An obviously funny joke told in Brazilian Portuguese without translation by a housekeeper who doesn’t clean, a driven American doctor whose oncologist husband falls in love with one of his patients, and a trip to Alaska to find a rare tree that slows down cancer — all of these combine into a fascinating story under playwright Sarah Ruhl’s talented hand.
Playing through Sept. 8 at Alameda’s Altarena Playhouse, “The Clean House” distorts time and space with flashbacks and props that fly out of the window of one house to land in the living room of another house across town.
“I really struggled with writing the director’s notes for this play,” says director Jacqui Herrera in her program notes. “I mean, what is this play about? From a theme and thesis standpoint, it’s about how we humans desperately try to control the forces of life, death and love … a simpler way to say this is: This play is about life.”
Audiences need to keep an open mind and be ready to let their imaginations loose as Herrera and her fine cast (Janelle Aguirre, Marsha Harrison, Adriana Palhares, Jeanette Sarmiento and Louis Schilling) inhabit this unconventional play. While all do a good job with their eccentric characters, Aguirre as the Brazilian maid is especially fun to watch. Set designer Craig Cutting makes good use of the Altarena’s intimate space, creating a lovely second playing area in the “Juliette” balcony. Call 510-523-1553 or go to altarena.org for tickets and more details.
Walnut Creek: I don’t know about you, but I love a good murder mystery. I gobble up novel after novel featuring my favorite detectives, so I enjoy going to a good production of an Agatha Christie suspense story at one of our local theaters. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to Center Repertory’s opening show of the season, “Murder for Two.” With book and music by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, this comedy blends music, mayhem and murder with two performers playing 13 roles and one grand piano!
Taking on the challenging roles are Eric Shorey and Eric Van Tielen with Paul Mason Barnes directing this snazzy homage to old-fashioned murder mysteries. “Murder for Two” runs Aug. 30 through Oct. 6 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr. Call 925-943-SHOW or go to lesherartscenter.org.
San Francisco: The folks at 42nd Street Moon certainly have their work cut out for them this September. On Sept. 7-8, they’ll showcase 70 of the Bay Area’s best singers and musicians in the Tony Award-winning “Titanic the Musical — in Concert” at San Francisco’s Alcazar Theatre, 650 Geary St.
Then on Sept. 15-16, they’ll turn the Gateway Theatre into a cabaret for the fundraising party “Broadway Flipped,” with favorite performers doing songs from roles they would otherwise never get to play. And finally, on Sept. 25, the company will open its first show of the 2019-20 season, “Hot Mikado” at the Gateway.
“It’s definitely a very ambitious kickoff to our season that will keep us on our toes,” says 42nd Street Moon Co-Executive Director Daniel Thomas.
While Thomas and fellow Co-Executive Director Daren A.C. Carollo love producing their mainstage season in San Francisco’s intimate Gateway Theatre at 215 Jackson St., they also enjoy the opportunity to work at the Alcazar.
“At the Gateway, we max out with around 18 performers and maybe four or five musicians on our stage, so it’s nice to get a chance to do something with a large ensemble and such glorious orchestrations as ‘Titanic’ and to be in a very different part of the city,” says Thomas, who also says they will use projections to designate where the characters are on the ship as well as actual photos of some of the historic people who were on the voyage.
“This show focuses on individuals and is really a very compelling story,” Thomas adds. Cast members include many East Bay performers such as DC Scarpelli, John and Marcia Hetzler and Donna Turner. Although not happening until May 2020, 42nd Street Moon has included another challenge to its season. The company will produce in repertoire a play and the musical based on that play. For this season, it’s Kaufman and Hart’s 1934 play “Merrily We Roll Along” and Stephen Sondheim’s 1981 musical version of the same name.
“The same actors will be in both productions, which should be a challenge since one takes place from 1916 to 1930 and the other from 1954 to 1980,” says Thomas. “We also think this is a great opportunity for people to see how plays evolve into musicals. Some, like ‘Pygmalion’ and ‘My Fair Lady,’ are very much alike or others like ‘Merrily’ are stylistically very different.”
For complete information on 42nd Street Moon’s impressive season, go to 42ndstmoon.org.
Berkeley: The marvelous Mads Tolling is back in town. The Grammy Award-winning violinist will perform at Berkeley’s Freight and Salvage on Sept. 5 with the San Francisco String Trio, which includes Tolling plus guitarist Mimi Fox and bassist/vocalist Jeff Denson. The evening includes tunes from their latest album, a tribute to The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s” album. Go to thefreight.org/event/1868882 for more details.
On Sept. 6, Tolling honors another of his hero’s — Danish jazz fiddler Svend Asmussen in a concert in Sacramento with guitarist Jeff Massanari at B Street Theatre at the Sofia. The duo has been performing together throughout Europe with B Street marking their first U.S. performance. The show comes to San Ramon in October. More info is at bstreettheatre.org/shows.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.
