novel play” Manic Pixie Dream Girl is playing at ACT’s new Costume Shop Theater, and I wrote it up for the KQED Arts Blog. Head over there to read all about it.
Blood Red, White and Blue
The presidential debates are upon us, Election Day is just a few weeks away, and two local theater companies are getting into the spirit of the thing by staging gleefully perverse musicals about the U.S. presidency.
