When the American Conservatory Theater curtain rises to reveal the slightly angled set — a dimly lit, cavernous room, so dingy you can almost smell the mildew; an imposing staircase leading to unimaginable activities above — you know you’re in vintage Pinterland, that slightly seedy place where human relationships are glimpsed in midstream, unpredictable and ominous. Read More
“He is the reason I am in the theater,” Carey Perloff says of the late Harold Pinter.Perloff, director of American Conservatory Theater since 1991, is at the helm of her company’s production opening next week of the Nobel laureate writer’s 1964 “The Homecoming,” which won a 1967 Tony Award for Best Play. Read More
In Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 family drama “A Raisin in the Sun,” a “Negro” family moves from their Southside Chicago ghetto to a new house in fictional all-white enclave Clybourne Park, despite the oh-so-polite objections of a “welcoming” committee. Bruce Norris’ multiaward-winning “Clybourne Park” doesn’t exactly pick up where Hansberry’s play left off, but there are many connections, including the house itself, which is essentially another character in the play. Read More
If you love theater, American Conservatory Theater’s new production of Moliere’s “Scapin” may make you feel guilty. You want to fully enjoy the work of some exceptionally talented artists, working hard, but it’s not easy. Read More
When the lights come up on this deliciously mordant comedy, there’s a look on actor Marco Barricelli’s face that presages the treats in store for us. As the newly arrived nephew, he stands, suitcase in hand, in the doorway, gazing at the pale apparition in the bed, his features frozen into an exquisitely detailed mask of quizzical uncertainty. Read More
American Conservatory Theater Artistic Director Carey Perloff has one answer to two questions about the company’s upcoming 44th season, which was announced today.
The questions are: What is different about the season — running Sept. 16 through July 10, 2011 — and how does the current vitriolic political climate influence her choice of plays? Read More
It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but the opening-night audience, myself included, fairly howled through David Mamet’s “November” at the American Conservatory Theater Wednesday night.
A curious, delightful dichotomy is at the heart of this wild play about a hapless American president scheming to finance his re-election campaign with money extorted from the turkey industry for the ceremonial pardoning of the bird for Thanksgiving. Read More
