Octopus kites at the Berkeley Kite Festival in Cesar Chavez Park. Photo: California Travels KITE FESTIVAL The 29th annual Berkeley Kite Fest will take place Saturday and Sunday in César Chavez Park. The free festival will feature kite making and flying lessons, as well as food and craft activities. A traditional Japanese kite-flying team will also […]
Berkeley Playhouse
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The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
Shrek The Musical continues at Berkeley Playhouse through Aug. 3. Photo: Ken Levin SHREK THE MUSICAL Shrek the Musical continues at Berkeley Playhouse through Aug. 3, including several performances on Saturday July 12 and Sunday July 13. This “silly, modern-day fairytale,” described as “a visual adventure” and “highly entertaining” by local reviewers, tells the story of everyone’s favorite ogre who goes […]
Posted inArts
Review: Berkeley Playhouse’s ‘Spelling Bee’ is a winner
Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere (Chloe Condon), introduces herself to Leaf Coneybear (Max Thorne) in Berkeley Playhouse’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Kimberly Dooley. Photo: Ken Levin By Ross Stapleton-Gray If you only see one musical this year… you don’t go to enough musicals, my friend. But you’re in luck: Berkeley Playhouse has […]
Posted inEvents
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
DESIGNED OBSOLESCENCE They’ve performed in nudist colonies and on Prairie Home Companion. They issued a series of 10-inch 78rpm recordings long after the format had vanished. And they count R. Crumb as a co-founder. The Cheap Suit Serenaders bring their “unapologetically outmoded tastes” to the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse on Friday, Jan. 10 at 8 […]
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Berkeley Playhouse’s ‘A Little Princess’ is exuberant, lively
Pasko, Becky, Aljana, Captain Crewe, and Sara (clockwise from top left: Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Nandi Drayton, Lexi Hart, Tyler McKenna and Katie Robbins) in Berkeley Playhouse’s production of Andrew Lippa’s A Little Princess, directed by Elizabeth McKoy. Photo: Ken Levin A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett was first published in book form in 1905 […]
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The Oaks Theatre may be reborn as performance space
A task force is hoping to re-open the Oaks Theatre, at 1875 Solano Ave. into a multi-use arts space. Photo: Jane Tierney By Eli Wolfe The Oaks Theatre on Solano Avenue may be getting another lease at life. City Councilman Laurie Capitelli and the Youth Musical Theater Company are launching a task force to transform the theater […]
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Vernon Bush is the Wiz at Berkeley Playhouse
Vernon Bush stars as The Wiz in Berkeley Playhouse’s production of THE WIZ. Photo: Ken Levin Vernon Bush stars as The Wiz in Berkeley Playhouse’s production of THE WIZ. Photo: Ken Levin Elizabeth McKoy wasn’t expecting to do any casting when she ventured across the Bay to attend Glide Memorial Church’s rousing Thanksgiving service in […]
Posted inArts
Can do: Odds favor solid Guys and Dolls
Miss Adelaide (c, Sarah Mitchell) and the Hot Box Girls (l-r, Catherine Duval Petru, Simone Olsen-Varela, Louise Barcellos) perform “A Bushel and a Peck” at the Hot Box Club, in Berkeley Playhouse’s Guys and Dolls. Photo: Ken Levin (Courtesy of Berkeley Playhouse) By Ross Stapleton-Gray The production of Guys and Dolls that opened at the Berkeley […]
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For Valentine’s Day: Berkeley love blooms at the theater
Patrick and Kimberly Dooley on their wedding day By Elisabeth Woody In honor of Valentine’s Day, Berkeleyside is celebrating love in by looking at how one Berkeley couple met and fell in love. Kimberly and Patrick Dooley are prominent figures in the Berkeley theater world — she is a director at Berkeley Playhouse and he […]
Posted inArts
Willy Wonka at Berkeley Playhouse: An enchanting ride
Vernon Bush, center, gives a standout performance as the title character in “Willy Wonka” at the Berkeley Playhouse. Photo: Larry Abel Vernon Bush, center, gives a standout performance as the title character in “Willy Wonka” at the Berkeley Playhouse. Photo: Larry Abel By Hannah Long Berkeley Playhouse’s new production “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” directed by Elizabeth […]
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Playhouse steps through the wardrobe with “Narnia”
Berkeley Playhouse’s lastest production, “Narnia”, based on the first book in “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis, is a feast for the eyes and lives up to the high professional standards set by the Berkeley company. Highlights include the stage sets by scenic designer Nina Ball, and the ensemble’s uniformly superb acting skills. “Narnia” […]
Posted inNews Wire
The Berkeley Wire: 11.03.10
“American Idol” singer to appear in Berkeley Playhouse’s “Cinderella” [Playhouse] Haas sports business lecturer Sandy Alderson to lead New York Mets [UC Berkeley] French new-music group Ensemble Zellig to play UC Berkeley Sunday [Chronicle] Man arrested after allegedly robbing several UCB frat houses [Daily Cal] Susanna Barrows, UCB professor emerita of history, dies in Berkeley at 65 […]