Geoff Hoyle is such a superbly physical comic actor, it’s hard to imagine him growing old. Yet he ages before our very eyes in “Geezer.”Death and decay are at the center of this bracing new solo show, which opened Thursday at the Marsh. But “Geezer” is anything but a downer. Written by Hoyle, developed with and directed by David Ford, the results are hilarious and revealing — a fitting showcase for Hoyle’s comic skills, and a moving autobiographical work about one of the Bay Area’s most treasured theater artists.
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It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Russian history that Rasputin is finally ready for his close-up. Indeed, the question that inevitably arises in “Beardo” — the funny, freewheeling musical presented by the Shotgun Players — is, “Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?”
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Somewhere deep in the Congo, Mama Nadi is trying to keep the war at bay. Outside her makeshift bar and brothel, the sounds of explosions and gunfire can be heard at regular intervals. Inside, customers are required to check their bullets at the door.In “Ruined,” Lynn Nottage’s powerful drama of war and gender, Mama’s place is a refuge — not just for the soldiers and miners who come there for drinks and comfort, but for the women she employs to serve them. Yet even as they try to escape the war outside, those women are living symbols of its cruelty.
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By:
By Georgia Rowe
02/13/11 9:00 AM
Hannah’s life is falling apart. She can’t get pregnant, she’s one step away from losing her job, and she thinks her husband, who hasn’t been to work for months, may be an alcoholic. All he does is sit around the house, watering the plants with beer.
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Hannah’s life is falling apart. She can’t get pregnant, she’s one step away from losing her job, and she thinks her husband, who hasn’t been to work for months, may be an alcoholic. All he does is sit around the house, watering the plants with beer.The title of “Collapse,” Allison Moore’s incisive and very funny new comedy now in its world premiere production at Aurora Theatre Company, doesn’t simply describe Hannah’s incipient crisis.
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“The Dresser” requires nothing less than two outstanding actors, and the new San Jose Repertory Theatre production has two of the Bay Area’s finest.James Carpenter and Ken Ruta are featured in Rick Lombardo’s faithful revival of Ronald Harwood’s backstage drama about an aging Shakespearean actor and the dresser who’s spent 16 years serving him.Gloom pervades Lombardo’s production, set in 1942 in a theater near London.
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While 2011 is still young, it’s already been a banner year for Dmitri Hvorostovsky.The great Siberian bass-baritone has been in New York, singing the title role of Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” at the Metropolitan Opera. Critics and audiences alike have been lavish with praise; the New York Times called him “a magnificent Simon.”Bay Area audiences could hardly be surprised — Hvorostovsky sang the role at San Francisco Opera in 2008. Now he’s returning to The City for a performance on a slightly smaller scale: a one-night only recital Sunday in Davies Hall.
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Mike Daisey is obsessed with money, and he’s not alone.In “The Last Cargo Cult,” his new one-man show at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the great monologist travels all the way to a tiny South Sea island in search of a place that is “just beyond the reach of money.”Except, of course, no place is beyond the reach of money. The island is so remote, its inhabitants use cell phones as flashlights, but they worship American wealth, and once a year, they stage a lavish celebration in its honor.
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Alex Ross has a message for classical music lovers: Don’t be afraid of the 20th century.
Ross, the music critic of the New Yorker magazine, thinks contemporary classical music has gotten a bad rap.
The 20th century left a rich musical legacy, says the author, who wrote about the subject with passion, humor and insight in his 2007 book, “The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century.”
On Saturday at Herbst Theatre, audiences can hear him in person.
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