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Bay Area theatre reviews with KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky,.Older posts include theatre interviews recorded pre-pandemic. LINK TO ASSORTED LOCAL THEATER & BOOK VENUES2026KPFA 312700 Politik & Regierungen
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  • Review: “The Fall Show” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage

    Review: “The Fall Show” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage
    Oct 12 2026
    KPFA Theater Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Fall Show” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage, extended to November 1, 2026. TEXT OF REVIEW: The boomer generation runs from almost eighty down to sixty two. The partying ended a long time ago, the next generation is grown, friends move away, or die. Cognition slowly fades. These years can lead to loneliness for the single person, tempered by the joys of privacy and the ability to throw off social filters that now seem pointless. 

A connection, particularly a sexual one, can sound impossible The Fall Show, a world premiere production created by Erika Chong Shuch and Charles Mee, now at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through October 25th, takes an often dreamlike look at that time in life. There’s a play in there somewhere in which an older severe looking leftist woman, a no-nonsense never suffer fools Beth Wilmurt, meets an older divorced working class man, an often poetic but never enigmatic Reginald Wilkins, on a park bench near where both live. The Fall Show takes us through the meeting to the realization that maybe something more is going on, and beyond. Different races, backgrounds, education levels. The problem is commonality, or its lack. Surrounding and sometimes overwhelming the two are six players, an audiovisual Greek chorus, who act out the emotion behind the words, which include singing, dancing — most notably Marit Brook-Kothlow from the Joe Goode Performance Group — violence against dinner plates, and Magritte-like tableaux. As co-creator and director Erika Chong Shuch notes, in creating the piece, she gave herself explicit permission, instruction, in her words, to trust the deep gut, to keep faith that the abstract means something. And therein lies both failure and success. It takes a while for the connection to be made between the story slowly unfolding on the bench, and the actions of the other players. When the two elements work, it’s theatrical gold. But often times, the results are head scratching. Luckily, when that happens, the performance and dialogue of the two leads keeps the Fall Show together. This is an attempt to put on stage the feelings and thoughts of aging, of loneliness, of finding and losing affinity, of reaffirming one’s sexuality.

By stretching boundaries between theatre and other visual forms, The Fall Show doesn’t always work, but then there are those moments of epiphany when you suddenly realize, you get it. (This is theatre taking chances, pushing the envelope. Not for everybody, but then what is?) The Fall Show, created by Erika Chong Shuch and Charles Mee, plays at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through October 25th. For more information, you can go to shotgun players.Org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Fall Show” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.
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    6 Min.
  • Review: “North By Northwest” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre

    Review: “North By Northwest” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre
    Oct 1 2026
    KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “North By Northwest,” adapted and directed by Emma Rice, at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through October 18, 2026, TEXT OF REVIEW Along with having to be perfect night after night, live theatre can only rely on sets, costumes and craft to transform time and space to fit the parameters of a script. Sure, these days a lot is computerized, but it’s still hands on, and if something goes wrong, it stays wrong. Directors like Emma Rice look at the limitations of theatre as a canvas, and then see impossible concepts as creative challenges. Whether the moors of “Wuthering Heights” or the fantasy of “The Red Shoes”, she looks to find ways to make it all work and keep audiences entertained. There may be few films less obvious to bring to the stage than Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller, “North By Northwest,” with its ever changing scenery, famous set pieces and convoluted plot. But in her version, now at ACT’s Toni Rembe Theatre through October 18th, it all happens on one stage, with a cast of eight, and a set of revolving doors that turn and twist and rarely stay in one place at one time. The show is introduced and explained by a narrator who frequently breaks the fourth wall. We first meet protagonist Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant in the film), an advertising executive, during a very busy day. He’s in a hotel lobby attempting to catch a waiter’s eye to send a telegram, when suddenly he’s mistaken for someone else, kidnapped by Russian agents — this is the cold war after all — and driven from Manhattan to an estate on Long Island. Emma Rice’s “North By Northwest” is at its most entertaining as a dance spectacle, using elements seemingly torn from Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks as well as acrobatics and ballet. Songs from the era are lip-synched here and there, and the narrator works overtime to keep things from spiraling. Leading the cast is the brilliant Danny Collins as Thornhill, Patricia Kujawska as Eve Kendall, the Eva Marie Saint role, and Katy Owen as the seemingly male narrator. As Emma Rice herself notes, Hitchcock has an extremely male perspective, but if examined carefully, the script has a decidedly feminist twist. Thus the gender switching. Sometimes less is more, and by the second act, the choreography and songs start to drag, and the cleverness fades as the brilliant crop duster scene leads to an incoherent ending on Mount Rushmore. Still, getting there is a lot of fun. “North by Northwest,” adapted and directed by Emma Rice, plays at ACT’s Toni Rembe Theatre through October 18th. For more information you can go to act-sf.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “North By Northwest” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.
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    6 Min.
  • Review: “The Cook” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre

    Review: “The Cook” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre
    Sep 14 2026
    KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Cook” by Eduardo Machado, at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through October 11, 2026. TEXT OF REVIEW: Over the past seventy years, Cuba has gone through a remarkable series of changes. First there was the Batista coup overthrowing the 1940 Constitution, leading to the corruption and repression of the mafia years. Then came the Cuban revolution, with its promise of democracy and freedom. Then Castro’s socialist government offering free medical care education, along with censorship and repression. Then came the blockade, shortages and eventually a loosening. Some of those changes are evident in Eduardo Machado’’s heartfelt and emotionally rewarding play, originally produced in 2003, The Cook, now at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through October 11th. Gladys has been a cook in a very wealthy Havana home since she was thirteen. It is the end of December 1958, and she and her boyfriend Carlos, the family chauffeur and an avid Communist, are presenting a New Years Eve party for Havana’s elite, when suddenly her mistress, Adria, announces that she and her husband are immediately leaving the country, going into exile. Batista has fled, the revolution has been won. But they’ll be back, she says, and Gladys must keep the house safe for their return. The play takes us through two more eras in Cuba’s history, as seen through Gladys’ eyes and the eyes of others as they cope with the country’s changing economic and social landscape. For playwright Eduardo Machado, it was the food and a conversation with a real life Gladys that inspired him to sit down and write about Cuba through the lens of this one person and one kitchen. Gladys in the play is no communist, barely a revolutionary. Adria, she thinks, is her friend, not merely her employer. And while others are excited to be free of tyranny, it is her world that’s been thrown upside down. Revolutions have emotional consequences, some obvious, some subtle, and some, ultimately, eye-opening. Homophobia, misogyny and racism play their own roles after Castro comes to power. Not everything changes. The Cook is anchored in superb performances, particularly that of Yesenia Iglesias as Gladys, Gisela Chipe in a double role, and Daniel Duque-Estrada as Carlos. The gorgeous scenic design is by Tanya Orellano. The Cook operates on many levels, from the personal to the political, It’s often moving and always informative, and is a welcome addition to the Bay Area theatre scene. The Cook by Eduardo Machado, directed by David Mendizabel, (Mend-di-ZA-bel) plays at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through October 11th. For more information you can go to berkeley rep.org. I’m Richard Wolinsky on Bay Area theatre for KPFA. The post Review: “The Cook” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.
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    6 Min.
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