John Gallagher Jr. and Tony Vincent in American Idiot. Photo: mellopix.com Last night at Radio City Music Hall in New York, American Idiot, the Green Day rock opera created by Berkeley Rep and debuted there last year, took home two Tony Awards, theatre’s most coveted prizes. Christine Jones from American Idiot accepted the Tony Award for […]
Theater
Posted inArts
Berkeley Rep plays snag six Tony nominations
Berkeley Rep scores again. Two plays that premiered at the theater— “American Idiot” and “In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)” — have scooped up six Tony nominations. “American Idiot”, a musical based on the Green Day album of the same name, was nominated for best musical, best scenic design of a musical and […]
Posted inArts
Berkeley Playhouse’s Oliver is delightful
I’ve rhapsodized previously about the stellar plays put on by Berkeley Playhouse, and I am pleased to say that its current production of Oliver is wonderful. The show features 30 kids, mostly from schools around Berkeley and Oakland. Nandi Drayton is wonderful as Oliver, and Katie Corbus is great as the Artful Dodger. “As the […]
Posted inArts
American Idiot rocks Broadway
Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt at afterparty “American Idiot” opened last night on Broadway to rave reviews. The New York Times called it “thrillingly raucous and gorgeously wrought.” USA Today declared it the “feel-good musical of the season.” The Washington Post called it “dazzling” and said the musical had “coolly aggressive dance […]
Posted inArts
Berkeley Rep play heads to London
We reported yesterday on Berkeley Lab’s broad economic impact. But pound for pound, Berkeley’s export powerhouse seems to be Berkeley Rep. Tiny Kushner, the series of short plays directed by Rep Artistic Director Tony Taccone, is transferring to London’s Tricycle Theatre in September, with original cast and design team intact. The Tricycle has long been […]
Posted inArts
Will “American Idiot”, the musical, become a movie?
Just days before American Idiot, the musical based on the Green Day album of the same name, makes its Broadway debut, rumors are swirling that Tom Hanks wants to turn it into a film. Hanks already has plenty of experience turning musicals into mega-hits. Playtone, his production company, turned ABBA’s Mamma Mia into a movie […]
Posted inArts, Community, Events
Enjoy the rain this weekend at “Singin’ in the Rain”
On our family’s to-do list for the weekend is the show, Singin’ in the Rain, produced by Berkeley Playhouse. It promises to be a delight, with excellent singing, great dancing, and a wonderful sense of fun. How do I know, when I haven’t seen the production? Because I have loved every other performance this Berkeley […]
Posted inArts
Steve Jobs, Chekhov and Afghanistan
Artistic Director Tony Taccone today announced the 2010-11 season for the Berkeley Rep, which includes plays about Steve Jobs and Afghanistan, Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, world premieres from Daniel Handler (better known as Lemony Snicket) and Rinne Groff, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined by Lynn Nottage, and a new play by Taccone written for Berkeley […]
Posted inCommunity
How Berkeley can you be on TV?
Parenting prevented me from attending the Parenthood premiere bash held in — oops — Oakland not Berkeley. So instead of viewing the pilot with local luminaries at the beautifully restored Fox Theater in downtown Oaktown, I watched the start of the series from the comfort of my couch in a modest west Berkeley cottage. Berkeleyside […]
Posted inArts
Top honor for Rita Moreno
Berkeley’s own Rita Moreno yesterday received the nation’s top cultural honor, the National Medal of Arts. President Obama presented the award to the star of stage and screen after spending the day in healthcare lock-down mode. Moreno is the only Latina actress to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony for her dance and acting […]
Posted inArts, Business, Events
Shotgun throwing costume sale
The Shotgun Players are giving up their costume shop space in Berkeley “after years of luxurious accumulation”, as they put it, and they are throwing a sale when many of the costumes you will have seen on stage in their recent productions will be up for grabs. The “everything must go” sale will include women’s […]