Review: MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberly might be my favorite secular Holiday offering – a shining jewel that follows the Bennet sisters of Jane Austin fame attempt at a cheery Xmas week mired by romantic foibles reminiscent of a good Shakespeare play. Award-winning playwright Lauren Gunderson developed this play, co-authoring the Christmas at Pemberley plays (Miss Bennet, The Wickhams, and Georgiana and Kitty) with Margot Melcon, former director of new play development at Marin Theatre Company. They have become beloved staples at TheatreWorks and this production shines through its stellar casting and excellent creative crew.
Review: NOW CIRCA THEN Closes the Season at Capital Stage
Capital Stage is closing out its nineteenth season with a charming story of healing and self-discovery. Now Circa Then by Carly Mensch is a clever blend of worlds: past and present, immigrant and citizen, passion and apathy. In this show, life imitates art and the lines between those worlds blur, encouraging us to delve inward and examine our own motivations.
Review: THE GLASS MENAGERIE at SF Playhouse
Tom Wingfield opens Tennessee William’s haunting memory play with this admonition: “Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you the illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” What follows in this stunning production is a sometimes surreal, always emotionally devastating remembrance of a broken family teetering on the edges of disillusion and the hope of salvation.