James Carpenter

Castro Halloween Parade's Off? No Worries. Get Out And See a Show Instead

Welcome to The Gap

California Shakespeare Festival's Henry IV, Part One is fraught with nearly ruinous anachronisms

So Much to Love

Penny Metropulos' simple setup of Shakespeare's comedy pays off

Adrift

ACT's The Tempest is tossed by the storm of its spectacular impulses

Up Tempo

All in the Timing delivers on its sit-back-and-laugh terms

A Scrooge Is Born

All in the Timing delivers on its sit-back-and-laugh terms

Masterful

A new production of a difficult Ibsen classic helps with the play's slippery heroine

The Picnic Papers

Cal Shakes' outdoor, sprawling Nicholas Nickleby moves fast enough to hold your attention

The Son Also Rises

A drunk, irresponsible prince and a dull king waiting for him to grow up. Sound familiar?

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theatre

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theatre

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Ghosts

Director Jonathan Moscone's production of Ghosts at Berkeley Rep is a thing of beauty

House Proud

The old Doll still resonates in this tight, effective production

Saying Ado

A light, summery take on two of Shakespeare's wittiest lovers

Measure for Measure

A light, summery take on two of Shakespeare's wittiest lovers

We Petty Men

Julius Caesar is best when we don't push the modern parallels

Taking Wing

Cal Shakes uses an appropriately light touch with Chekhov's "comedy"

Sound and Fury

Cal Shakes' Macbeth places the art before the horse

Ctrl.-Alt.-Delete

What could have been a great send-up of Silicon Valley culture falls flat

Highlands and Lowlands

It may feel set in a different era, but ACT's Glengarry Glen Ross still resonates, with fortunes that rise and fall like stock prices

Hamlet in Wonderland

Steven Skybell stars in Hamlet

Play Out the Play

The Taming of the Shrew

Pimpernel and The Homecoming

The Taming of the Shrew

Stage

The Taming of the Shrew

Stage 1996

Five notable productions

Behind the Scenes

Five notable productions

Familia Ties

Five notable productions

Missing Pieces

Craig Lucas' Missing Persons struggles to extricate itself from its own packaging

Hard Labour

Love's Labour's Lost imprisons with its verse; My Piece of the Sky incarcerates the audience

Night+Day

Love's Labour's Lost imprisons with its verse; My Piece of the Sky incarcerates the audience

Theater Review: "John Gabriel Borkman" at Aurora Theatre

Love's Labour's Lost imprisons with its verse; My Piece of the Sky incarcerates the audience

Also Playing

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Timeless -- and Timely -- as Ever

Our critics weigh in on local theater

For the Bob Cratchit in Us All

Our critics weigh in on local theater