Judy Richter

Hillbarn Theatre gets the holiday season off to a festive start with “White Christmas,” Irving Berlin’s musical tribute to love, family and friendship.

Inspired by the 1942 film “Holiday Inn,” “White Christmas” was first seen in a 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. After being adapted for the stage, it has become a holiday staple for theaters across the country.

Hillbarn’s production features two Equity actors, Pierce Peter Brandt as Bob Wallace (the Crosby role) and Jim Ambler as Phil Davis (the Kaye role).

Written by David Ives and Paul Blake, the story starts on Christmas Eve 1944 when Army buddies Bob and Phil put on a holiday show for their unit and its commander, General Waverly (Bob Fitzgerald), in Europe.

Fast-forward 10 years. Bob and Phil have a popular song and dance act seen on TV’s “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Its producer tells them about a must-see sister act by Betty Haynes (Melissa O’Keefe in the Clooney role) and Judy Haynes (Amanda Farbstein in the Vera-Ellen role).

There’s instant attraction between Phil and Judy, but not so much between Bob and Betty.

By coincidence, the sisters are booked at a Vermont inn owned by General Waverly. The two men wind up joining them. As a lack of snow and a backlog of bills threaten the inn’s viability, the men undertake to save it.

Directed by Virginia Musante, the Hillbarn production features an engaging cast. Executing the interesting choreography by Gennine Harrington, all four leads are excellent dancers, as is much of the supporting cast.

Fans of the late Bob Fosse will recognize him as the inspiration for the Act 1closer, “Blue Skies,” featuring Bob and the chorus. Lovers of tap dancing will enjoy “I Love a Piano,” performed by Phil, Judy and the chorus to open Act 2.

With musical and vocal direction by Tracy Chiappone, the leads also sing and act well. O’Keefe is notable in Betty’s torch song, “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me.” Co-musical director Rick Reynolds conducts the orchestra, which gets too loud at times, overpowering the singers.

Among supporting roles, Claudia McCarley is a standout as the wisecracking Martha Watson, the inn’s longtime receptionist and manager. Poised and polished, 9-year-old Emily Mannion plays Susan Waverly, the general’s sharp-as-a-whip granddaughter. She brings down the house in the reprise of “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy,” first sung by Martha.

The show is loaded with memorable tunes. Besides those already mentioned, there are “Sisters,” “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “How Deep Is the Ocean” and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Then there’s the title song, heard in both acts, each time with the audience invited to sing along.

On the design side, credit goes to Kuo-Hao Lo for sets that allow quick changes between scenes, to Don Coluzzi for the lighting, to Kate Schroeder for the costumes and Andrew Kang for the sound.

Besides being such an enjoyable, well done show, the production is notable for the welcome debut of Hillbarn’s new, more spacious restrooms along with new offices and a refurbished lobby.

“White Christmas” will continue at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through Dec. 21. For tickets and information, call (650) 349-6422. Ext. 2, or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.

The late Molly Ivins was a syndicated newspaper columnist who had little patience for stupidity, incompetence, pomposity or dishonesty, especially in politicians.

Instead of vitriol, though, she skewered them with her homegrown Texas humor, as seen in “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins.” Kathleen Turner brings her to life in a one-woman play by twin sisters Margaret and Allison Engel and presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Wearing a blue denim work shirt, jeans and red cowboy boots (costume by Elizabeth Hope Clancy), Turner strides around the newsroom that houses her utilitarian desk with its manual typewriter and a preserved armadillo.

She’s ostensibly trying to write a column about her father, with whom she apparently had a love-hate relationship and whom she called “the General.” He was a conservative, she a liberal.

She’s occasionally interrupted by bulletins coming over the Associated Press wire machine — a staple of newsrooms before computers — and delivered to her by a silent copy boy (Michael Barrett Austin).

Along the way, she talks about her life, career and the people she’s met She tells how she started out in journalism when most newsrooms were all-male and when most journalists were hard drinkers, a situation that apparently led to her own problems with alcohol.

Her numerous anecdotes are peppered with references to her mentors and to famous people, mostly conservative politicians, most of whom she held in low regard. She’s the one who dubbed George W. Bush “Shrub.” She had little use for coziness between “guvmint” and “big bidness,” terms that don’t crop up in the play but that she often used in her columns.

Directed by David Esbjornson, Turner employs her famously sultry voice and assured stage presence to personify Ivins. She easily transitions from astute and often salty humor to more serious issues. The latter include the deaths of two boyfriends, one in a motorcycle accident and one in the Vietnam war, which Ivins steadfastly opposed. She says that both it and the Iraq war were predicated on lies.

The newsroom set by John Arnone is enhanced by Daniel Ionazzi’s lighting and by photo projections designed by Maya Ciarrocchi. The sound design and cowboy-themed music are by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen.

The play concludes with her plea for people to stand up for their rights and to oppose wrongdoing. Ironically, this came during opening night as people across the country, including Berkeley and Oakland, were protesting a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer accused of killing a black teenager in Ferguson, Mo.

When Ivins died of breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 62, she left a void that has yet to be filled at newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle and hundreds of others across the country. She was a Texas original.

Running about 80 minutes without intermission, the play is both insightful and funny — highly enjoyable.

“Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” will continue through Jan. 4 in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2949 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.

Dementia takes a terrible toll not only on the victim and family but also on society in general. Sharr White’s “The Other Place” shows how dementia affects one woman and her family.

In the Dragon Theatre production directed by Kimberly Mohne Hill, Judith Ann Miller plays Juliana Smithton. She’s a 52-year-old neurologist who has developed what appears to be a breakthrough product to treat dementia and, presumably, Alzheimer’s disease, although that term is never used.

Pitching it to a group of doctors at a seminar in the Virgin Islands, she becomes distracted by what she says is a young woman wearing a yellow bikini and sitting in the back. She becomes so distracted that she can’t continue.

Shorty thereafter, her husband, Ian (Mark Drumm), an oncologist, refers her to a neurobiologist colleague, Dr. Cindy Teller (Maureen O’Neill, called The Woman in the program), for an evaluation.

Juliana is hostile, accusing Cindy and Ian of having an affair and saying that he wants to divorce her. Ian denies her accusations.

Juliana also insists that she has been in touch with their daughter, Laurel (O’Neill), who disappeared 10 years ago at the age of 15. The Smithtons never knew what happened to her. She might have run off with Juliana’s research assistant, Richard Sillner (Paul Stout, called The Man in the program), or she might have been abducted after running away.

The play’s title refers to the family’s former weekend cottage on Cape Cod. In her delusional state, Juliana goes there. Instead she encounters the owner, a woman (O’Neill) who — after first being angry — kindly appeases her.

Despite the play’s tragic topic, it has its humorous moments. It also has moments of hope.

Miller skillfully navigates Juliana’s emotional journey through personality changes and intellectual decline. Because so much of what she says may or may not be true, the audience must depend on Drumm’s Ian for the truth. O’Neill does well in the other female roles, especially the woman in the cottage. Stout does well in his limited role as The Man.

Brian Corral’s set, lit by Jeff Swan, is relatively bare bones but allows for shifting scenes. Costumes by Heidi Kobara are appropriate for the characters, but the sound by Rory Strahan-Mauk can become too loud between scenes.

Running 80 minutes without intermission, “The Other Place” is an absorbing look at the effects of dementia. Since it’s so prevalent throughout society, many in the audience will no doubt recall their own experience with an afflicted family member or friend.

“The Other Place” will continue at Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City, through Dec. 14. For tickets and information, call (650) 493-2006 or visit www.dragonproductions.net.

In real life, Robert Mugabe is the 90-year-old controversial leader of the African nation of Zimbabwe. In Fraser Grace’s fictional “Breakfast With Mugabe,” it’s 2001, and the 77-year-old president has asked to see a white psychiatrist in hopes of ridding himself of the ghost of a rival.

Carefully directed by Jon Tracy in its West Coast premiere, this Aurora Theatre Company production features two esteemed Bay Area actors. L. Peter Callender plays Mugabe, and Dan Hiatt is the psychiatrist, Dr. Andrew Peric.

Before the two meet, however, Andrew confronts the possibly dangerous presidential bodyguard Gabriel (Adrian Roberts) and the elegant Grace Mugabe (Leontyne Mbele-Mbong), who is 40 years younger than her husband.

When Robert and Andrew finally meet, it becomes clear that despite Andrew’s best efforts to keep things on a professional level, Robert wants to do things his way. Add Grace and Gabriel to the mix, and what you have is a four-way power struggle amid a heavy dose of Zimbabwe’s troubled history.

As the play progresses, it’s revealed that Andrew owns and has deep feelings for a tobacco farm that his been in his family for at least two prior generations. It has been taken over by Zimbabwe war veterans who want to reclaim land that they contend was taken from their ancestors by white colonialists.

This issue leads to the play’s wrenching conclusion.

Most of the action takes place in the State House (the simple but elegant set by Nina Ball is lit by Heather Basarab). Scenes are separated by videos designed by Micah Stieglitz with sound by Hannah Birch Carl. Costumes by Callie Floor are noteworthy for Grace’s elegant outfits.

Running about 100 minutes with no intermission, the 2005 play has some slow spots because of the background presented in a dialect that’s not always easy to understand. Still it’s an interesting look at recent history, and it features outstanding performances by all four actors.

“Breakfast With Mugabe” will continue at AuroraTheatre, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley, through Dec. 7. For tickets and information, call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.

It’s easy to like Elwood P. Dowd. It’s also easy to like Mary Chase’s “Harvey,” presented by Palo Alto Players.

Played by Evan Michael Schumacher with a gentle, unassuming smile, Elwood is a 37-year-old bachelor who lives in the Dowd family home with his widowed sister, Veta Louise Simmons (Mary Price Moore), and her 20-something daughter, Myrtle Mae (Alison Koch).

Elwood is a genial soul who instantly connects with people and gives them his card. He apparently has many friends at the local bars he frequents.

He seems normal in every way with one big exception –Harvey, a 6-foot-tall rabbit that only he can see. Harvey accompanies Elwood almost everywhere. When Elwood enters a room, he holds the door for Harvey. When Elwood sits, he pulls up a chair forHarvey. He introduces Harvey to people.

It’s no surprise that his sister and niece are so embarrassed by his behavior that they want to commit him to a sanitarium, Chumley’s Rest. However, when Veta goes there to sign the necessary papers, she becomes so wrought up that admitting psychiatrist, young Dr. Lyman Sanderson (Scott Solomon), decides she’s the one who needs to be committed.

In the meantime, Myrtle Mae becomes attracted to Duane Wilson (Drew Reitz), the rough orderly at  Chumley’s Rest, while Dr. Sanderson and the facility’s nurse, Ruth Kelly (Nicole Martin), fight their mutual attraction.

It takes some time for everything to be sorted out, thanks in part to the sanitarium’s owner, Dr. William R. Chumley (John Musgrave), and the Dowd family attorney, Judge Omar Gaffney (Tom Farley).

“Harvey” premiered in 1944 during World War II and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945. It has an upbeat sweetness that war-weary audiences undoubtedly welcomed and that still seems relevant today.

Elwood was originally played by James Stewart, who went on to star in the 1950 film as well as stage revivals in 1970 and 1975.  Schumacher puts his own likable stamp on the character, playing him with an easygoing charm and innocence.

Directed by Jeanie K. Smith, the supporting cast is uneven. Solid performances come from Musgrave as Dr. Chumley and Farley as Judge Gaffney. However, Martin as the nurse and especially Koch as Myrtle Mae overact.

Designed by Ron Gasparinetti, the set quickly transforms from the elegant Dowd library to the utilitarian reception room of Chumley’s  Rest. Lighting by Selina G Young, costumes by Cynthia Preciado and sound by Gordon Smith complement the production.

Thanks in large part to Schumacher and his invisible pal, this is an enjoyable show.

“Harvey” will continue at the Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, through Nov. 23. For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or visit www.paplayers.org.

Combine terrific dancing and singing with Cole Porter’s incomparable music and lyrics and what you have is Broadway By the Bay’s production of  “Anything Goes.”

This classic of musical comedy features such memorable songs a “I Get a Kick out of You,” “Easy to Love,” “Friendship,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” and of course the title song.

It also has likable characters, who are brought to life by a first-rate group of performers directed by Michael Ryken. Ryken is using the 1987 revised book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman rather than the 1934 original by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The revision is said to pay closer attention to character development.

The standout performer is Katie Jaime as Reno Sweeney, the role originally played by Ethel Merman. Jaime makes no effort to imitate Merman. That’s impossible.

Instead she unabashedly rules the stage with her commanding stage presence, fine singing and great dancing, perhaps better than Merman herself could have done.

Reno is a nightclub evangelist who’s supposed to perform on a Europe-bound ship from New York. A late arrival, actually a stowaway, is her friend Billy Crocker (Adam Cotugno). He’s in love with another passenger, Hope Harcourt (Samantha Cardenas), but she’s engaged to a feather-brained but pleasant Englishman, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Tomas Theriot).

Aided byReno and a genial gangster, Moonface Martin (Ray D’Ambrosio), Billy overcomes several complications to achieve his goal. It’s all quite amusing and upbeat.

Choreographer Robyn Tribuzi has come up with some show-stopping routines, especially the tap-dancing for the title song, ending Act 1 on a decidedly upbeat note. “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” in the second act is another show stopper. Both feature Reno and the entire company.

Besides Jaime as Reno, outstanding performances come from Cotugno as Billy, D’Ambrosio as Moonface and Theriot as Lord Evelyn. As Hope, Cardenas has a lovely voice, but she needs a stronger stage presence.

Musical director Sean Kana conducts the fine orchestra. The serviceable set is by Fred Sharkey with sound by Jon Hayward. Margaret Toomey has designed some eye-catching costumes, especially for Reno.

However, the lighting by Michael Ramsaur had problems on opening night with numerous instances of performers left in shadows. Since Ramsaur is normally such an accomplished lighting designer, the problem may have been that either the light crew wasn’t on the ball or some of the lights weren’t working properly.

That minor quibble aside, though, this is a thoroughly enjoyable production of a musical theater gem.

“Anything Goes” will continue at the Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City, through Nov. 23. After the Redwood City run, the production will move to the Golden State Theatre in Monterey from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7.

For tickets and information, call (650) 579-5565 or visit www.broadwaybythebay.org.

Throughout most of her 80 minutes on stage, Seana McKenna engages the minds and hearts of her American Conservatory Theater audience for “Testament” by Colm Tóibín.

Astutely directed by ACT artistic director Carey Perloff, this demanding one-woman play tells the story of Jesus from the viewpoint of his mother, Mary. In the play, however, her character is called the Woman, while she refers to Jesus as “our son.” She seems to refute the idea of the immaculate conception by saying she recalls quite well how her son was conceived.

Although the time and place aren’t specified in the program, Perloff says the stage directions call for “Place: A Space. Time: Now.” However, it appears that the Woman might be in the old Greek (now Turkish) city of Ephesus after the crucifixion of Jesus.

She is supervised by men she calls “two brutes” who have temporarily left and who want her to write her recollections in accord with their specifications, but she’s defying them. Her supervisors aren’t named, but perhaps they’re two of the four apostles who wrote the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Much of her story concentrates on the crucifixion, starting with Roman soldiers forcing Jesus to carry his cross to its destination while wearing the painful crown of thorns. She goes into excruciating detail about the process as well as the reprehensible behavior of some people in the crowd and the danger she was in.

Prior to the crucifixion, she talks about how her son became the leader of a group of radicals who were viewed askance by both the ruling Romans and the Jewish elders. She also mentions some of the miracles attributed to him, such as healing a lame man, turning water into wine (she’s doubtful about that) and raising Lazarus from the dead. Finally, she pays homage to the Greek gods, especially the goddess Artemis.

Except for a few early moments, “Testament” is a fascinating play with a riveting performance by McKenna.

She appears on a relatively simple set designed and lighted by Alexander V. Nichols. It has just a card table, two wood chairs and camp stool bordered by large shards of glass. The sound design by Will McCandless is unobtrusive yet effective at emphasizing key passages.

People who accept the biblical account of the life of Jesus might find this play offensive to their religious beliefs, but others will see it more as the story of a mother’s anguish at the cruel loss of her son.

“Testament” will continue at ACT, 415 Geary St., San Francisco, through Nov. 23. For tickets and information, call (415) 749-2229 or visit www.act-sf.org.

A bored Canadian’s decision to go to the theater during a visit toLondon in 1935 sets off a wild chase that unfolds in “The 39 Steps” at Hillbarn Theatre.

Patrick Barlow adapted this comedy from the film by Alfred Hitchcock and a novel by John Buchan.

This minimalist production uses only four actors. Brad Satterwhite plays the debonair hero, Richard Hannay, while Elspeth Noble plays three female characters. The dozens of other characters are played by Ross Neuenfeldt and Russell Ward, called Clowns 1 and 2.

As Richard watches the show from a box, a mysterious woman joins him before shots ring out. They flee to his flat, where she tells him that a spy plot threatens the country. She gives him some basic details before being stabbed.

Suspected of her murder and eager to save the country, Richard heads for the master spy’s home in Scotland. Along the way, he barely eludes an assortment of police and acquires an unwitting travel companion and eventual love interest, Pamela (Noble).

Directed by Hunt Burdick, this production has numerous hilarious moments. Many of them come from quick character changes — some with only a switch of hats — by the Clowns, aided by costumer Mae Heagerty-Matos.

Steve Nyberg’s set (lit by Matthew Johns) uses few stage pieces, many on wheels, to facilitate scene changes. On the other hand, the sound design by Alan Chang sometimes covers dialogue. This is especially problematic with the Clowns when the action moves toScotland, where the thick accents are already hard to understand.

Overall, though, it’s a fun show. Satterwhite and Noble are standouts in the cast.

Hillbarn patrons will be pleased to know that construction has begun to expand the restrooms and upgrade the offices and lobby. Dan Demers, executive artistic director, said in his pre-curtain speech that this work is expected to be completed in about two weeks. That would be well before the next show, “White Christmas,” begins Dec. 4.

In the meantime, Hillbarn has set up five portable toilets plus washing stations and canopies in the courtyard. Patrons may enter the facility from the back parking lot.

“The 39 Steps” will continue at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through Nov. 2. For tickets and information, call (650) 349-6411 or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.

For proof of Stephen Sondheim’s genius, look no further than TheatreWorks’ production of his brilliant “Sweeney Todd.”

Composer-lyricist Sondheim and book writer Hugh Wheeler have crafted an alternately chilling, lyrical and amusing musical, subtitled “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

Director Robert Kelley, who also directed the company’s 1992 production, has moved the setting from its traditional Victorian London to 1940 during the German Blitzkrieg. The action takes place in an abandoned factory (set by Andrea Bechert with lighting by Steven B. Mannshardt) leading to a subway station, which served as a shelter during the relentless bombing (sound by Jeff Mockus).

Sweeney Todd (David Studwell) is a barber whom a judge banished to Australia on a trumped up charge 15 years ago. Judge Turpin (Lee Strawn) apparently wanted Sweeney out of the way in order to seduce his pretty young wife.

The story opens 15 years later as Sweeney sails back to London to find his wife and daughter. He visits the pie shop of his former landlady, Mrs. Lovett (Tory Ross), who has a vacant room upstairs and has saved his razors for him.

Now he can go back to work as a barber. Along the way, he kills the fraudulent Pirelli (Noel Anthony). To dispose of the body, Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett cook up the idea of using it for her meat pies.  Sweeney wants to get rid of the judge the same way.

In the meantime, a handsome young sailor, Anthony (Jack Mosbacher), who befriended Sweeney on their voyage to London, immediately falls in love with Sweeney’s daughter, Johanna (Mindy Lym), who is a virtual prisoner in Judge Turpin’s home. He has taken her in as his ward and wants to marry her.

Complications ensue. Not everyone survives.

Director Kelley uses a relatively small cast with most of the named characters serving as the chorus. Musical director William Liberatore conducts the scaled down orchestra from the keyboard.

The production is blessed with outstanding singers who deliver Sondheim’s songs with the appropriate emotions. And what songs they are — one highlight after another.

Perhaps the most beautiful song is the haunting “Johanna,” sung by Mosbacher as Anthony after he hears Lym singing Johanna’s “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” in a high, lilting soprano.

Ross as Mrs. Lovett has the show’s most amusing songs: “The Worst Pies in London,” “A Little Priest” (sung with Sweeney) and “By the Sea.” Ross has terrific comic timing and sings well. Playing Tobias Ragg, who becomes Mrs. Lovett’s young assistant, Spencer Kiely sings the sweet “Not While I’m Around” to and with Mrs. Lovett.

Then of course there’s the show’s anthem, “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” sung by the company at the beginning and several times thereafter. The powerful “Mea Culpa” sung by the judge, is eliminated in this production, as it has been in some others.

Besides those already named, other characters are played by Mia Fryvecind Gimenez as the Beggar Woman and Martin Rojas Dietrich as Beadle Bamford, Judge Turpin’s sidekick.

Although Studwell makes a menacing Sweeney, he sometimes strays slightly off pitch, as in “My Friends” and “Epiphany.”

Taken as a whole, though, this is an outstanding production. People seeing it for the first time were bowled over on opening night, while those who have seen it several times before found it as stirringly impressive and exciting as ever. It’s a major landmark in American musical theater.

“Sweeney Todd” will continue at the Mountain ViewCenter for the Performing Arts, Castro and Mercy streets, Mountain View, through Nov. 2. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

There’s nothing quite like a good ghost story around Halloween. Dragon Theatre has such a story in “The Woman in Black,” which Stephen Mallatratt adapted from a book by Susan Hill.

The plot features an older man, Arthur Kipps (Kevin Kirby), who hires a younger actor (Tasi Alabastro) to help him exorcise a ghost, the Woman in Black (Lessa Bouchard in this nonspeaking role), that he encountered many years ago.

When he was a young solicitor, Kipps’ boss sent him to a remote village north of London to attend the funeral of a client, a reclusive widow, and go through her personal papers.

Upon arriving in the village, Kipps finds people reluctant to talk about the late Mrs. Drablow and her house, Eel Marsh, reachable only a low tide. At the funeral and again at the house, Kipps sees a mysterious woman in black with a wasted face.

Over time, he learns her chilling story and later falls victim to her curse.

Director Meredith Hagedorn has made the unusual choice of having Kipps rather than the Actor re-enact Kipps’ story, while the Actor plays most of the characters that Kipps encounters. In other productions, the Actor plays the younger Kipps, while the older Kipps plays the other characters.

Hence, there is some confusion about who’s who in the early scenes, but the director’s choice is more suited to her two actors.

Kirby as Kipps believably navigates the character’s emotional journey from relative nonchalance to abject terror. Alabastro as the Actor seems less versatile. He’s also misdirected in some scenes, especially when he portrays Kipps’ pipe-smoking, lip-smacking boss.

The story unfolds on the stage of a Victorian theater in London. Set designer Janny Coté furnishes it with a steamer trunk, a chair and two coat racks. Imagination and the characters’ ingenuity provide almost everything else, except for lighting by Jeff Swan, sound by Lance Huntley and costumes by Erin Haney.

“The Woman in Black” has been running inLondon’sWest Endsince 1989, making it the district’s second-longest non-musical play, second only to Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.”

Despite some shortcomings, this production helps to show why the play remains so popular.

It will continue at Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City, through Nov. 2. For tickets and information, call (650) 493-2006 or visit www.dragonproductions.net.