Jim Munson - Page 7

BroadwayWorld talks to lyricist Adam Gwon and TheatreWorks Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli about their collaboration with Montalvo Arts Center on the development of the new musical 'Alice Bliss.'

BroadwayWorld reviews San Francisco Ballet's enchanting production of the classic 'Nutcracker' ballet, now running at the SF Opera House through December 30th.

BroadwayWorld talks to Giovanna Sardelli, the irrepressible director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play' running December 1 to 26 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto.

BroadwayWorld talks to actor Li-Leng Au, who is thrilled to be back onstage in San Jose Stage Company's production of Dickens' 'Great Expectations' as adapted by playwright Neil Bartlett, running thru December 12th.

BroadwayWorld talks to director Elkhanah Pulitzer about her new production of Henry Purcell's Baroque masterpiece 'Dido and Aneas' which marks Opera San Jose's return to live performances November 13th to 28th.

BroadwayWorld talks to leading lady Alison Ewing about playing Desiree in 42nd Street Moon's new production of Stephen Sondheim's 'A Little Night Music' playing November 4 to 21 in San Francisco.

BroadwayWorld talks to award-winning choreographer and director Doug Varone about his company's upcoming program in San Jose, which includes 'Somewhere,' his take on the iconic score from 'West Side Story.' They also discuss Varone's choreography for two musicals that have become cult classics - 'The Triumph of Love' and 'Murder Ballad.'

'Spanking Machine' at The Marsh is Marga Gomez' latest theatrical memoir, a funny-scary tale of growing up brown and queer in Washington Heights.

BroadwayWorld talks to Justin Huertas, the multi-talented playwright, composer and star of 'Lizard Boy' at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. His new indie folk-rock music will be performed live in person Oct. 6 to 31 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, kicking off TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 51st season.

BroadwayWorld talks to virtuoso ballet dancer, choreographer and director Wei Wang about his ambitious new film 'Aphrodisia' created in collaboration with Stephanie Weisman as part of The Marsh New Festival of Musical Voices 2021, which runs September 30 to October 10, 2021.

It would appear that acclaimed baritone Sidney Outlaw is having the busiest year of his career. In addition to starring as composer Antonio Salieri in Opera San José’s new virtual production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s 'Mozart and Salieri,' Outlaw will be performing 'Barber of Seville,' 'Porgy and Bess,' and 'La Bohème.' BroadwayWorld speaks with Outlaw.

BroadwayWorld chats with Cate Hayman, star of 'CHESS in Concert' at 42nd Street Moon. The show marks Moon's return to live, in-person performance and features a killer score by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson and renowned lyricist Tim Rice. It remains the only musical of the modern era to generate multiple, massive hits on the pop charts.

Good news! The Marsh will soon be once again presenting live, in-person performances at their San Francisco location with Marga Gomez's 'Spanking Machine' running September 17 through October 23. BroadwayWorld speaks with Gomez about her hilarious and heart-rending new memoir piece about growing up brown & queer in Washington Heights.

The Marsh couldn't have chosen anyone more fitting for its return to live in-person performances than fan favorite Don Reed, whose partnership with The Marsh encompasses many hit shows over the past decade. Starting August 21st, Reed performs his brand-new one-man show 'Going Out' at The Marsh Berkeley. BroadwayWorld talks to Reed about the show.

For his opening salvo as Magic Theatre’s newly appointed Artistic Director, Sean San José has decided to throw a party. On Thursday, August 5th, Magic will present its 2021 gala 'The New Age of Magic' outdoors at Fort Mason. San José strongly believes theater should be for everyone, not just people of means, so Magic is hosting a more egalitarian event with ticket prices starting at a very reasonable $25. Mainly, though, the goal is to bring people together to kick back and have some fun.

Pulitzer winners Paula Vogel, Katori Hall, Annie Baker & Sam Shepard are just 4 of the many celebrated playwrights whose work was developed in the Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF). Established in 1976 and currently led by Playwrights Foundation’s Executive Artistic Director Jessica Bird Beza, this year’s BAPF runs July 16-25, featuring 5 very different new works. Casts include acclaimed actors such as Emily Kuroda. BroadwayWorld recently caught up with Beza to talk about the festival.

And now for something ethereal, funny and more than a little trippy. On June 26, The Marsh presents 'Astronautica,' a musical drawn from the words of women who have traveled through outer space, to its digital platform, MarshStream. Conceived and performed by Hai-Ting Chinn, Lindsay Kesselman & Kirsten Sollek. BroadwayWorld speaks with Ms. Chinn.

42nd Street Moon is concluding its online Moonbeams series on a rather deliciously demented high note with Don’t Touch That Dial: DC & Peter’s Glorious Romp through the Golden Age of TV Theme Songs. Just like the timeworn sitcoms that generated most of its songs, Don’t Touch That Dial wants nothing more than to entertain, packing in dozens of catchy tunes you maybe didn’t even know you knew in a fast-moving hourlong fantasia of fizzy humor and gimlet-eyed nostalgia. Although Moon’s remit is normally to revisit stage musicals, rather than television shows, this enterprise isn’t quite as far afield for them as you might imagine. It, too, comes wrapped in affectionate homage to times past.

After the myriad stresses of the past year, we could all use some straight-up entertainment and 42nd Street Moon is providing just that with Don’t Touch That Dial: DC and Peter’s Glorious Romp Through the Golden Age of TV Theme Songs. Conceived and directed by DC Scarpelli and Peter Budinger, the show promises, a light-hearted, celebratory stroll down memory lane as Scarpelli and Budinger guide us through the decades of catchy sitcom themes and the evolution of television. The large, diverse cast also includes Moon stalwarts like Meg McKay and Keith Pinto among a host of multi-talented performers who may be new to you. Don’t Touch That Dial is available to stream from June 5 – 27, 2021 as part of 42nd Street Moon’s paid virtual ticketed MoonBeams series. Tickets and further information are available at www.42ndstmoon.org/moonbeams. ​​​​​​​I had the pleasure of speaking with Budinger and Scarpelli last week as they were still putting the finishing touches on the video presentation. As Scarpelli says, “We’re not satisfied with any musical number until it’s utterly dripping with charm and delight.” If you ever run into them at a party, these are definitely the guys you want to talk to as they are both a barrel of fun and an endless font of information about classic TV and musical theater. A married couple, the two have been working together for years as well as performing individually, and their combined theater credits read like a recent history of Bay Area musical theater. The freewheeling conversation covered how they conceived the show and put it together, which obscure songs didn’t make the final cut, and shows they’d love for Moon to mount in the future.

Jeffrey Lo seems to be just about everywhere these days. As if his day job as TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s Director of Community Partnerships / Casting Director weren’t enough, he is also enjoying quite a successful career as a director and playwright. With the recent, tragic spike in prejudice and violence toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, Lo decided to take action by calling on his own Filipino American heritage. He spearheaded TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s efforts to stream a benefit reading of his play Writing Fragments Home to raise funds to support and uplift the AAPI community. The comedic play is an unapologetically Filipino American story about art, family, and culture. The top-flight cast includes stage veteran Emily Kuroda, perhaps best known for playing Mrs. Kim on TV’s Gilmore Girls. Co-presented by more than 40 leading theatres and arts organizations in the Bay Area and beyond, the reading will benefit Compassion in Oakland, a nonprofit formed in response to the surge of anti-Asian attacks and dedicated to promoting safety and community in Oakland Chinatown and beyond. Writing Fragments Home will be streamed live at 7pm PDT, Saturday, June 5, 2021 (with streaming on-demand access available June 6 to June 9). For more information, visit TheatreWorks.org.  BroadwayWorld with Lo last week about his impetus to write the play, how the benefit reading came together, his thoughts about Asian American representation in the theatre, and his experience working with some of his personal heroes. Lo is very easy to talk to – laid-back, thoughtful and self-effacing with an underlying gentle humor – all qualities which likely serve him well in his roles at TheatreWorks. At the same time, I got the impression he is someone who knows how to step up to the plate and get the job done.