The Pain Ends with Death: ‘The Children’ West Coast premiere at the Aurora
Top-notch acting and direction opens Aurora’s 2020 with a well-written play that doesn’t stick the landing.
The Forest for the Trees: ‘The Jungle’ at The Curran
Before The Curran becomes Hogwarts, it hosts an excellent production of another hit British show.
Silly Shakespeare Double-Feature: ‘Caesar Maximus’ by We Players AND ‘War of the Roses’ by Cal Shakes
Two of the Bay Area’s best companies make the same miscalculation when adapting The Bard.
At the Hour of Our Death: ‘4.48 Psychosis’ at Anton’s Well
Sarah Kane’s rarely-produced final work is the subject of a wonderfully haunting production by Anton’s Well.
‘In Braunau’ is Out of Ideas: World Premiere (Sandbox) production by SF Playhouse
This would-be satire of White progressivism soon devolves into a poor treatise on the evils of fascism.
Bitter Pill Double-Feature: ‘The Effect’ at SF Playhouse and ‘Eureka Day’ world premiere at Aurora Theatre
The idea of “better living through chemistry” results in an imperfect SF Playhouse show and an excellent Aurora show.
The Stupidity Principle: ‘Heisenberg’ at ACT
Science has nothing to do with this poorly-written May-December rom-com at the ACT.
Ladies’ Nights: ‘Revolt. She said…’ at Crowded Fire and ‘Kursk’ at Theatre Lunatico
A feminist manifesto play and a gender-swapped submarine drama make for two bold (if uneven) evenings of female-driven theatre.
The Thinking Man's Idiot 