A Depression Era Play Takes Us Back to the Future by Benjamin K. Sloan I wish that all people of my generation, ages 18-25, could watch Berkeley Rep’s “It Can’t Happen Here.” Maybe we are in denial, angsty young liberals secretly yearning for a decent reason to protest. We want to protect the historic…
Dressed-Down Tragedy Exposes Modern Misogyny by Benjamin K. Sloan Eric Ting’s bare stage “Othello” at Cal Shakes modernizes Elizabethan issues from 500 years ago for the U.S. in 2016. Shakespeare’s exposure of racial hatred, blatant misogyny, and Islamic degradation are exposed and examined in this ambitious, experimental production. The players are dressed in sweats…
Space Race vs. Galactic Disaster in the Mission by Benjamin K. Sloan & Barry David Horwitz As soon as the play “Speed of Light” by Sci-Fi writer Bella Poynton begins, with its simple, logarithmic set, papered with equations, it becomes clear that director Sam Tillis is facing a steep challenge. He is producing a…
Space Age Melt-Down of Sex & Treats by Benjamin K. Sloan As a recent transplant from L.A., entering my junior year at CAL, on Saturday I ventured into “The City,” the urban playground of San Francisco, to see Barry Eitel’s “The Ice Cream Sandwich Incident,” by Faultline Theater at PianoFight. Barry Eitel’s quirky and…