Michael Phillis Excavates Ironies in Dancing Dinos & Pop Songs by Jenyth Jo Can this incredible spectacle, extended until Sept. 13 and overflowing with talent and mischief, save the fabulous Oasis, slated to close in December? Can the Dinos save the humans? For my first-ever drag show, I wore animal print, a safari hat,…
Millennial Notes George Brant’s WWII Comedy Shows Us How to Fight Back by Isa S. Chu George Brant’s 1942 ensemble comedy, re-set in Richmond, California, imagines a bold community effort to keep theater alive during WWII. Brant tells the true story of an all-female production of Shakespeare’s “King Henry” plays. It’s a love letter…
Doug Wright’s Masterpiece Spotlights Superb Trans SHERO by Barry David Horwitz “I Am My Own Wife” startles with beauty and grace. The solo show has lost none of its charm since bursting on the Broadway scene in 2003 and winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Oakland Theater Project has affirmed its position as a…
A visit to the Forest of Arden brings a bracing breath of fresh air.
Scenic Designer Nina Ball has outdone herself with the creation of a glorious Forest of Arden for Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” When refugees from the corrupt court flee to the forest named after Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, they are off to build a new world.
Inspired by Dali, giant pink, yellow, and blue leaves decorate Ball’s stunning staircase set—backed by the living forest. Ball conjures a dream commune embedded in Nature. Her beautiful set evokes a fantasy land that liberates and welcomes the immigrants from the court, offering them asylum.