Berkeley Rep’s melodic musical ‘Octet’ explores the cacophony of the internet
Dave Malloy’s ingenious a capella chamber opera about an internet addict support group pierces a stake into the heart of the net, song by glorious song.
Freelancer Emily S. Mendel reviews Berkeley’s vibrant theater scene for Berkeleyside. As a native New Yorker (although now a 37-year East Bay resident), Emily grew up loving and studying theater, from Off Off to On Broadway, as her multi-volume Playbill collection attests. Ending her 30-year law practice has given Emily the time to indulge in her love of the arts and travel.
Dave Malloy’s ingenious a capella chamber opera about an internet addict support group pierces a stake into the heart of the net, song by glorious song.
‘The Incrementalist,’ written by Berkeley City College professor Cleavon Smith, is steeped in Berkeley history and explores the ongoing conflict between students and the administration.
All’s not paradise for the aquanauts in a new Oakland Theater Project production. But one Korean-American character, both tempted and pressured by the white gaze, is cynically writing a play about them.
The Berkeley Central Works production — a world premiere — has wit, a well-executed umbrella-sword fight and a comically melodramatic séance.
Playing at the Ashby Stage through April 23, ‘Passing Strange’ is a picaresque journey of growing up set in South Central L.A. and pot-hazed Amsterdam.
‘Red Winged Blackbird,’ on view at Live Oak Theater, is Alyosha Zim’s heartfelt story about brotherly love, generational strife, religion and life-and-death choices.
The world premiere Berkeley Rep production, long delayed by the pandemic, is set to music by folk/rock band The Avett Brothers.
A self-described “animal of the theater,” Medak will depart Berkeley Rep in August. She’ll pursue executive coaching.
The new Berkeley theater company was formed by three actors who met while performing ‘Taming of the Shrew’ at Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma County.
The world premiere of ‘Father/Daughter’ at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre twists the parent/child bond in several directions.
Charles L. Mee’s ‘Wintertime’ is the Berkeley Rep’s first live production since the beginning of lockdown.
The world premiere of playwright Lisa Ramirez’s one-act reimagining of the Joan of Arc story spans seven centuries.
Language barriers, indifference and ignorance by civil servants lead a Congolese refugee’s interview for asylum to disastrous results.
Amrita Singhal’s third solo show, “Seek, Memory,” is on view through Oct. 23 at Berkeley’s Shoh Gallery.
The Oakland Theater Project’s extraordinary one-person show, lets the audience commemorate the beauty of life along with the play’s narrator.
Playwright Dael Orlandersmith’s filmed one-person creation, “Stoop Stories,” is now streaming via the Aurora Theatre through Oct. 2.
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