Suzan-Lori Parks Spotlights Overlapping Black Histories by Patricia L. Morin In her 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Suzan-Lori Parks creates a fantasy shared by two brothers, reflecting their confrontation with American racial conflict. She mingles the Civil War with conflicts today. It’s shocking in “Topdog/Underdog” how slavery blends so perfectly with our waves of brutality…
Lauren Yee Pits U.S. vs. China in a “Friendship Game” by Patricia L. Morin Lauren Yee’s unique play “The Great Leap,” at The Stage in San Jose calls our attention to winning and losing, and the power of political expectations. Yee uses China’s and America’s basketball craze to portray the political and personal conflict…
Shire & Maltby Create a Collage of Musical Delights by Patricia L. Morin San Francisco Playhouse, under the innovative direction of Susi Damilano and Choreographer Nicole Helfer, offers us a refreshing “Welcome Back” from the horrors of the pandemic. Although “Starting Here, Starting Now” goes easy on storyline, the show leans heavily on the ups and…
Molly Smith Metzler Spotlights Strains of New Motherhood by Patricia L. Morin Cinnabar Theater’s powerful production of Molly Smith Metzler’s play exposes not only the demands on new mothers, but also delves into the love between two friends—surpassing gender and class. “Cry It Out” shows the meaning of true friendship at a time when…