BWW Review: GYPSY Sizzles Now Through December 8 At Bay Area MusicalsNovember 18, 2019The heyday of Vaudeville may have come to an abrupt end in the 1930s, but it is alive and well in Gypsy, Bay Area Musical's fifth season opening act. And what a doozy of a show. Based on the 1957 memoirs of famed striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, the musical came to Broadway in 1959 and was promptly hailed as a runaway hit. With a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim it garnered 8 Tony nominations, though strangely enough, it didn't win any, losing Best Musical to a tie between Fiorello! and The Sound of Music. Ouch!
BWW Review: NINE Is A 'Ten' at At 3Below In San JoseOctober 22, 2019Holding court on a corner in downtown San Jose is 3Below Theaters and Lounge. It would be easier to say what they don't do but to use their own words they're 'downtown San Jose's social spot for stage, screen, music, comedy, family fun and events.' I'll just add that the complex is indeed a veritable mix of entertainment-for-all with delectable eats and great vibe. Yes, I digressed right out of the gate!
BWW Review: HAIRSPRAY DAZZLES AND DELIGHTS NOW THRU AUGUST 11 at Victoria TheatreJuly 9, 2019Bay Area Musical's production of HAIRSPRAY rocks the house early 1960s style, with lacquered bouffants and non-stop music, dancing and comedy – all wrapped up in a story about spunky, plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad of Baltimore and her dream to be a dancer on the local TV dance program, “The Corny Collins Show.”
BWW Review: HELLO, DOLLY is Looking Swell!February 22, 2019As the house lights went down and the familiar strains of 'Before the Parade Passes By' wafted through San Francisco's Golden Gate theatre, a buzz of excitement and a ripple of clapping could be heard from the front of the house on up to the balcony seats. The sound of times gone by, captured by the tuneful Jerry Herman score, ushered the audience into the opulent gift of gilded age perfection, the revival of Michael Stewart's 1964 musical, Hello, Dolly.