by Barry Willis * An old Napa Valley legend morphs into an outrageous musical comedy at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center in Napa through November 8. The decades-old story purports that the hills surrounding the valley are home to hybrid critters—part ape, part bat, and with the aid of a mad scientist in the…
My guests on the 10/22/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were Garet Waterhouse and Katie Watts-Whitaker from the Raven Players production of the Stephen Sondheim classic Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The macabre musical runs at the Raven Performing Arts Theater in Healdsburg through November 8. Click below to…
Over 150 members of the North Bay theater community gathered at The California in Santa Rosa on Sunday night for the Marquee Theater Journalists Association/North Bay Bohemian 2026 Norbay Theater Awards. The MTJA presented awards for outstanding work in 18 production, performance, and technical categories. Sonoma and Napa County productions in the 2025-2026 season that…
My guests on the 10/15/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were Ken Urso and Lynzee Foreman from the THTR production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show. The stage musical upon which the cult classic movie was based will have three performances – October 22, 23 and 24 – at The California…
by Harry Duke * Most theatregoers familiarity with the works of George Bernard Shaw begins and ends with his play Pygmalion, the source material for the classic musical My Fair Lady. His other plays range from historical dramas to comedies of manners. All contain elements of social criticism of their time. His works usually get…
by Harry Duke * When I see a show late in its run, or the run itself is short, I’ll take some time and provide a short take on the production… Dear Evan Hansen – Spreckels Theatre Company, Rohnert Park Pluses: excellent performances by veterans and new talent, technical elements Minuses: a wretchedly irresponsible book…
My guests on the second of two 10/01/26 “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 FM were Emily Hansen and Haley Ayyad from the Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts production of Emilia. The reimagining of the life of 17th-century poet and musician Emilia Bassano runs in the Studio Theatre in the Burbank Auditorium…
My guests on the first of two 10/01/26 “Theatre Thursday” segments on The Drive on 95.5 FM were Drew Bolander and Laura Downing-Lee from the 6th Street Playhouse production of George Bernard Shaw’s Misalliance. The turn-of-the-20th-century comedy runs on the Monroe Stage at the Playhouse in Santa Rosa through October25. Click HERE for more info.
by Cari Lynn Pace * Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller’s powerful drama about a man spiraling into oblivion, is the latest triumph for Ross Valley Players at The Barn Theater above the Marin Art & Garden Center in Ross. Director Adrian Elfenbaum notes that nearly 100 actors auditioned for roles, an amazing turnout yet…
by Harry Duke * To many, Death of a Salesman is the classic American play. From its Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in 1949 through multiple revivals, theatre companies return again and again to Arthur Miller’s dissection of the American dream to draw audiences. The Ross Valley Players open their 97th season with…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Spreckels Theatre Company opens their 2026/27 season with the North Bay premiere of the contemporary musical Dear Evan Hansen. Written by Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, this multi-Tony-Award-winning show exposes the teen angst so prevelant today. It runs in the Nellie W. Codding…
by Cari Lynn Pace * Welcome to Putnam County, where a middle school spelling bee championship takes place with a ragtag collection of juveniles and two clearly biased judges. William Finn wrote the clever words and music to two dozen numbers based on Rachel Sheinkin’s book presented onstage at the Novato Theater Company. Adults play…
My guests on the 09/24/26 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 FM were director Kim Bromley and lead actor Addison Brown from the Spreckels Theater Company’s production of Dear Evan Hansen. The Tony Award-winning musical has its North Bay premiere run in the Codding Theater at the Speckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert…
by Harry Duke * Musical theatre is an art form that rarely comes with a trigger warning. One wouldn’t think that a show as innocuous as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee would need an alert that the show’s subject matter may cause distressing psychological or physiological reactions, especially in people who have previously…
by Barry Willis * Theatergoers have a few more days to see CenterREP’s bold reimagining of the Tennessee Williams classic The Glass Menagerie. Performed by an all-Equity cast on a shabby-elegant multi-tiered set by Yi-Chien Lee, the show closes Sunday September 27 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts. Directed by Matt M. Morrow…
