86 stories by "Joanne Engelhardt"
CYRANO GETS A CONFUSING NOSE JOB Why anyone involved in Los Altos Stage Company's current production of Cyrano thought it would be a good idea to make Cyrano a woman"and without the trademar…
Palo Alto Players' Jersey Boys Finds the Beat, Even When the Staging Stumbles Opening night at Palo Alto Players' Jersey Boys had the Lucie Stern audience itching to jump out of their seats …
COUCH SURFING AND CULTURAL BAGGAGE It makes sense that Jeffrey Lo"a Filipino artist who writes, directs, and knows the Peninsula theater scene inside and out"could write a play like Writing …
With just two actors onstage for 90 minutes, The Heart Sellers relies entirely on the chemistry, charisma, and emotional intelligence of its performers"and in TheatreWorks's production, Nico…
WILD ROMP IN SENIOR LIVING TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has launched an uproarious spoof of senior living with Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical. It's an all-…
A MUSICAL THAT CURVES IN CONCENTRIC CIRCLES Fly by Night, an affecting chamber musical which premiered in 2014 at Playwrights Horizon, has been described as a "darkly comic rock-fable," and …
WHO ARE YOU ASKING TO THE PROM? It may not be high school or college prom season just yet, but in the San Francisco Bay Area, at least three theatre companies have decided it's time to dust …
NOSTALGIA NEVER GETS OLD When The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams premiered on Broadway in 1945, it became his first major success. Nearly 80 years later, the play remains relevant, to…
THE MINUTE THAT CHANGED POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING FOREVER On September 7, 1964, a 60-second TV ad transformed American politics. Known as "Daisy Girl," it featured a young girl counting daisy pe…
LAUGH-A-MINUTE FUN When English playwright Michael Frayn wrote his slapstick farce in 1982, it bore little resemblance to the production that opened Saturday night at the Lucie Stern Theater…
Hershey Felder has become synonymous with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, returning year after year from Europe to present his original musical productions. This year, he brings Rachmaninoff an…
AN AMUSING ROMANTIC ROMP ALL 'SPRUCED' UP With Christmas just around the corner, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley offers up a light-hearted, romantic comedy Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley th…
ANASTHESIA A sold-out opening night audience Dec. 6 was likely entranced with the lovely costumes, fine acting, solid choreography and strong vocal performances in Anastasia at Hillbarn Thea…
NOSTALGIC, SAPPY FUN If you're in the mood for a night of campy humor with a Christmas-y theme, head to Bus Barn Theatre in Los Altos for its production of A Christmas Story: The Musical. Th…
Kaufman & Hart's 30s Comedy Shows that Love Conquers All by Joanne Engelhardt Who knew that a 1936 comedy could feel so fresh and fun? Director Tom Gough brings joy to Foothill Co…
Julian Fellowes & Andrew Lloyd Webber's Creation Rocks the Rafters by Joanne Engelhardt Take 15 fresh-faced young rock-star kids and let them all do their thing"playing musical instrumen…
Hershey Felder Plays Beautifully & Performs with Charm by Joanne Engelhardt If you want to see a superb, polished performance of Fryderyk Chopin playing his music in his Paris salon, …
Father Joe Bradley's Inspirational Story Calls for Sharper Focus  by Joanne Engelhardt "The Four Gifts," at Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City, shows what happens when a person who is no…
Joanne Engelhardt is a San Jose State University journalism graduate who spent about seven years working at newspapers on the San Francisco Peninsula. Later, she wrote and edited emplo…
If it weren't for the impossibly outlandish antics and contorted facial expressions of Emily Scott as God Herself, Palo Alto Players' take on "An Act of God," livestreaming from the actors' …
Perennial TheatreWorks Silicon Valley favorite Hershey Felder is offering a live-streamed performance of "Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone" on Sunday, Sept. 13, to benefit the Palo Al…
Palo Alto Players makes its first foray into full-length virtual production when the frothy "An Act of God" opens Sept. 5. First performed on Broadway in 2015 featuring Jim Parsons as God (a…
Five trans athletes from various sports are set to participate in an Aug. 29 panel discussion that's part of the Redwood City Festival.
Although its subject matter makes it tough to watch at points, Pear Theatre's online production of "Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue" is a well-acted drama. Quiara Alegria Hudes' play, online throu…
The centennial of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, will be celebrated in song Aug. 26 with a virtual production of "Perfect 36." A joint collaboration of TheatreWorks …
