Linda Hodges - Page 3

BWW Review: WAITRESS SERVES UP PIE AND PASSION at Broadway San Jose, now thru Dec. 22

The larger-than-life fantasy wizarding world of Harry Potter comes to life on the stage in J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Curran Theatre, SF, now thru July 2020

The 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!

Holding 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!

The persistent legend, mystique and fascination of what may have happened to Anastasia during Russia's revolution finds a new home in the musical ANASTASIA

Marin Shakespeare's SPAMALOT is an altogether delightful and uproariously zany production that has their audiences laughing almost non-stop throughout the show. Playing its final week now through August 25, SPAMALOT is a not-to-be-missed, hugely enjoyable show.

Bay 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: Disney's NEWSIES Shines Now Through July 13 at Woodminster Summer Musicals

SHNSF's Golden Gate Theatre was electric with excitement as the house filled to capacity for the touring company of RENT. Now thru June 23!

BWW's Linda Hodges talks with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's founding artistic director Robert Kelley about winning the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award!

Pack up the kids and head to San Francisco's Golden Gate Theater, now thru May 12, to see Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." It's like winning your own golden ticket.

Marin Musical Theatre Company's stunning and provocative production of Spring Awakening is a no-holds-barred, deep dive into repression, control and the painful process of growing up.

As 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.

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is a bit of fluff that's easy on the brain, but you absolutely forget your troubles and isn't that a great gift in these troubling times?

BORDER PEOPLE, written and performed by Dan Hoyle, is based on his conversations with people who straddle, confront or live in the liminal border spaces where they deal with rejection and acceptance, hope and fear.

Come From Away is far and away one of the best ensemble pieces to come to the Broadway stage in recent memory, and now theatre-goers in the San Francisco Bay area can see it at the Golden Gate Theatre, now through February 3, 2019.

Broadway San Jose welcomed the touring company of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, which made a short stop at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, bringing with it the magical music of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Carol de Giere's revised and updated second edition to her earlier biography, 'DEFYING GRAVITY: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz,' was a necessary Act II, since, as we all know, Schwartz's star has only continued to rise since 2008. It's a wonderful addition with brand new behind-the-scene insights on his latest projects. As her webpage states, 'This new edition features a Foreword by Alan Menken and four new chapters covering Schwartz's more recent projects like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt, and Wicked after Broadway. DEFYING GRAVITY Second Edition includes additional 'Creativity Notes' with comments from Schwartz about overcoming creative blocks, collaboration, and the artistic life.' A stunning 512 pages (with photographs and handwritten notes), de Giere's book is a thoroughly fascinating read as well as something of a musical theatre master class in written form -- one that has been lovingly lensed through the life and creativity of Stephen Schwartz.