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KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “North By Northwest,” adapted and directed by Emma Rice, at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through October 18, 2026,           TEXT OF REVIEW Along with having to be perfect night after night, live theatre can only rely on sets, costumes and craft to transform time and space to fit the parameters of a script. Sure, these days a lot is computerized, but it’s still hands on, and if something goes wrong, it stays wrong. Directors like Emma Rice look at the limitations of theatre as a canvas, and then see impossible concepts as creative challenges. Whether the moors of “Wuthering Heights” or the fantasy of “The Red Shoes”, she looks to find ways to make it all work and keep audiences entertained. There may be few films less obvious to bring to the stage than Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller, “North By Northwest,” with its ever changing scenery, famous set pieces and convoluted plot. But in her version, now at ACT’s Toni Rembe Theatre through October 18th, it all happens on one stage, with a cast of eight, and a set of revolving doors that turn and twist and rarely stay in one place at one time. The show is introduced and explained by a narrator who frequently breaks the fourth wall. We first meet protagonist Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant in the film), an advertising executive, during a very busy day. He’s in a hotel lobby attempting to catch a waiter’s eye to send a telegram, when suddenly he’s mistaken for someone else, kidnapped by Russian agents — this is the cold war after all — and driven from Manhattan to an estate on Long Island. Emma Rice’s “North By Northwest” is at its most entertaining as a dance spectacle, using elements seemingly torn from Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks as well as acrobatics and ballet. Songs from the era are lip-synched here and there, and the narrator works overtime to keep things from spiraling. Leading the cast is the brilliant Danny Collins as Thornhill, Patricia Kujawska as Eve Kendall, the Eva Marie Saint role, and Katy Owen as the seemingly male narrator. As Emma Rice herself notes, Hitchcock has an extremely male perspective, but if examined carefully, the script has a decidedly feminist twist. Thus the gender switching. Sometimes less is more, and by the second act, the choreography and songs start to drag, and the cleverness fades as the brilliant crop duster scene leads to an incoherent ending on Mount Rushmore. Still, getting there is a lot of fun. “North by Northwest,” adapted and directed by Emma Rice, plays at ACT’s Toni Rembe Theatre through October 18th. For more information you can go to act-sf.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “North By Northwest” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “African Stew”  a rolling world premiere by Lisa B. Thompson, directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre at the Magic Theatre in Fort Mason through September 27, 2026.     TEXT OF REVIEW Tales of in-laws from opposite sides of the fence go way back, \o Babylonian times with Pyramus and Thisbe, and moving up a few millennia, we’ve got Abie’s Irish Rose in 1922, a sitcom from 1962, The In-Laws from 1979 and more recently Meet the Fockers, all mining comic gold. And now there’s African Stew, a world premiere play from Lorraine Hansberry theatre at the Magic in Fort Mason through September 27th. The play opens, after a brief flashback, as Julie Lawson, a young African American graduate student, is preparing a special Nigerian stew for her new future in-laws, arriving all the way from Lagos. Helping her and setting up the story is her black Latina best friend Trish. It’s easy to see where this is going.

Only not quite. This isn’t Coming to America. Julie’s parents aren’t ghetto. Dad’s a lawyer and mom owns an Africana book store. They’re decidedly upper middle class. And her fiancé King’s parent’s aren’t real kings. He’s a mega-rich CFO, and she travels the world, apparently looking for high fashion clothing. This may be her first time in the US, but he’s spent a lot of time in Dallas. No one is ignorant of the other. But still, when they all meet, sparks will fly. Avoiding cheap jokes, at least most of the time, they bicker, agree, and disagree, one couple versus the other, men at times versus women. Julie and King mostly stay out of it, but then their issues also crop up. I t’s about class, about culture, about baby names, about misconceptions. Women’s issues rear their heads, and maybe some folks have a little too much to drink. Part of the fun is watching the seven actors easily slip into their roles, most notably Margo Hall, who shines as the bookstore owning wife, Titus VanHook is a delight as the haughty African CEO, and then there’s Carla Gallando as Julie’s best friend, who spends the entire play just doing her own thing. Watching each of their reactions to what the others are doing and saying means keeping one’s focus on everyone at once. African Stew still needs some work, the play runs too long. and could use a more incisive ending. But when the show hits on contemporary black issues that are rarely encountered in the mainstream world, it soars. Not to sound cliched, but African Stew is, more often than not, a delicious entree. African Stew, presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, plays at the Magic in Fort Mason Center through September 27th, for more information you can go to lhtsf.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “African Stew,” presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, at the Magic appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Cook” by Eduardo Machado, at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through October 11, 2026.       TEXT OF REVIEW: Over the past seventy years, Cuba has gone through a remarkable series of changes. First there was the Batista coup overthrowing the 1940 Constitution, leading to the corruption and repression of the mafia years. Then came the Cuban revolution, with its promise of democracy and freedom. Then Castro’s socialist government offering free medical care education, along with censorship and repression. Then came the blockade, shortages and eventually a loosening. Some of those changes are evident in Eduardo Machado’’s heartfelt and emotionally rewarding play, originally produced in 2003, The Cook, now at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through October 11th. Gladys has been a cook in a very wealthy Havana home since she was thirteen. It is the end of December 1958, and she and her boyfriend Carlos, the family chauffeur and an avid Communist, are presenting a New Years Eve party for Havana’s elite, when suddenly her mistress, Adria, announces that she and her husband are immediately leaving the country, going into exile. Batista has fled, the revolution has been won. But they’ll be back, she says, and Gladys must keep the house safe for their return. The play takes us through two more eras in Cuba’s history, as seen through Gladys’ eyes and the eyes of others as they cope with the country’s changing economic and social landscape. For playwright Eduardo Machado, it was the food and a conversation with a real life Gladys that inspired him to sit down and write about Cuba through the lens of this one person and one kitchen. Gladys in the play is no communist, barely a revolutionary. Adria, she thinks, is her friend, not merely her employer. And while others are excited to be free of tyranny, it is her world that’s been thrown upside down. Revolutions have emotional consequences, some obvious, some subtle, and some, ultimately, eye-opening. Homophobia, misogyny and racism play their own roles after Castro comes to power. Not everything changes. The Cook is anchored in superb performances, particularly that of Yesenia Iglesias as Gladys, Gisela Chipe in a double role, and Daniel Duque-Estrada as Carlos. The gorgeous scenic design is by Tanya Orellano. The Cook operates on many levels, from the personal to the political, It’s often moving and always informative, and is a welcome addition to the Bay Area theatre scene. The Cook by Eduardo Machado, directed by David Mendizabel, (Mend-di-ZA-bel) plays at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through October 11th. For more information you can go to berkeley rep.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Cook” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The White Chip” by Sean Daniels, directed by Lance Gardner, at Marin Theatre through September 20, 2026.               TEXT OF REVIEW: We live in a world of addiction. Drugs, tobacco, overeating, even mindless scrolling. But the granddaddy of all addictions, going back millennia, is of course alcoholism. 

It’s been a long time since the drunken comedy of people like W.C. Fields or even Dean Martin, and the serious stuff, about actual alcoholism, is always very serious. So it’s a surprise and maybe a shock to see a comedy about the subject, The White Chip by Sean Daniels, now at Marin Theatre through September 20th, which tells a largely autobiographical story about a young theatre director who is, until he isn’t, a very functioning drunk. The White Chip sets itself up as a memory play, with Steven, our narrator, telling us how he first meets alcohol as a teenager, how the drinking continues ,while work afterward as a theatre director and artistic director collide with his growing love of the bottle. 

The White Chip itself refers to a poker-chip given at AA meetings to those who first show up, or to those coming back after a relapse. A new beginning, they say, a fresh start. And over the course of the play, Steven McAlister gets a lot of them. One of the primary methods of overcoming alcohol is to trust in a higher power. But what if you’re an atheist? What if religion makes you run in the opposite direction, as it does for the ex-Mormon Steven? How can you get better if the only cure is another addiction, an addiction to world of wishes and prayers? 

Ben Clark is pitch-perfect as Steven, narrator and participant in his life story. Two castmates play all the characters around him, Lyndsy Kail taking all the women’s roles, most affecting as Steven’s mother , and Danny Shae all the male roles, often escaping his usual Bay Area typecasting.

The narration is serious and sardonic, always self-aware, and the action and dialogue reflect the fact that, as the playwright himself once noted, the antics of alcoholics can often be silly and sidesplittingly funny. There’s hilarity in the tragedy. The White Chip feels so real, and Sean Daniels is so truthful in his writing, that the play could be triggering for those who have beaten addiction. And while many of us have never been in Steven’s shoes, we’ve all witnessed Stevens in our lives. No matter who you are, this is a production that hits very close to home. The White Chip by Sean Daniels, directed by Lance Gardner, plays at Marin Theatre through September 20th. For more information you can go to marintheatre.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The White Chip” at Marin Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “R.O.I. (Return on Investment) by Aaron Loeb, directed by Jonathan Moscone, a San Francisco Playhouse production at Creativity Theatre.       TEXT OF REVIEW: Back just a few short years ago, despite the warning dystopias of Skynet in the Terminator films and HAL in 2001, most believed technology had the power to turn this planet into a utopia. That was especially true since the tech titans seemed so idealistic. Elon Musk and his electric cars, Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post, the optimism of Steve Jobs. But times have changed. How does the horror of monopoly capitalism engage with the sunniness of a brighter tomorrow? These are heavy questions, which are subsumed inside the interpersonal power struggles that make up the bulk of the funny and profound World Premiere play, ROI, Return on Investment by Aaron Loeb, directed by Jonathan Moscone, now a San Francisco Playhouse production at the Creativity Theatre through September 5th. The Montrose Fund links investors with technology projects, and May Lee, the protege of the Fund’s founder, Paul Montrose, thinks she’s found her golden goose. It’s a young biotech genius named Willa McGovern, who explains she’s found the way to map individual genetic signs that point directly to cancer and alzheimers, and to then engineer genetic changes to cure both maladies. And Willa is the real deal. Over the course of the play we follow the three over a period of months and years as they weave their own scenarios and objectives, sometimes in tandem but often putting their individual priorities first. Which creates the kind of conflict that makes for thrilling theatre. Anthony Fusco has a field day as the gadget and toy happy Paul, Sharon Shao gives her all as the idealistic and snarky May, and Lauren English plays it both ways as the enigmatic Willa, the three-person chemistry sparking laughs and sometimes shocks as they play off each other. Also mention should be made of the excellent set design, lighting and sound.

Issues involving ethics, late stage capitalism, the power of the internet, the joy and horror of technology, its toys and surveillance mechanisms all rise inside the show, usually yielding more questions than answers. There’s always subtext behind the laughs. R.O.I. turns sober in its last scenes, a common trait of comedies these days, and it’s possible to argue with the resolution. But it’s the best new comedy to emerge from the Bay Area since the pandemic, and well worth seeing. R.O.I., Return On Investment by Aaron Loeb, directed by Jonathan Moscone, a San Francisco Playhouse production, plays at the Creativity Theatre through September 5th. For more information, go to sfplayhouse.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “R.O.I. (Return on Investment)” at San Francisco Playhouse Creativity Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Orpheus Descending” by Tennessee Williams, at Oakland Theatre Project through August 23, 2026.         Text of Review: Over the course of his career, Tennessee Williams wrote thirty full length plays and a host of one-acts. Yet looking at the list of plays produced by local and regional theaters, you’d think he only wrote The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. While it’s true there was a fall off in quality after 1965, and some of the early works were sketchy, there’s still quite a roster of plays that hardly ever get revived outside of New York. So it’s a kind of gift that Orpheus Descending is now playing at Oakland Theatre Project through August 23rd. 

The play has a curious and confusing history. A rewrite of one of Williams’ early plays, Battle of Angels, Orpheus Descending opened on Broadway in 1957 in the midst of Williams’ most creative period. It received mixed to negative reviews, and closed quickly, later becoming a Brando film titled The Fugitive Kind, which had no relationship to a same-titled early Williams play, and was later revived on Broadway in 1989 with Vanessa Redgrave, which was filmed but isn’t available streaming. Orpheus Descending opens in a dry goods store in a small white town in the South in the 1950s when Val, a drifter whose car has broken down, comes into the emporium and throws everyone in the town into turmoil, particularly Lady, wife of the store’s ill-tempered invalid owner. A romance, doomed of course, ensues. We do have to wait to meet them after a long expository duet from two lesser characters that Williams should have cut seventy years ago. 

O rpheus Descending is, as one critic noted for a recent revival, pure over the top Southern Gothic, verging on fantasy and brain rattling hysteria. It’s both Williams at his best, and at his most histrionic. This production, directed by Will Detlefsen, shows the play at its best through some of the actors, particularly Natalie Pasquinelli as Carol and Lisa Ramirez in the role of Lady. But we never understand Val’s attraction to Lady and the play suffers from the theatre’s configuration, forcing actors to shout from across the horizontal space, turning the play often into a one-note yelling spree. And some directorial choices that sounded good in theory just don’t work. But in a world of half-baked world premieres and undeserved Pulitzers, any Tennessee Williams is a treat, and when this production works, and it does work here and there, and when Williams is on a roll, it’s theatre as its meant to be seen. Orpheus Descending plays at Oakland Theatre Project through August 23rd. For more information go to oakland theatreproject. org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Orpheus Descending” at Oakland Theatre Project appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the musical “Hairspray” directed by Bill English, at San Francisco Playhouse through September 12, 2026.           Text of Review: The Golden Age of the Broadway musical faded in the sixties, the age of Sondheim and the pop opera died before the new century, and since then, the Great White Way has atrophied into a world of corporate jukeboxes, pointless renderings of hit movies, little shows that could, and hits that never close. And then there’s 2003’s Hairspray, now in a fine production at San Francisco Playhouse through September 12th. It’s not as if the show vanished; it pops up frequently in community theaters these days, filling in the gaps between the spelling bee Audrey II, Hedwig and a host of Sondheims. But without a Broadway revival, Hairspray never inserted itself into the canon. And it should, particularly now. John Waters’ most mainstream film from 1988 was a tribute to the outsiders, outcasts and freaks he grew up with in Baltimore, those very people inhabiting his earlier films, notably his muse, the drag superstar Divine, Harris Glen Milstead, cast as Edna Turnblad, mother of the full figured Tracy Turnblad. The film was a love letter to the way song and dance could overcome racism, body-shaming and all the biases that had control of America in 1962. Hairspray, the musical, with tuneful and memorable songs by Marc Shaiman, stayed true to the politics, and kept memories of Divine alive by always casting Edna in drag, first with Harvey Fierstein and later John Travolta. Hairspray was the sweetest of all John Waters films, and that sweetness is reflected in the musical itself, and particularly in this production. It’s seen here in the superb performance of Ella Ruth Francis, who embodies Tracy with as much joy, energy and voice as any performer in the role on Broadway or off. She is Tracy Turnblad . Other standouts include Jordan Covington as Seaweed, whose body movement in every scene is a joy to behold. And there’s Jeanine Anderson as a gospel voiced Motormouth Maybelle and Alison Ewing as the amusingly villainous Velma Van Tussle. Jonathan Chisolm as Edna takes a backseat during most of the show, only stepping out in the final scenes. The casting of Edna may have once been a tribute to Divine, but today there’s a political subtext that enhances the show’s theme of inclusion. One caveat: the decibel level toward the end is a bit off the charts, so be forewarned. But mostly it’s just a grand night in the theatre, a musical to enjoy and savor. Hairspray, directed by Bill English, plays at San Francisco Playhouse through September 12th. For more information, you can go to sfplayhouse.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA.     The post Review: “Hairspray” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Employee Dhama Handbook: a world premiere play by Geetha Reddy at TheatreWorks Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto through August 2, 2026.       TEXT OF REVIEW Discrimination comes at you in many ways. Racial bigotry. Religious fanaticism. Gender and disabled bias. Homophobia. Fat-shaming, agism. The list lengthens as you expand to other cultures. There’s the whole tribal thing too. Then there’s the caste system from India. Banned in 1950, it still lives on under the surface.Explaining caste in detail takes too long, but some jobs simply can’t go to members of one caste or another. The Brahmin are on top; Dalits at the bottom. But has the system spread to America, and if it has, how does it manifest? That question, and the relationship of that particular bias to the caste system of corporations lies at the heart of The Employee Dharma Handbook, a new play by Geetha Reddy, at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto through August 2nd. The focus is on a handful of workers at a fictional aerospace company; they’re building a rocket to Jupiter, and if it all works out, the whole crew will become rich. But Leela, a young Indian scientist born in the U.S., has just been passed over by her boss, Khrish, for an important promotion that instead went to another Indian, Baasu, who himself understands it should have gone to Leela. If this isn’t resolved, there is no team. Enter Val, the black HR director, no stranger to bias herself, investigating the matter. Was the problem Leela’s gender? Or something else? Khrish is Brahmin,. So is Baasu. Leela is not. No, no, says Khrish, it’s not like that at all. But maybe it is. The Employee Dharma Handbook often doesn’t know what kind of play it wants to be. Serious critique? Farce? Comedy-drama? The capitalism and caste dichotomy unclear. The comedy not as funny as it needs to be. 

As a world premiere it needs work. But the elements are there. Each character, at one point or other, becomes facilitator, accuser, victim, winner and loser. The cast handles the role switching well, particularly Kathryn Smith-McGlynn as Val and Kunal Dudhecker as Baasu. As the relationships twist and turn, we see a playwright at the top of her game.. There comes a point toward the end where The Employee Dharma Handbook goes off the rails, and in order to make a point, the characters become pawns of the playwright. Still, the play is often a thoughtful, funny, and very original ride with hopefully a bright future. The Employee Dharma Handbook by Geetha Reddy plays at TheatreWorks Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, and for more information, you can go to theatre works.org. Im Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA.   The post Review: “The Employee Dharma Handbook” at TheatreWorks Palo Alto appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Lunchbox” at Berkeley Rep‘s Roda Theatre through July 5, 2026.             TEXT OF REVIEW The golden age of the Broadway musical died over a half century ago. The post-golden age of Sondheim and the rock opera faded before the new century. Since then, we’ve had corporate movie adaptations, jukebox junk and an increasing number of parody meta-musicals. But good and great shows do slip through the cracks. Hamilton, certainly, but also Fun Home, Next to Normal, Suffs and others. It’s quite possible that another gem eventually to hit New York, is currently at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre through July 5th, and that’s The Lunchbox, created by the team of Ritesh Batra and The Lazours.

Based on a 2013 film of the same name, The Lunchbox is about one of those one in a million chance meetings that change people and the direction of their lives. Mumbai, or Bombay as it was known, has a complex system in which business people’s hot lunches are delivered from home to workplace in the middle of the day via a phalanx of what are known as dabbawallahs. Despite millions of people and a gigantic metropolis, this system is incredibly accurate with spectacular on-time deliveries.

But there are screwups. One day, a young wife, Ila, sends her lunch canister to her husband’s office — the canisters have multiple smaller bowls — which never arrives. Somehow, it winds up on the desk of Sajaan, an older widower on the verge of retirement.He sends back a note. She responds. He’s decades older, she’s married with a daughter; romance may not be in the cards, but connection is. What makes The Lunch Box work so well is both its familiarity with musical theater tropes and its differences. You can hear a bit of Sondheim in the way music and lyrics meld to further the story, but there’s also the very distinctive sound of South Asian melody, harmony, instruments and rhythm, punctuated by Bollywood style ensemble dances. The result is organic, it feels right. The Lunchbox unites the two art forms into one, with the spectacle never overwhelming the delicacy of the story, songs, or performances, all of which, by the way, are very, very good, as is the gorgeous set design. The show is kind of a miracle, code-switching in a way that feels wholly original, while maintaining the sensibility and sensitivity of its source material. A note of caution: The Lunch Box is a soufflé. Any attempt to fix it, to make it more big ticket-friendly, could kill it. The show is perfect as it is. The Lunchbox plays at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre through July 5th. For more information you can to go berkeleyrep.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Lunchbox” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Woinsky reviews “Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really: by Kate Hamill at San Francisco Playhouse through June 27, 2026.           TEXT OF REVIEW According to Google’s unreliable AI, nobody beats Dracula as the single most portrayed literary character in film history, with over two hundred direct adaptations, parodies and crossover appearances. You can add the hundreds of theatrical versions floating around as well. Due to a screw-up in the 19th Century, Dracula has always been in the public domain in the United States. 

There’s also the whole vampire thing too, Vlad Tepes, Anne Rice, the Lost Boys. In 2020, following a flurry of Jane Austen adaptations, playwright Kate Hamill chose to take a bite out of Bram Stoker, and thus we have Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really … yes, that’s the title, which now runs at San Francisco Playhouse through June 27th. This Dracula hews to the beats of the Stoker novel, and at the same time turns it upside down. Dracula is not merely a monster, he’s the archetype of toxic masculinity, particularly as muscularly and scarily performed by Johnny Moreno. Renfield, or rather Mrs. Renfield, the fly-eating comic lunatic, played here in an indelible performance by Stacy Ross, is the night’s most tragic victim, the rejected female child, yearning for daddy to take her back. After a brief prologue the show opens at the doors of Dracula’s castle in Transylvania, where estate agent Jonathan Harker, in a physical performance by James Aaron Oh that runs from torment to slapstick, meets up with the titular vampire, and his vampire wives, who are themselves victims of a misogynist society.

Then we move on to the main story involving Jonathan’s Wife Mina, an engaging Sharon Shao, and her friend Lucy, a feisty Nemma Adeni, she’s a proto-feminist planning to marry for security, certainly not love. And her fiancé, the staid anti-feminist Dr. Seward of the asylum, a deliberately stiff Josh Schell. And then we meet Dr. Van Helsing, in a cowboy hat, played with gusto by Susi Damilano, and all the elements fall in place. It’s to director Bill English’s credit that Dracula stays most of the time on a tightrope between Victorian melodrama, horror and camp. The laughter is uneasy, the pathos over the top, and the violence pretty graphic. This Dracula doesn’t shy away from its bloody roots. While the subject may be fear and the subtext dealing with the evils of traditional masculinity, this is a fearless production with an impeccable cast. If you don’t mind the viscera. Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy Really by Kate Hamill plays at San Francisco Playhouse through June 27th. For more information, you can go to sfplayhouse.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Pictures from Home” at Marin Theatre through May 31, 2026           TEXT OF REVIEW Acclaimed photographer Larry Sultan based his career on capturing life as lived through his art, and what better notion than collating photos of his own family and home growing up in Sherman Oaks in Southern California during the middle of the twentieth century. This collection of snapshots became a book published in 1992, which was then adapted for the stage as “Pictures from Home”, which plays at Marin Theatre through May 31st. In this memory play, Larry, who died in 2009, tells the story of his visits to his parents while preparing the book, as the three, parents and son, comment on the pictures and bicker with one another. Irving Sultan, a retired salesman, is no Willy Loman. He sold well and retired well-off, always ready to explain exactly what makes a great salesman, often to Larry’s chagrin. Jean Sultan, ever acerbic, puts up with her husband’s toxic masculinity, refusing to take his bullying and having a life of her own. Always seemingly on the verge of divorce, they will stay together until the end. What makes Pictures from Home work so well in this Marin Theatre production — the show began off broadway with in 2023 with a cast that included Nathan Lane — is the truthfulness, in the dialogue, in all three performances, and in the direction of Jonathan Moscone. There’s no heightened speech, no pregnant theatrical pauses. These are real people sounding like a family, dysfunctional maybe, but real. The performances by Victor Talmadge as Irving and Susan Koozin as Jean are so truthful that even if they’re not your actual parents or grandparents, they still sound like them in their sparring and quarrelling. Dan Cantor, as the narrator and son, physically a dead ringer for the real Larry, pulls off his double duties without a hitch. Pictures from Home can at times be painful to watch. These people are maybe too real for comfort. Do you really want to spend an evening with relatives like these, didn’t you move as far away from them as possible? Our memories create golden ages where such squabbles and power plays don’t exist. Which is why Larry Sultan’s photos have such resonance. His photos were more credible than the memories he retained, which is why his books and exhibitions work so well. This play mirrors that credibility. With truthfulness in short supply these days in social media and in news reports, finding it in a memory play is all the more special. Pictures from Home by Sharr White, directed by Jonathan Moscone, plays at Marin Theatre through May 31st. For more information you can go to marintheatre.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Pictures from Home’ at Marin Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the national touring company production of  “Hell’s Kitchen” at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco.           FULL TEXT: Following the release of her debut album in 2001, Songs in A Minor, singer songwriter Alicia Keys became an instant superstar, a position firmed up by a series of successful albums and Grammy Awards over the course of the next decade. So it is not surprising that a jukebox musical would at some point emerge. And thus we have Hells Kitchen, which runs at the Orpheum Theatre through May 24th. Most jukebox shows fall into two categories: a history of the performer’s career, with the songbook performed in the order the songs were recorded, with occasional numbers shoehorned into the story, or an original story retconned to make the songs fit the plot. Hells Kitchen presents new songs and shoehorned ones in a sanitized autobiography. The show focuses on Alicia Keys’ life at the age of seventeen, as she and her single mom reside in a high-rise inthe gentrifying neighborhood west of Times Square. She fights with her mom over an older boy and winds up learning piano from an elderly woman living in the building’s public room. The low stakes — who didn’t fight with their parents at that age? means there’s minimal forward movement. Despite the piano lessons, we never learn of Ali’s talent, nor her ambitions. The songs themselves, well it’s hard to follow lyrics distorted by melisma and drowned out by orchestration. The reconstructed old songs are unrecognizable, and the new ones have no center. Many songs start small and turn into a cacophany, with random dancers performing aerobics disguised as choreography. This may work at a Demi Lovato concert, or a Warriors Halftime Show, but doesn’t quite fly inside a stage musical. There are pleasures, most notably in the work of Kennedy Caughell as Jersey, Ali’s mother, Desmond Sean Elliott as Davis, Ali’s dad, and most notably, Roz White as Miss Liza Jane, the pianist who teaches Ali how to be a musician. And while Alicia Keys isn’t there to perform them, her songs all work within her own specific musical ballpark. It’s Alicia Keys without Alicia Keys, one supposes. Ultimately, none of the complaints matter. The show ran two years on Broadway, over 750 performances. Costing 22 million dollars to produce, the show made back only 60% of its capitalization. This tour is an attempt to make up the difference, and judging by the ovation opening night at the Orpheum, it just might. Hells Kitchen runs at the Orpheum through May 24th. For more information, go to atgtickets.com. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Alicia Keys’ Hells Kitchen” at the Orpheum in San Francisco appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the Royal Shakespeare Company touring production of “Hamnet” at ACT Toni Rembe (Geary) Theatre through May 24, 2026.         Text of Review: In November 2025, a film adaptation of the 2020 Maggie O’Farrell novel Hamnet hit the screens of America. Four months later, Jessie Buckley won an Oscar for the role of Agnes Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, and mother of their three children. But back in April 2023, the same month that Chloe Zao was contracted to co-author and direct the screenplay of Hamnet, a stage adaptation of the novel made its premiere under the auspices of the Royal Shakespeare Company at their home, the Swan Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon in England. And it’s a touring production by that same company that is now at ACT’s Toni Rembe Theatre through May 24th. From a purely academic viewpoint, it’s fascinating to examine the differences between the two adaptations. The same high points exist in both, sometimes the dialogue even matches. The characters are mostly the same, though the film’s Will, played by Paul Mescal, is warmer and more family oriented than Rory Alexander’s Will on stage. The line from late in the film, “you weren’t here” for instance, now has a resonance because the on stage Will often is not there, spending more time in London than his family would like, and Agnes complains. Agnes’s ugly relationship with her stepmother Joan is fleshed out in the play, as is the turbulent relationship between Will and his father, played on stage by the scene-stealing Nigel Barrett. Act One of the play takes twenty minutes on film. The film zooms into the family surrounding Shakespeare’s  young son. The play tells a more broader story, how Shakespeare became Shakespeare. Jessie Buckley’s Agnes is someone we deeply care about, almost a modern woman dropped five hundred years into the past. Kemi-Bo Jacobs’ Agnes on stage is extremely difficult. There’s a reason why it takes a while for the other characters to warm up to her. She’s often loud and angry, with an annoying cadence in her voice. It’s almost no wonder that Will wants to spend so much time in London. Which is likely the more authentic performance? One other thing: the film nails the ending. The play, not so much. But then again, here we have a top-notch British production, the kind you’d only see in Stratford-on-Avon or maybe the West End, in person, with a massive gorgeous set, and actors who have been studying Shakespeare since infancy. People travel to England for productions like this, whatever their flaws. And now it’s right at your front door. The Royal Shakespeare Company and Neal Street productions Hamnet plays at ACT’s Toni Rembe Theatre through May 24th. For more information go to act-sf.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Hamnet” at ACT Toni Rembe (Geary) Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the musical “Come from Away” at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through May 10, 2026.       Text of Review: Works of art age in different ways. Chekhov’s plays, for example, were written and performed as contemporary pieces. Now their dachas and threadbare aristocrats are artifacts of history, though the universal truths remain. And nobody in their right mind would today produce Milk and Honey, Jerry Herman’s ode to Zionism. So what to make of the hit musical, “Come from Away,” which made its Broadway debut less than ten years ago, and is now in a regional production at TheatreWorks Mountain View venue through May 10th? The show tells the story of how the town of Gander Newfoundland became the temporary home of thousands of travelers forced to land there in the wake of the tragedy of 9/11, when United States airspace was closed. The town and surrounding burgs all came alive with hospitality, proving that Canadians and Americans were all one family, and a family takes care of its own. A tale of comradery in the midst of tragedy. A happy play involving 9/11? Yes, it was possible because that day and its aftermath was still the defining moment in the lives of American adults living in 2017. There was the before, there was the after. “Come from Away” did not need to stress the feeling. Everyone in the audience knew it. It was in the pit of their stomachs and had been for over a decade. But that was then. In 2020 came the lockdown, a new before and after. And then came Trump Two and yet another before and after. A now coarser world where amiability just doesn’t hold much sway. That sick feeling over the towers? Gone, now we doomscroll and hope tomorrow there will be a planet. And “Come from Away”? The show feels too light, too negiligible for its own good, with a hole at its emotional core. This staging, which reflects the original, avoids images of the towers coming down, apparently too traumatic for audiences a decade ago watching a feel-good musical. Maybe it’s time to rethink the presentation. Also, looking at waterfalls and domestic squabbles?  Who cares? And graciousness isn’t going to stop Stephen Miller. Today, of course, would Canada even let the planes land? The damage wrought by the current regime goes on and on. The acting, the singing, the choreography, on that level this production is first rate. It’s all quite lovely. But the depth that keeps Chekhov alive is absent. This “Come from Away” is gorgeous, but the show itself is an empty footnote. Come from Away plays at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through May 10th. For more information you can go to theatreworks.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theater for KPFA. The post Review: “Come from Away” at TheatreWorks Mountain View appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Monsters” by Ngozi Anyanwu at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through May 3, 2026. West Coast Premiere.           TEXT OF REVIEW: (minor differences between the text and the recorded review). Putting aside solo performances, the heart of the theatrical experience usually lies in the interaction between two characters, no matter the size of the cast. Obviously, several characters in plays can interact with each other at once, but the most intense scenes are usually one on on. When these interchanges work well, we talk about the chemistry between actors. When they don’t, it becomes obvious. One actor is listening and responding, the other pretending, and the audience knows it. Here’s the thing, though. None of it quite works the same way in film or TV. There are multiple takes, cross-cutting. Confrontations might even be recorded separately and put together in post-production. It feels real, but too often it isn’t. Only in live theatre, happening in real time, can we see the the meeting in real time, in front of us. And that’s the key to why The Monsters by Ngozi Anyanwu, now at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through May 3rd works so well. Big is a fighter in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, which has grown into a major sports competition and combines various disciplines which can, at times, seem almost balletic. Lil, whose real name is Josephine, shows up after one of his bouts, and after some back and forth, reveals she’s the younger half-sister he abandoned in his late teens to go out in the world and find himself. It’s awkward. They’d been close when she was at the start of her middle childhood, and then he was gone. Gradually, he will now feel the pull of family, as will she. But it will take time, and effort on both their parts. This is a play about siblings, about the restrictions inherent upon black people growing up in mixed and broken families, with the physicality of the competition serving as metaphor for their growing relationship, as attitudes and situations shift between the two. The playwright herself, Ngozi Anyanwu plays Lil, spunky, irreverent, and Sullivan Jones more than matches her as Big, in both his physicality and his emotional truthfulness. Their interplay, their moments of quiet, of fun, of anger, and of confrontation, can only reach its apex in live theatre. The playwright notes that quote here are big political things happening in the world, I think the way to engage politically is by humanizing people, and that starts at home. I’m always trying to make sure people feel seen. In The Monsters, both through the play’s script, through the direction of Tamilla Woodward, and through the often raw and honest acting, these characters and their need for connection is clearly and satisfyingly seen. The Monsters by Ngozi Anyanwu plays at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through May 3rd. For more information you can go to Berkeley.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Monsters” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.