KPFA - Bay Area Theater

Bay Area theatre reviews with KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky,.Older posts include theatre interviews recorded pre-pandemic.LINK TO ASSORTED LOCAL THEATER & BOOK VENUES

KPFA - Bay Area Theater is a news podcast hosted by KPFA, with 25 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

KPFA hosts KPFA - Bay Area Theater, a news show with 25 episodes published.

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  KPFA - Bay Area Theater

  Review: “North By Northwest” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre

  Sep 30, 20266 min

  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.

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  Review: “African Stew,” presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, at the Magic

  Sep 16, 20266 min

  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.

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  Review: “The Cook” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre

  Sep 14, 20266 min

  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.

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  Review: “The White Chip” at Marin Theatre

  Sep 3, 20266 min

  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.

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  Review: “R.O.I. (Return on Investment)” at San Francisco Playhouse Creativity Theatre

  Aug 18, 20266 min

  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.

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