Dave Malloy’s Haunting Song Cycle Shimmers by Mary Lou Herlihy “Ghost Quartet” is so haunting and curious, I want to share it with my musical friends. In a cozy living room setting, an array of instruments lies scattered on Persian rugs, awaiting the human touch for a wild musical ride. Standing at the ready…
Mary Zimmerman Celebrates Mozart in Earthy, Erotic Fantasy by Barry David Horwitz Extraordinary designer/director Mary Zimmerman triumphs at Berkeley Rep with her ethereal, funny Magic Flute, taking us to brave, new worlds. Her tongue-in-cheek version of Mozart’s comic opera comments on itself—with a wink and a smile. In one memorable scene, magnificent blue stage…
Tarell Alvin McCraney Battles “High-Class” Homophobia with Music by Joseph Mutti “Choir Boy” illustrates how homophobia persists in the supposedly Christian world of the Charles R. Drew Preparatory School for Boys, an elite African American private school. Of course, it’s the scholarship student that the rich boys attack. Oscar-winning Oakland playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney…
Lisa B. Thompson’s Choreopoem Honors Black Women’s Stories by Lynne Stevens Balancing between the reality and the joy of Black women’s lives, Lisa B. Thompson’s choreopoem “The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body” reminds us of the struggles Black women face every day. An omniscient voice recites the grim statistics on Black women’s…