Email Author Lily Janiak

2012 Stories by Lily Janiak

• "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 >>

• La Vida Lohan

  published July 18, 2012

  D’Arcy Drollinger has observed a pattern in the life of Lindsay Lohan: “Change your hair color, get into a car accident, go to the... More >>

• "Pint-Sized Plays III": Cafe Royale Serves Theater and Beer

  published July 11, 2012

  "I kind of want to apologize for the noise," said Julia Heitner, co-artistic director of San Francisco Theater Pub. "But I feel like this is... More >>

• Pretty Piece of Flesh

  published July 11, 2012

  Custom Made’s production of The Merchant of Venice represents at least two theatrical milestones. Not only is it the theater company’s... More >>

• "Salomania": Hunting Witches and Having It All

  published July 4, 2012

  Let's play a game. Try to forget the name of the play printed right above this review and then see what you would make of these hints about... More >>

• "Emotional Creature": Eve Ensler's World of Girls

  published June 20, 2012

  As Berkeley Rep Artistic Director Tony Taccone has it, playwright Eve Ensler "is dedicated to this almost antiquated notion that theater can... More >>

• When Saints Come Out

  published May 30, 2012

  The mission of Theatre Rhinoceros has long been to produce gay theater that doesn’t simplify complex issues — or, in the words of... More >>

• "Endgame" and "Play": Just Like Being Stuck in a Room

  published May 23, 2012

  In this town, it's heresy not to love Bill Irwin. The renowned clown and Tony Award-winning actor got his start in the Bay Area, where he was a... More >>

• "Tenderloin": Cutting Ball Settles into S.F.'s Troubled Heart

  published May 16, 2012

  When you walk into Tenderloin, the new documentary play at the Cutting Ball Theater, you might find yourself disoriented, even doing a... More >>

• "Hot Greeks": Thrillpeddlers and Cockettes Revive Drag Pleasures

  published April 25, 2012

  A few years ago, the Thrillpeddlers, San Francisco's theater of the gaudy, gory, and grotesque, embarked on a collaboration that could hardly... More >>

• "Othello": Marin Theatre Company Presents the Best Worst Bad Guy

  published April 18, 2012

  While he comes closer to pure evil than anyone else in Shakespeare, the villain in Othello is often called within the play itself... More >>

• "A Lie of the Mind": The Boxcar Takes on Sam Shepard's America

  published March 28, 2012

  The opening moments of A Lie of the Mind, now at the Boxcar, stand among the most intense in all of theater. Jake (a feral Joe Estlack)... More >>

• "A Bright Room Called Day": Production Is Unequal to the Play

  published March 21, 2012

  In his pre-show speech, director Brian Katz warns us that his production of A Bright Room Called Day at the Custom Made Theatre Co. runs... More >>

• Minimalism to the Max

  published March 21, 2012

  "A country road. A tree. Evening." So go the opening stage directions of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, one of the most... More >>

• New Family, Old Problems

  published March 14, 2012

  Scott Herman’s play Octopus’s Garden might not seem like typical PianoFight fare. It’s not sketch comedy,... More >>

• "The Waiting Period": Brian Copeland Pushes Through Depression

  published March 7, 2012

  You can be forgiven for having great expectations for The Waiting Period, Brian Copeland's new solo show at the Marsh. His last play,... More >>

• New Family, Old Problems

  published March 7, 2012

  Scott Herman’s play Octopus’s Garden might not seem like typical PianoFight fare. It’s not sketch comedy,... More >>

• "Body Awareness": Annie Baker Reveals the Heart of Things

  published February 22, 2012

  Sexy topical questions add sheen to the surface of Annie Baker's Body Awareness, a Bay Area premiere now at the Aurora: To what extent... More >>

• Family, Meet Train Wreck

  published February 15, 2012

  Becky Shaw is like a two-hour greatest hits album ... for a soap opera. Have a favorite cliché of the genre? You'll probably... More >>

• "Becky Shaw": SF Playhouse Finds Pleasure in Soapy Pain

  published February 8, 2012

  Becky Shaw, a regional premiere now at SF Playhouse, is like a two-hour greatest hits album ... for a soap opera. Have a... More >>

• To Helen Back

  published February 8, 2012

  Euripides, like many ancient Greeks, regarded passionate love as a form of insanity. So he might not seem like the most fitting playwright around... More >>

• "Food Stories": Feast on Word For Word's Gourmet One-Acts

  published January 25, 2012

  It's about time someone staged a play that revealed critics for what they truly are: sexy. Granted, the critic in Sorry Fugu,... More >>

• Minimalism to the Max

  published January 25, 2012

  "A country road. A tree. Evening." So go the opening stage directions of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, one of the most... More >>

• "The Wild Bride": Berkeley Rep Spins a Dark Fairy Tale

  published January 4, 2012

  If this theatrical season has had any major trend, it's the fairy tale. First, Marin Theatre Company gave us Bellwether, in which a... More >>

• Underground Transmission

  published January 4, 2012

  Nikola Tesla and the San Francisco Old Mint comprise an odd parallel. The inventor, a golden boy of the Gilded Age, pioneered technology in... More >>