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KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “M. Butterfly” at San Francisco Playhouse through March 14, 2026.               TEXT OF REVIEW (minor changes were made during recording and editing): M. Butterfly Back in 1964, a French Diplomat in China became infatuated with a singer from the Beijing Opera. When they met, the singer, now wearing men's clothing, said she was a woman presenting as a man. They embarked on an affair that began in China and ended several years later in Paris, where it turned out the diplomat was passing secret information to his lover. He later said he never knew that the singer was really a man. That story caught the public's eye, and not long afterward, first time playwright David Henry Hwang used that story to create a play,which launched the career of B.D. Wong and later became a film with Jeremy Irons. And now a production of M. Butterfly is at San Francisco Playhouse through March 14th. Of course, times change. When first produced on Broadway in 1988, gender roles outside of the gay community were rigid, and the East was still somehow viewed as exotic in the United States. But change was already happening. Ten years earlier, Edward Said had redefined the term “orientalism” to describe, now quoting from Google, a Western system of representation that depicts the “East as static, exotic, and inferior to justify Western imperialism and domination.” On top of that, gender fluidity hit the zeitgeist. While David Henry Hwang did update the play in 2017, it turns out there was no need, as we see and hear in the original 1988 version. The show opens. We are in a prison cell where Rene, a former French diplomat, is serving out a sentence of treason. Mocked and reviled, he tries to explain exactly what happened and why, and how his uncontrollable obsession with the opera singer Song led to his ruin. The prison is real, and metaphorical. Rene is trapped in his fantasy and in his understandings, most of which are wrong and foolhardy. Unfolding as a subtext is an examination of gender roles, of myths about the east, and of sexuality in general, as well as of the lies we tell ourselves, the lies we tell others, and the strictures society and governments put on all of us. The production's secret weapon are its two leads. Dean Lillard as Rene and Edric Young as Song are both brilliant, with a palpable connection, and repulsion. They are assisted by a superb cast in other roles, and mention must also be made of the gorgeous set design, lighting and costumes. This M. Butterfly is a sumptuous feast of theatre, for both the eyes, the intellect and the emotion. M Butterfly plays at San Francisco Playhouse through March 14th. For more information you can go to sfplayhouse.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “M. Butterfly” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the national touring company of “The Notebook, the Musical” at ATG Orpheum Theatre through March 1, 2025.       TEXT OF REVIEW Towards the end of the twentieth century, as the corporate world eyed the record-breaking receipts of shows like Cats and Les Miz, it became clear that if you could turn any IP, intellectual property, into a musical, a new stream of profits would come a-calling. Its also true that producers have always been searching for properties that might sing, and often it's a labor of love. So is “The Notebook: The Musical”, now in a national tour at the Orpheum theatre through March 1st  a labor of love, or just another brand name for Broadway's corporate class to exploit for profit? Based on the weepy best-seller by Nicholas Sparks and the 2004 film with Ryan Gosling and Gena Rowlands, among others, The Notebook on Broadway presented theatregoers with a free box of tissues at each performance. The show received mixed reviews and closed after nine months, in December, 2024, before embarking on this tour, hoping to make back its investment. Noah Calhoun, an older man, is in a nursing home visiting his wife, Allie, whose memory has been ripped out of her by Alzneimers. The only way to get her to remember is by reading his notebook diary of their life together. She had promised him, at the time of her diagnosis, that if he does that, she'll come back to him. So we embark on their love story, as two couples play Noah and Allie at seventeen and again at twenty seven, while old Noah reads to old Allie. But back to the weepie business. Much of  the show is saccharine and manipulative, particularly in the flashbacks focusing on parental meddling and class distinctions. And if Allie only focused on the songs, she'd never get her memory back. But there is much more going on here, and inside The Notebook: The Musical is a much better show than the producers were able to promote. It's a show about loss, loss of memory, loss of mobility, loss of health. In that sense, the creators have focused on musical theatre as metaphor, with body movement and dance and snippets of dialogue and song representing the swirl going on in Allie's mind as she attempts to find meaning inside the chaos. Along that path, the strongest elements are the performances of Beau Gravitte and Sharon Catherine Brown, who shine in their scenes, and take the show into places other musicals haven't attempted, and why ultimately, The Notebook works far better than it should. The Notebook: The Musical plays at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre through March 1st. For more information you can go to broadwaysf.com, which takes you to an agttickets site. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Notebook, the Musical” at the Orpheum appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Mountaintop” at Oakland Theatre Project through Feb. 15, 2026.       TEXT OF REVIEW: In late 2008, it felt as if we'd entered a new world. The Republicans were out of office, people of color were being appointed to key positions in business and government, and a black man had just been elected president. Martin Luther King's dream seemingly had come true. Stories of his infidelities had come to light two decades earlier, and he'd been shown to have, as they say, feet of clay. He was no longer a god, but he was a hero. And Obama's election had proven it. And in June 2009, The Mountaintop, a play by Katori Hall, about the last evening in the life of Martin Luther King, premiered in a small theatre in London, later moving to the West End, and coming to Broadway two years later. Now, under a very different national circumstance, The Mountaintop can be seen in an Oakland Theatre Project production, which runs through February 15th, this coming weekend. We are in Dr. King's room at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, just after his sermon, I've Been to the Mountaintop. Rain pounds the windows, lightning flashes, lights go on and off. He's sent his assistant out looking for cigarettes and he's waiting impatiently. He calls room service for coffee. A maid quickly appears. They chat, flirt, and then things take a surprising turn. In this staging, King's motel room is also his tomb. We are not quite in the real world. But Dr. King, as performed brilliantly by William Thomas Hodgson, feels definitely real, as does Sam Jackson as Camae, the maid. Also real is the intimacy of the theatre, especially during the play's various moments of crisis, when the audience feels like part of the production. The times are very different now than back in 2009. As the co-director of the production Michael Socrates Moran writes in the program, today It may very well be that the fate of our democracy hinges on the capacity of citizens to engage in non-violent resistance against armed federal paramilitary troops. He goes on to say that, Dr. King's worldview stands as a bastion for radical humanization not only in the face of fascism, but also in the face of a status quo that privileges peace over justice, equality and freedom. In 2026, Dr. King's mountaintop feels even further away than it did nearly sixty years ago, and what felt triumphant then takes on an irony nobody could have expected. But the play's focus on King's humanity and the humanity of his message still remains, as does the power of theater in this formidable production The Mountaintop plays at Oakland Theatre Project through February 15th. For more information, you can go to oaklandtheatreproject.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Mountaintop” at Oakland Theatre Project appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov at Marin Theatre through February 22, 2026.           TEXT OF REVIEW (differs slightly from final edit for time). ​​​​​For centuries, serfs had no power in Russia. They weren't quite slaves, but they also were not free. It was a feudal society, run by a powerful nobility ruled by an all-powerful Tsar. Due to societal and economic advances, that all changed in 1861 when Alexander the second freed the serfs. Even though their economic status shifted, and a new middle class was born, the old nobility carried on as before, eventually finding themselves in poverty. The great playwright Anton Chekhov wrote about these newly impoverished aristocrats, first in Uncle Vanya, and then later in his final play, The Cherry Orchard, which runs in a new production at Marin Theatre through February 22nd. The spendthrift Madame Lyubov has returned to her country estate with her two daughters, having bankrupted the family while in Paris. The estate itself is now up for auction, and the only way to save it is to sell the land to make way for a vacation home development. That means destroying the fabled cherry orchard, once a key element of the family's inheritance. The production uses a 1993 translation by Paul Schmidt, which underlines the parallels to today's world, of which there are several, while maintaining a style that makes clear this is a translation. The characters never use contractions, such as won't, can't or weren't. This combination of the modern and the archaic creates a distance, which is translated by director Carey Perloff into a heightened form of acting, most successful in the comic segments and less so in the pathos. At times the production almost feels like a musical, say, A Little Night Music, with Lyubov substituting for Desiree Armfeldt. Carey Perloff has assembled a who's who cast of Bay Area actors. Liz Sklar leads the cast as Madame Lyubov, ever the diva, and Anthony Fusco matches her as her brother Gayev, both showing the befuddlement befitting two souls who can't wrap their heads around their predicament. Then there's the comic brilliance of Danny Scheie as the neighbor Pishchik and Jomar Tagatac as the family clerk. Rounding out the Bay Area names are Leontyne Mbele-Mbong as the circus born governess and Marin Theatre artistic director Lance Gardner as Lopatkin, the serf turned businessman.. In an age when the theatrical canon is often reviled, and a time when the plays of Checkov, Ibsen and Shaw are often confined to high school, college, and community stages, creating a professional production can be a great risk. But at Marin Theatre, it's a risk well worth taking. The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, directed by Carey Perloff, plays at Marin Theatre through February 22. More more information, you can go to marintheatre.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA.   The post Review: “The Cherry Orchard” at Marin Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “How Shakespeare Changed My Life” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre through March 1, 2026.           TEXT OF REVIEW You're just a kid. You're Black .Your teachers think you're stupid, a hopeless fat boy. At home, your mom tossed out your junkie dad. Mom herself is ice cold, and when you're sixteen, Mom throws you out on the street. You're homeless, destitute, and you love Shakespeare. That's the start of the world premiere one person play, How Shakespeare Saved My Life, written and performed by Jacob Ming-Trent, now at Berkeley Rep's Peets Theatre through March 1st. The play is billed as semi-autobiographical, and it's unclear what the relationship is between Jacob the character and Jacob the playwright performer. The real Jacob, for example, was already on stage at age eleven, and was admitted to acting school in New York at the age of seventeen, before developing a career in Hollywood. It shouldn't matter, but in retrospect, it does. The story, at least, feels real, and Jacob Ming-Trent has the acting chops to make it so, to grab an audience and to keep them. When the play works, it works wonders. The basic idea is that Shakespeare himself was an urban artist, in his own lifetime no different than Tupac or Biggie or the Wu-Tang Clan. Famous lines from the plays are easily incorporated into the dialogue, and each takes on new meaning and resonance. The Elizabethan poet meets the street. Jacob Ming-Trent has an innate ability to create empathy, an empathy that expands via the brilliant immersive staging of director Tony Taccone. When the lights, the sound, the acting and the script all work in tandem, the result can be stunning, as witness the character Jacob's discovery of James Baldwin, or his scenes with his dad. The theater shakes, the images flashed behind the actor never stop. But not everything does work. Phone dialogues with God through an old fashioned telephone fall flat, as does a sequence in a jail cell with an individual of uncertain gender. Some Shakespearean monologues go on too long, and the play itself does not stick the landing, leaving the audience wondering how the play's Jacob became the stage's Jacob. Audience participation, so successful earlier, now dissipates in a final, unearned test. But as a world premiere, some of these issues can be corrected going forward and there is enough here, and Jacob Ming-Trent is talented enough, to find solutions to these and other problematic elements. How Shakespeare Saved My Life is a work in progress, but even so, it's a diamond in the rough. How Shakespeare Saved My Life plays at Berkeley Rep's Peets Theatre through March 1st. For more information you can go to berkeleyrep.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “How Shakespeare Changed My Life” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the Streetcar Project's production of  “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through February 1, 2026.           TEXT OF REVIEW (some changes were made during recording and cuts for timing were made for radio). ​​​​​The greatest of plays often allow for multiple interpretations. We see that all the time in Shakespeare. We see it in Arthur Miller, in the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein, even in August Wilson. And of course we see it in Tennessee Williams. Most interpretations of Williams' second play, A Streetcar Named Desire, are inhibited by the famous movie, which catapulted Marlon Brando to fame. It's hard to see Blanche Dubois beyond Vivien Leigh's faded Southern belle, and it's even harder to see the crude Stanley Kowalski past Brando's scream of “Stella!” But those interpretations, however close to Williams' wishes, obscure the play's lyricism and more to the point, his greatest creation, Blanche Dubois. This production by The Streetcar Project, now at ACT's Toni Rembe Theatre through February 1st, which has played in a variety of site-specific spaces, changes the paradigms, first by removing all props and sets, and second by discardmg the characters' accents, particularly that of Blanche Dubois, played by project co-creator, Lucy Owen. In addition, the full text has been restored. In this production, the stage area is fully open, bounded on three sides by two rows of audience members on folding chairs. Characters wander on and off stage, their voices carry but their bodies are sometimes hard to find.. it can feel like a reading, a radio play, but not always, and not in Act Two. What this shows now is that Streetcar is clearly Blanche's play. Whether with her sister, Stella, beautifully embodied by Heather Lind – their sisterhood is palpable, or with Mitch, Stanley's friend who falls for Blanche, played by James Russell as a product of his era, or with the brutal Stanley, performed by Brad Koed, who never quite escapes Brando. Without the accent, without the affectations, Lucy Owen's Blanche is revealed as brilliant, incisive, misunderstood and wronged. Her lies are no longer signs of weakness; they're not delusional; they're necessary for her survival, and the survival of her pride. It's a fascinating interpretation, which Williams' poetic dialogue om;y amplifies. She's caught in the trap of her times, and it's brought her down low. While much is gained here, something is also lost. Concessions to time and place come from the sound system and from costumes, but much of the action becomes incomprehensible without visible cues and with only the four actors. The giant stage, the cavernous theatre weaken the passion between Stella and Stanley. Chemistry vanishes when characters seem a football field apart. Would such a strong Blanche break so thoroughly at the end of the play? But whatever those issues, this is a Streetcar well worth visiting in its short run, through February 1st. For more information, you can go to act-sf.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “A Streetcar Named Desire” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Sunday in the Park with George” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage extended through January 31, 2026.   Text of Review: The late great composer lyricist Stephen Sondheim tackled a variety of subjects in his work, from an examination of relationships in Company to obsession in Passion, to gun culture in Assassins But two shows seem a bit more autobiographical, Merrily We Roll Along, which incorporates elements of his own life, and Sunday in the Park with George, which examines the role of the artist, both as creator and promoter. Because of the large cast and the giant canvas of the show itself, pun intended, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park is usually presented in large venues. Now Shotgun Players has taken on the Pulitzer Prize winning musical in the moreintimate confines of the Ashby Stage in Berkeley, running through January 31st, 2026. Musically, lyrically, in most ways, Sunday in the Park is sui generis. Act One focuses in on the creation by Geroge Seurat of his room sized masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, while Act Two takes place a century later as another George, his great-grandson attempts to get funding for his own art exhibit. Critics, money, getting it right, painting the perfect hat. The songs themselves serve as musical counterparts to the pointillist art George Seurat is creating on stage. The late Steven Sondheim: (actuality) As with all Sondheim musicals, lyrical precision takes as much precedence as singing voice and acting. This particular show also requires harmonies that blend together into something gorgeous and almost unearthly. Here, the Shotgun production succeeds beautifully. It also succeeds with Kevin Singer in the lead role, who fully embodies both Georges with an almost innate sense of what the creators had intended. He is complemented by Mara Sotelo, whose voice enhances Sondheim's most exquisite music. The intimacy is a different matter. A relatively small space is made smaller by putting audience members on both sides of the set, and when the entire cast is performing at once, it all feels cluttered and chaotic, actors seemingly tripping over one another. The duets, with the stage now empty, feel static. But the glorious music, the brilliant lyrics, the harmonies, the actors in the leading roles, and of course, the play's focus on art and artists, make this Sunday in the Park with George well worth visiting. Sunday in the Park with George plays at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through January 31, 2026. For more information, you can go to shotgunplayers.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA The post Review: “Sunday in the Park with George” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.

A short excerpt from a 2019 interview with James Lapine, who collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on “Sunday in the Park with George” and “Into The Woods.” Sunday in the Park with George plays at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through January 31, 2026. “Into the Woods” plays at San Francisco Playhouse through January 17, 2026. The post James Lapine on his collaboration with Stephen Sondheim appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Sally and Tom” by Suzan Lori-Parks at Marin Theatre through November 23, 2025.           Text of Review: All Men Are Created Equal. Or so Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. It's kind of weird then, to know that Jefferson owned slaves. And it's even weirder to realize that one of them, Sally Hemings, was his mistress. What was that about? Which doesn't stop playwrights and screenwriters and novelists from trying to figure it out. Thomas Jefferson took to his bed a child, fourteen years old, a human child he owned. The Merchant Ivory film, Jefferson in Paris, presented the 22 year old Thandwe Newton as Hemings. Thomas and Selly, a play produced at Marin Theatre in 2017 showed Hemings as in her late teens, and perhaps a bit of a seductress. That one didn't go over well in the age of me too. What Suzan Lori-Parks does in her play, Sally and Tom, first presented in 2022 at the Guthrie,  and now through November 23rd at Marin Theatre, is find a way to tell the story without fantasizing one way of another. By incorporating the story of Sally and Tom within the framework of an acting company on the verge of bankruptcy, the playwright can present the narrative and comment on it at the same time. The troupe is putting on a play set right after Jefferson returns to Monticello from Paris.  Tom, in the play within the play, is performed by Mike, the director, and Sally by Luce, the playwright. Mike and Luce are themselves an item, grappling with their own issues as well as how, exactly, to tell the story. Luce won't give an inch when it comes to her play's discussion of racism and sexism. Mike just wants to keep the company going, and his ex wants to finance the show. Along the way, we learn about James, Sally's brother, as well as his performer, Kwame, Luce's ex, and about the other members of the cast.A two-timeline play is a tough one to pull off, but Parks is successful in making it work, with help from director Lance Gardner keeping confusion at a minimum. The ensemble is at the top of its game, particularly the two leads, Emily Newsome and Adam Kuveniemann, as well as Titus Vanhook as Kwame. Michael Phillis, as one of the actors, is always entertaining. Too many speeches that go on too long and repeat themselves, especially toward the end, dampen the play's power, and a gay subplot seems unnecessary. But Sally and Tom is a gem, puncturing the myth, presenting Jefferson as a bastard as well as an enigma. Sally and Tom by Suzan-Lori Parks, plays at Marin Theatre through November 23rd. For more information you can go to marintheatre.org. I'm Richard Woiinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Sally and Tom” at Marin Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “A Driving Beat” by Jordan Ramirez Puckett, directed by Jeffrey Lo, at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Second Stage through November 23, 2025.   TEXT OF REVIEW ​​​​​The nature of identity puzzles all of us. Who are we exactly? Are we ourselves, or the tribe to which we belong? Are you a Jew if you don't believe in the religion? Or better yet, are you Latino if you've been raised in a white foster home, and live in a neighborhood with no people from your tribe? That last question is the reason why fourteen year old Mateo wants to go on a road trip, in the world premiere play A Driving Beat by Jordan Ramirez Puckett at TheatreWorks Mountain View through November 23rd. Mateo, we learn as the play unfolds, has been bullied by his white classmates and now he wants to go on a road trip with his mom, traveling from Ohio to the hospital in San Diego where he was adopted shortly after his birth. Who am I, he asks. If I'm going to be bullied, the least I can do is learn about my heritage. A Driving Beat takes us on that road trip, and as the play goes on, we learn more and more about Mateo, and more specifically about his mom, Diane, and her grief and pain as they make the long journey across the continent. Mateo's use of hip hop to communicate his inner thoughts makes perfect sense in terms of both pacing and context. A Driving Beat uses a thrust stage similar to the one at the now closed Aurora Theatre, creating an intimacy that serves the play well, even if director Jeffrey Lo doesn't quite understand the auditory drawbacks of dialogues in which one character's back is to a third of the audience for long stretches. Jon Viktor Corpuz does the impossible in making Mateo actually feel fourteen years old, and Lee Ann Payne as his mother Diane, and Livia Gomes Demarchi in several different roles all keep it interesting even through the lulls in the script, when small talk requires emotional truthfulness. But there are issues. A lesbian subplot feels gratuitous. Information is doled out slowly, creating unnecessary mysteries that detract from the events on stage. As a two or three hander, A Driving Beat sometimes feels like an inconsequential addition to the TheatreWorks repertoire. But a scene involving a citizenship search in Texas resonates in ways far greater than the playwright intended. And the final scenes, in which all is revealed, bring A Driving Beat to both a surprising and satisfying end. A Driving Beat by Jordan Ramirez Puckett, directed by Jeffrey Lo, plays at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Second Stage through November 23rd. For more information you can go to theatreworks.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA.       The post Review: “A Driving Beat” at TheatreWorks Mountain View appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the national tour of “Stereophonic” at Broadway SF Curran Theatre through November 23, 2025.           TEXT OF REVIEW ​​​​​What does it take to put together a hit rock album, especially if the band itself seems to be falling apart, particularly the two couples that comprise most of the group? How do you separate the personal from the professional when you're stuck in a recording studio for months? Those questions lie at the heart of the Tony winning play with music, Stereophonic, now in its national and London touring production at BroadwaySF's Curran Theatre through November 23rd. The unnamed band in the play is fictional, barely. The year is 1976, the studio is in Sausalito, and the group bears a remarkable resemblance to Fleetwood Mac, on their way to recording the album “Rumours,” a resemblance so close that the playwright, David Adjani was forced to settle a lawsuit with a chronicler of the band, though publicly he denies it all. He says he wanted to create a kind of live documentary, unfolding before the audience's eyes. The actors sing and play their own instruments; the soundboard on stage is a working soundboard, the playbacks are not pre-recorded and taped during the play's performance. It's a play, it''s live, and it puts you fifty years in the past. The set is the studio in Sausalito, in front, below, the ‘70s era recording console, and above and behind, seen through solid glass, the recording studio itself. The real studio was small and a little grungy. So is the studio at the Curran. Stereophonic begins quietly, there's no sudden darkening of the theater. The actors have been on stage for a little while, and now they're talking while waiting for their bassist to come in, likely stoned and drunk. They've just received word the budget has increased, and their time making the album is unlimited. The character Diana's solo track is back on the charts, and so is the last album. We listen in as they chat about their work, get stoned together, drink a bit, have arguments; both couples break up and make up, the music is dissected and re-recorded. The inexperienced engineer Grover, a very good Jack Barrett, does his best through the madness We learn about each band member, their relationship to each other, and to art itselfl. The acting and performing are impeccable. This really could be a successful band, and their songs hits. Stereophonic is quite long, almost 3 hours, still 20 minutes shorter than on Broadway, but it needs the time to warm up, to get in synch with the characters. The build-up is slow, but paying close attention, Stereophonic can become an exhilarating night in the theater. The national tour of Stereophonic plays at BRoadwaySF ‘s Curran theatre through November 23. For more information, you can go to broadwaysf.com. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Stereophonic” at the Curran Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the national touring company of “Suffs,” now at BroadwaySF Orpheum Theatre through November 9,, 2025.   REVIEW TEXT: Imagine a political movement that seems to be on the ropes. Demonstrations aren't doing it, talks with political leaders fall on deaf ears. There's no elected way forward, and the only thing going is hope and perseverance. Sound familiar. But we're talking here about women's suffrage, and the movement that led to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote – and which is dramatized in the national tour of the musical Suffs, now at the Orpheum Theatre through November 9th. The play opens at a 1913 rally in which suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, in her mid-fifties and a leader of the movement for thirty years is accosted by the young firebrand Alice Paul, tired of the slow and tedious path forward. Alice wants direct action, and she wants it now. From here, Suffs focuses on Alice and her group of activists who will do what it takes to get the nineteenth amendment passed, including marches, vigils, hunger strikes, and of course, playing the political game. Despite some lovely music and hummable tunes — Shaina Taub's score and librettos won a pair of Tonys, Suffs only lasted nine months on Broadway. Perhaps it was the times, or perhaps it's that Suffs sometimes feels more like a docudrama than a play. While honing in specifically on Alice Paul, a superb Maya Kelleher in the touring production) and a handful of other characters, it only sporadically takes us into their hearts. The audience is kept at a distance as anthems too often replace feelings. Still, Suffs is a triumph as a history lesson made real – and is not afraid to delve into the overt racism of the white women's suffrage movement. With Ida B. Wells, the great black journalist, as more than just a walk-on. The show also asks an important question, perhaps more important than when it first premiered three short years ago: how do you handle what seems to be a lost cause? Do you go slowly, compromise until there's a way forward, or do you simply fight with all you've got, ignoring possible blowback. Was it Alice or Carrie who won the vote, was it both? And what does that say about today? From acting to production values, this is Broadway at its finest, and while Suffs comes just short of being a classic, it's still a major serious musical, and worth seeing. The national touring company of Suffs plays at the Orpheum Theatre through November 9th. For more information, you can go to broadwaysf.com. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Suffs” at the BroadwaySF Orpheum Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Little Women,” adapted by Lauren Gunderson, at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through October 12, 2025.   Little Women Review The classic pre-twentieth century books never die, on stage or on film. A Christmas Carol keeps coming back in December, year after year after year. Maybe the setting is contemporary. Maybe Scrooge is a woman. But the same template carries on and on. Marley. First ghost. Second ghost. Third ghost. Count the beats. Yawn. There are others. Mr. Darcy and the Bennets. Huck Finn. Dracula. Anna Karenina. Alice and the Rabbit. Frankenstein. And then there's Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. There are seven feature length films, eight TV adaptations, two plays, an opera, a ballet, and a Broadway musical. Now there's Lauren Gunderson's adaptation of Little Women, at Theatreworks in Mountain View through  October 12th. Little Women's ageless popularity rests, as the playwright notes, on its proto-feminism, its focus on family love, and being set during a time of strife and shortages and adds how appropriate it feels in our current times., though of course it also felt appropriate through its previous adaptations. That's what timelessness is about. And unlike Dickens or Austen, it's hard to pull out the plot and change time periods or genders. You're stuck in the Civil War, in New England, and with four specific daughters. Maybe the future will bring us Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth and Zombies, but hopefully not. In this adaptation, Louisa May Alcott tells the story and illuminates the relationship of her real family to the fictional Marches, with the dialogue and sometimes the book descriptions coming out of the characters' mouths. It's a neat touch, and perhaps only possible on stage. But, as with A Christmas Carol, we are still stuck with the same beats. Jo meets Laurie, Beth goes to the big house, Amy burns a manuscript, and so on. Louisa May Alcott never married, and it's possible we know why. She's not attracted to men. This production hints at this through particulars of the performance of Elissa Beth Stebbins as Louisa and Jo,  and by the lack of chemistry with both of Jo's suitors. Greta Gerwig saw the same issue in the 2019 film, and tackled it by making Jo the author of Little Women and hits the issue dead on. Lauren Gunderson, thugh, approaches it  more obliquely, but without a fuller explanation, the ending feels false. Louisa is Jo, until she's not. For the fans who jump at every new adaptation, this Little Women, if redundant, might add a new dimension. For the rest of us, enough is enough. Lauren Gunderson's adaptation of Little Women, directed by Giovanna Sardelli, plays at Theatreworks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through October 12, 2025. For more information, you can go to theatreworks.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area Theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “Little Women” at TheatreWorks Mountain View appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Motion” by Christopher Chen at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through October 12, 2025.   TEXT OF REVIEW ​​​​​THE MOTION With so much news in the world today, and with a CDC corrupted by politics and mentally ill cranks, the subject of animal testing seems to fall by the wayside. But the discussion about using animals to test potential life-saving medicines remains as ongoing as the one that drives many to become vegetarians. This question about animal rights lies at the beginning of “The Motion” by Christopher Chen, now in a Shotgun Players production at the Ashby Stage through October 12th. The play presents itself as an on-stage debate./ It's based on a podcast called Intelligence Squared Debates. So, there are two people on either side of the stage, flanking the moderater. The moderator points out that this is a Shotgun production, in Berkeley at the Ashby Stage. He then announces the motion to be debated, for and against, should animal testing be banned. All four debaters are presented as academics, the older two, the lead debaters, as doctors, the younger two as professors. The audience will be the jury, voting before the debate starts, and then again afterward, and a winner will be announced, based on the changed votes. The anti-testing lead debater starts by asking the audience to imagine they are in a cage and then murdered. This is what happens to a rabbit. The pro-testing second debater notes that we are fine killing vermin in a restaurant, and we don't care if the rats or roaches feel pain. The pro-testing lead then tries to find common ground. Nobody wants an animal to suffer. The anti-testing second thinks common ground is impossible. As in real life, the political of course starts to turn personal, and sparks start to fly. And that's the start of The Motion, but only the start. The playwright Christopher Chen has said he likes to think of his shows at times as magic acts, where you may even come in knowing there will be surprises, but then you end up being delighted by what the surprise actually is. He goes on. I use a lot of rug pulling in my plays. It's very fun from a structural perspective, but it's also very serious and meaningful to me. It's not meant to be a gotcha moment. I'd say the main journey in all of my plays is a digging process, where a reality is presented and we see below that, and then we see below THAT. Ultimately, The Motion is sometimes very funny, frequently surprising, sometimes confusing, and always entertaining. And it will resonate in your head for days. The Motion by Christopher Chen, directed by Patrick Dooley, plays at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through October 12th. For more information, you can go to Shotgunplayers.org. I'm Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Motion” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Reservoir” by Jake Brasch, at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre through October 12, 2025. The post Review: “The Reservoir” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the national touring production of “Shucked” at the BroadwaySF Curran Theatre through October 5, 2025. The post Review: “Shucked” at the Curran Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Eureka Day” at Marin Theatre, in partnership with Aurora Theatre, through September 28, 2025. The post Review: “Eureka Day” at Marin Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Return,” a Golden Thread production at the Garret at ACT's Toni Rembe Theatre through August 24, 2025. The post Review: “The Return,” at the Garret at ACT's Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “My Fair Lady” at San Francisco Playhouse through September 13, 2025. The post Review: “My Fair Lady” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the national touring company of “& Juliet” at the BroadwaySF Orpheum Theatre through July 27, 2025. The post Review: “& Juliet” at the Orpheum appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the world premiere of “Aztlan” by Luis Alfaro, at the Magic Theatre through July 13, 2025. The post Review: “Aztlan” at the Magic Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,” a new musical, at TheatreWorks Mountain view Center for the Performing Arts through July 13, 2025. The post Review: “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” at TheatreWorks Mountain View appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Co-Founders” at ACT's Strand Theatre through July 6, 2025. The post Revew: “Co-Founders,” at ACT Strand Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise” at BroadwaySF Orpheum through June 22, 2025. The post Review: “The Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise” at the Orpheum appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Pacific Overtures” at Brava Theater Center through June 15, 2025. The post Review: “Pacific Overtures” at Brava Theater Center appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the touring production of the Broadway revival of the musical “Parade” at BroadwaySF‘s Orpheum Theatre through June 8, 2025. The post Review: “Parade” at BroadwaySF Orpheum appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Yellow Face” by Henry David Hwang, at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through June 14, 2025. The post Review: “Yellow Face” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at San Francisco Playhouse through June 21, 2025. The post Review: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Two Trains Running” by August Wilson, a production of The Acting Company, at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through May 4, 2025. The post Review: “Two Trains Running” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Here There Are Blueberries” by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, conceived and directed by Moises Kaufman, a Tectonic Theater Project, at Berkeley Rep Roda Theater through May 11, 2025. (Photo: Matthew Murphy). The post Review: “Here There Are Blueberries” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Heart Sellers” by Lloyd Suh, at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through April 27, 2025 (previously at Aurora Theatre in Berkeley). The post Review: “The Heart Sellers” at TheatreWorks Mountain View appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Eddie Izzard Hamlet” at ACT Strand Theatre through April 20, 2025. The post Review: “Eddie Izzard Hamlet” at ACT Strand Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Fat Ham” by James Ijames, directed by Margo Hall, at San Francisco Playhouse through April 19, 2025. The post Review: “Fat Ham” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Art” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through April 12, 2025. The post Review: “Art” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Nobody Loves You” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through March 30, 2025. The post Review: “Nobody Loves You” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Uncle Vanya” by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Conor McPherson, at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre through March 23, 2025. The post Review: “Uncle Vanya” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Waste,” directed by Carey Perloff, at Marin Theatre through March 2, 2025. The post Review: “Waste” at Marin Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Thing About Jellyfish” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre through March 9, 2025. The post Review: “The Thing About Jellyfish” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Rachmaninoff and the Tsar” at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Arts through February 9, 2025. The post Review: “Rachmaninoff and the Tsar” at TheatreWorks Mountain View appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Some Like It Hot,” the national tour production, at BroadwaySF Orpheum Theater through January 26, 2025. The post Review: “Some Like It Hot” at Orpheum Theater appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Waitress” at San Francisco Playhouse through January 18, 2025.   The post Review: “Waitress” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “A WHYNOT CHRISTMAS CAROL” at ACT Toni Rembe (Geary) Theatre through December 24, 2024. The post Review: “A WHYNOT CHRISTMAS CAROL” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Antipodes” by Annie Baker, performed by The Actors Reading Collective at the Marin Shakespeare Theatre through December 1, 2024. The post Review: “The Antipodes” at Marin Shakespeare Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Thirty-Six,” a world premiere play by Leah Nanako Winkler at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through December 22. 2024. The post Review: “Thirty-Six” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Woiinsky reviews “Jaja's African Hair Braiding” at Berkeley Rep‘s Peets Theatre through December 15, 2024. The post Review: “Jaja's African Hair Braiding” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Kimberly Akimbo” at BroadwaySF Curran Theater through December 1, 2024. The post Review: “Kimberly Akimbo” at BroadwaySF Curran Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Choir Boy” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through October 20, 2024. The post Review: “Choir Boy” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Mexodus” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre through October 20, 2024. The post Review: “Mexodus” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Private Lives” by Noel Coward, at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through October 6, 2024. The post Review: “Private Lives” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Girl from the North Country” at BroadwaySF Golden Gate Theatre through August 18, 2024. The post Review: “Girl from the North Country” at BroadwaySF Golden Gate appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through August 18, 2024. The full title of the play by Jen Silverman is Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties; In Essence, a Queer and Occasionally Hazardous Exploration; Do You Remember When You Were in Middle School and You Read About Shackleton and How He Explored the Antarctic?; Imagine the Antarctic as a Pussy and It's Sort of Like That. The post Review: “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.