Email Author Lily Janiak

2012 Stories by Lily Janiak

• "Woyzeck": Socioeconomic Theory, the Musical

  published December 26, 2012

  Written in 1836-7, Woyzeck occupies a fascinating place in theater history. German playwright Georg Büchner died at the age of 23,... More >>

• Kid's Play

  published December 26, 2012

  For the latest in its Family Matinee Series, New Conservatory is staging a musical that, while geared for young audiences, might be most familiar... More >>

• Holiday Theater: Audio-Visual Magic in Berkeley and Marin

  published December 12, 2012

  For theater companies, the holiday season can be less "good will toward men" than "notorious conundrum." This time of year is one of the most... More >>

• Crone Wars

  published December 5, 2012

  Terry Baum of the Crackpot Crones isn’t against holiday shows in theory, though “as a lesbian, a feminist, and a political... More >>

• "You Need to Read Poetry!": Theater in the Rhyme

  published November 28, 2012

  The title of Performers Under Stress's new show might sound like the Uncle Sam recruiting poster of the theater world. In fact, You Need to... More >>

• American Dreams: Two Plays Address Our Hopes and Fears

  published November 14, 2012

  Early in the second act of Superior Donuts, produced by Custom Made Theatre Company, Arthur (Don Wood) explains how his immigrant... More >>

• Burning Desires

  published November 14, 2012

  Michael Xavier knows you’ve heard the story of the Salem Witch Trials before, and that you might even remember Abigail Williams, the young... More >>

• "Strindberg Cycle": Cutting Ball Stages the Chamber Plays

  published October 31, 2012

  The Cutting Ball Theater's production of Strindberg Cycle: The Chamber Plays in Rep has no shortage of headline-makers. It falls on the... More >>

• Have a Crystal Ball

  published October 31, 2012

  There’s probably no such thing as an ordinary psychic. But for those who tire of mere palm reading and crystal ball gazing, Kevin Seaman and... More >>

• The Hole Shebang

  published October 24, 2012

  If you looked just at the dramatis personae in Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts, which premieres tonight at Custom Made Theatre... More >>

• Revisionist History: Two Second Acts of John Wilkes Booth

  published October 17, 2012

  When Galen Murphy-Hoffman enters the stage in Shotgun's production of Assassins, you recognize his character immediately. The ashen... More >>

• Slasher Drag

  published October 10, 2012

  In his Halloween! The Ballad of Michele Myers, drag performer Raya Light brings a bunch of girls to their deaths, but, more... More >>

• A Musical Ghost Story

  published October 10, 2012

  The musical variety show The Grimaldis Are Dead spans generations of the titular family, all performers of one kind or another who... More >>

• A Clever Kind of Non-Theater

  published October 3, 2012

  Stew and the Negro Problem, an “Afro-Baroque” band, is all about blurring boundaries: between different races and cultures,... More >>

• Coming Out, Coming Home

  published October 3, 2012

  Fresh from an acclaimed run at the New York Fringe Festival, Thao Nguyen’s solo show, Fortunate Daughter, is about her... More >>

• "The Normal Heart": Larry Kramer Looks Back in Anger

  published September 26, 2012

  Now on tour at American Conservatory Theater, the Tony Award-winning revival of The Normal Heart features a mode of acting we don't see... More >>

• Bee There

  published September 19, 2012

  Footloose Artistic Director Mary Alice Fry has done the conventional theater thing before, where you “sit there and wait for people to come... More >>

• The Beasts Take Berkeley: Animal-Sized Desires Roar in Two New Plays

  published September 5, 2012

  When you descend the steps of La Val's Subterranean for Impact Theatre's latest show, you aren't just entering a small black box theater in the... More >>

• Fall Arts: Small Shows and Blockbusters Share Uncommon Ambition

  published September 5, 2012

  The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity Aurora Theatre CompanyAug. 24-Sept. 30 at the Aurora, 2081 Addison (at Shattuck),... More >>

• "Blithe Spirit": Noel Coward's Ghost Story Still Kills

  published August 22, 2012

  In Blithe Spirit, the spirit of make-believe and enchantment that California Shakespeare Theater achieved in The Tempest with... More >>

• The Rights Stuff

  published August 22, 2012

  Rights of Passage, a world premiere, follows one man -- Wayan (Jomar Tagatac), a gay Balinese Hindu -- but its scope is LGBTs... More >>

• Mother Tongue

  published August 15, 2012

  In Precious Little, which premieres tonight at Shotgun Players, veteran actress Nancy Carlin plays three characters, two of them... More >>

• "Circle Mirror Transformation": Annie Baker Lets Actors Play

  published August 8, 2012

  "Play the game yourselves a few times," said Kip Fagan, director of Circle Mirror Transformation, at a recent rehearsal. "In... More >>

• Doolittle, Too Late

  published August 1, 2012

  The most salient status symbols in the London of My Fair Lady aren’t walking sticks and pocket watches but diphthongs and... More >>

• "Sweeney Todd": Ray of Light Doesn't Go for the Jugular

  published July 25, 2012

  There are good reasons why Sweeney Todd, now at the Eureka in a Ray of Light production, has something of a cult following. The Demon... More >>