Steve Murray - Page 11

Four-time Obie Award-winner Caryl Churchill is the pre-eminent writer of feminist themes involving sexual politics, abuses of power and gender equality. There's no better metaphor of these themes than the witch hunts of 17th century England which provide the backstory of Vinegar Tom, an allegory that rings so true today. The play, which includes a modern score by Diana Lawrence sung by a Greek chorus dressed as street walkers, bridges time to illustrate the continuity of women's struggle against shaming, disempowerment and inequality. In director Ariel Craft's skillful hands, Churchill's sad satire blazes anew with a remarkable cast and technical crew that conjure both history and the present in vivid detail.

BWW Review: A NOH CHRISTMAS CAROL at Theatre Of Yugen is a stunning traditional Japanese theatre re-imagining of Dicken's famous tale.

BWW Review: BULL IN A CHINA SHOP at Aurora Theatre dramatizes the love letters of early women's rights activist Mary Wooley, President of Mt. Holyoke 1901-1937.

BWW Review: GROUNDHOG DAY THE MUSICAL at SF Playhouse is a story of redemption and hope.

BWW Review: THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX at Berkeley Repertory Theatre is PigPen Theatre Co.'s stunning re-imagining of the award-winning book and film.

BWW Review: MOTHER OF THE MAID at Marin Theatre Company is dramatization of the life of Joan of Arc as seen through the eyes of her mother.

BWW Review: THE CAKE at New Conservatory Theatre Center is a smart dramatization based on the true story of a baker who refused to bake a same-sex cake.

The trials and tribulations of two thirty-something middle class Single Black Females (SBFs) is presented in a series of comedic vignettes in Lisa B. Thompson's 1999 effort that is being simultaneously being produced here and in Ft. Worth, Texas. Starting with the premise that their niche is invisible and ignored, these gals look at their peer images presented in media; Claire Huxtable, Diahann Carrol's Julia, Anita Hill, Condoleezza Rice and of course Oprah and elaborate on how they've attempted to manipulate those stereotypes into a workable model for finding love and fulfilment. Stepping into this feminine racial quagmire, I thought 'what does this gay male audience member have in common'- seems quite a lot. The search for love is universal, irregardless of gender, race and class.

BWW Review: THE CHINESE LADY at Magic Theatre is a dramatization of the life of Afong Moy, the first Chinese Lady to set foot on American soil.

BWW Review: PUPPETS AND POE: DEVISED DEFIANCE at Theatre Of Yugen is a Halloween ode to Edgar Allan Poe's macabre themes.

BWW Review: MARK TWAIN'S RIVER OF SONG at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is a musical/historical ride down the mighty Mississippi guided by famed chronicler Mark Twain

BWW Review: THIS SIDE OF CRAZY at New Conservatory Theatre Center is Del Shores dramatic confrontation of a narcissistic mother and her three daughters.

BWW Review: SOVEREIGNTY at Marin Theatre Company is a powerful, fact-based story of the historical and present day plight of the Cherokee Nation.

BWW Review: BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON at Custom Made Theatre Company takes an anarchic rock approach to the genocidal, land-grabbing President.

BWW Review: FREE FOR ALL - A NEW 'MISS JULIE' FOR A NEW WORLD at Cutting Ball Theater is a sensational modern spin on Strinberg's 'Miss Julie' .

BWW Review: THE GREAT WAVE at Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a riveting true-life geopolitical thriller involving abduction, brainwashing and spies.

BWW Review: THE FLICK at Shotgun Players is Annie Bakers' astute observations of three lonely, dysfunctional theater attendants.

BWW Review: BETTE DAVIS AIN'T FOR SISSIES at 3Below Theater is a compelling portrait of the great stage and film legend and early feminist.