Second Row Center Blog
There aren’t a lot of plays that explore Native American history or the modern-day social and political issues that continue to challenge that community. Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Sovereignty, running at the Marin Theatre Company through Oct. 20, attempts to do both in about two hours. Sarah Ridge Polson (Elizabeth Frances) returns to the Cherokee Nation …
Continue reading “Sovereignty at Marin Theater Company (Aired: October 16, 2019)”
In sports, the term ‘ringer’ generally refers to the practice of using a clearly superior competitor in order to gain an unfair advantage. In theatrical terms, it can be used to describe the importation of outside talent in the hope of drawing a larger-than-normal audience. In both cases, the hope is that the player/performer will …
Continue reading “Gypsy at the 6th Street Playhouse (Aired: October 9, 2019)”
It’s a virtual Merman-palooza in the North Bay as two theatre companies present ‘musical fables’ with Ethel Merman connections. Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse has Gypsy running through October 20 while Sonoma Arts Live has Merman’s Apprentice, an original musical with Merman a character, running through Oct. 13. Merman’s Apprentice is a throw-back to the …
Halloween comes early to North Bay stages with two productions more commonly seen around that particular holiday. Monte Rio’s Curtain Call Theatre recreates The Haunting of Hill House through September 28th while Healdsburg’s Raven Players present the serial-killing comedy Arsenic and Old Lace through September 29th. Shirley Jackson’s 1958 novel The Haunting of Hill House …
While technically not set in a courtroom, Tom Topor’s Nuts, running now at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre through Sept. 29, has all the elements of a classic courtroom drama – a defendant, a judge, a prosecuting attorney, a defense attorney, and witnesses. However, the question of Innocence or guilt of a crime is not …
Continue reading ““Nuts” at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre (Aired: September 18, 2019)”
A recent New York Times headline asked the question “Can a Play About Vaccines Be a Laughing Matter?” Bay Area audiences can answer that question themselves by attending one of two current productions of the play in question – Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day. You can catch it Off-Broadway in New York, or you can go …
Continue reading “Eureka Day at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center (Aired: Spetember 11, 2019)”
Perhaps the most mislabeled entertainment genre is what we refer to as “reality TV”. The belief that anything can be real in the presence of cameras is misleading at best and downright deceitful at worst. That’s one of the themes at work in Karen Zacarias’ The Book Club Play, 6th Street Playhouse’s season opener running …
Continue reading “The Book Club Play at 6th Street Playhouse (Aired: September 4, 2019)”
For twenty years, Mill Valley’s Curtain Theatre has treated local audiences to admission-free, fully-produced Shakespeare plays performed in the small outdoor amphitheatre in Old Mill Park. Whether they will get to continue to do so is in the hands of city’s Parks and Recreation Commission as they deal with complaints from some neighbors who appear …
Continue reading ““The Merry Wives of Windsor” Running in Mill Valley (Aired: August 28, 2019)”
Silliness takes the stage at Dominican University’s Forest Meadows Amphitheatre as the Marin Shakespeare Company presents Monty Python’s Spamalot. It’s the company’s first full musical production in thirty years. “Lovingly ripped off” from the Python’s 1975 cult classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it’s the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the …
Continue reading “Monty Python’s Spamalot at Dominican University (Aired: August 21, 2019)”
Adhering to Mark Twain’s advice to “write what you know”, Napa Valley’s Barry Martin has written and directed a play based on his experiences in the wine hospitality trade. The Tasting Room, running now at Napa’s Lucky Penny Community Arts Center through August 18, is his comedic take on the individuals found on both sides …
Continue reading “Napa’s Lucky Penny Production of “The Tasting Room” – August 14, 2019″