By JACK LYONS Ambition supposedly killed Caesar, according to Brutus. However, it also became a two-edged sword that cut both ways. Literature is bursting with characters who are infected with the “ambition” virus, who sometimes beat the odds, but usually die in the effort. Themes of love and death are intrinsically linked in literature. Thank […]
By LOU HARRY A tip of the (ice) cap to Portland, Oregon’s Artists Repertory Theatre, which has given E.M Lewis’ epic play “Magellanica” a worthy production, even if its cracks show. Set primarily in an isolated Antarctic research station in 1986, its five-and-a-half-hour, four-intermission scale puts it in the “event” category, attracting a lively, adventurous […]
By HARRY DUKE Musicals are the bread and butter of community theatre. They’re usually crowd pleasers and, with their large casts, can bank on a crowd of family and friends to fill a good portion of the house. They require a certain amount of space and a certain level of talent. Directors often cast for […]
By AARON KRAUSE PALO ALTO, Calif. — Award-winning Bay Area playwright and composer Min Kahng thought his discovery several years ago was “fascinating” and “unique.” It would be “fun and interesting” to adapt for the stage, he further believed. Kahng has done that. His adaptation of one of the first-ever graphic novels has opened for […]
By HARRY DUKE It’s 1648 and the splendiferous Taj Mahal awaits its opening. Humayun and Babur, the two lowliest members of Emperor Shah Jahan’s royal guards, are assigned the lowliest duty at the worst post. They are stationed at the gate and forbidden to look in. Humayan dreams of being reassigned to the Emperor’s harem. […]
By HARRY DUKE If you are a younger person who avoids theater because you think it doesn’t speak to you in a language of music or movement or story that you speak in, there’s a show you should see. If you are an older person who finds it difficult to appreciate the language of music […]