Theatrical Tour de Force

From the opening hush to the final chords, Shotgun Players’ Sunday in the Park with George unfolds as a fully realized theatrical experience. The production gathers itself with intention — moment by moment, layer by layer — the way a painting slowly sharpens into view. Characters step forward, the music warms, the design begins to breathe, and suddenly the whole world onstage has taken shape around you.

What rises from this steady build is performance with purpose, music with lift, and staging that doesn’t simply present the material but animates it. This Sunday moves with confidence and clarity — a tour de force assembled through detail, rhythm, and heart.

The story spans two eras: Georges Seurat creating his masterpiece in 1884, and a modern artist navigating the pressures of contemporary creation. Across time, the musical traces what it takes to make something that lasts.

A Sunday worth spending — tender, attentive, and beautifully crafted.

A George Worth Watching — and a Dot Who Brings the Spark
Kevin Singer, gives George an interior pulse — a man who sees the world in pieces, then tries to assemble a whole out of the fragments. His stillness draws focus; his concentration shapes the stage.

Marah Sotelo’s Dot brings the momentum. Her wit, warmth, and grounded immediacy infuse Act I with emotional clarity. She makes every scene count.

Kevin Singer and Marah Sotelo deliver a George and Dot you genuinely care about.

Together, their dynamic creates the kind of tension that feels lived rather than staged — two lives moving at different tempos, brushing past and circling back.

An Ensemble That Colors the World
The ensemble fills in the world with well-placed strokes. Lucy Swinson, William Broshnan, Laura Domingo, Kevin Rebulián, and Alex Rodriguez each contribute beats that land cleanly — flashes of character, humor, and rhythm that animate the park and give the stage its texture.

This production paints with intention — every detail earns its place.

Their collective work creates a picture in motion.

Music That Lifts the Story
David Möschler leads a small orchestra that plays with warmth, shape, and balance. The music fits the contours of the storytelling, supporting the performers while giving the score room to breathe.

One of the best-sounding small-theater Sondheim ensembles in the Bay Area.

The sound has presence without weight — a musical world fully in sync with the dramatic one.

Design That Draws You In
Nina Ball’s scenic design, Sophia Craven’s lighting, and Madeline Berger’s costumes work together to guide the eye naturally. The space shifts like the brushstrokes of a living canvas: soft hues, quiet transitions, clean silhouettes.

The design choices expand the world without calling attention to themselves.

A Unique Feature: Onstage Seating

Shotgun Players onstage seating diagram. Audience members may sit within Seurat’s landscape.

The onstage seating option deepens the experience. Audience members sit inside the perimeter of the painting, giving certain scenes a front-row intimacy and others a surprising sense of shared space. This proximity reinforces the production’s theme of stepping into the act of creation itself.

Act II: A Shift in Time That Finds Its Mark
The move to the modern era in Act II lands with clarity and lift. Imri Tate brings humor and heart as Marie, and the production handles the shift in style and tempo with a sure hand.

A production that listens as much as it sings

Connections across the century emerge naturally, through tone and rhythm rather than explanation.

A Production in Conversation With Its Audience
Susannah Martin’s direction leans into relationships — the small gestures, the pauses, the glances that say what words don’t. The production’s strength comes from this attention: scenes breathe, characters listen, and the larger themes grow organically from the smallest moments.

Sondheim, distilled and alive.

The result is a story that feels fully inhabited rather than interpreted.

Final Thoughts
Sunday in the Park with George endures because its questions endure:
What does it take to make something true?
What does it cost?
And what remains after the work is done?

Shotgun Players leans into those questions with a balance of clarity and heart. The production builds its world with care, lets emotion rise on its own timing, and trusts the final image to speak plainly.

When the last words arrive —
White. A blank page or canvas… so many possibilities.
— the moment feels earned.

Quiet boldness, beautifully executed.

A vivid, resonant, and fully realized production.
A Sunday worth spending.

TO SEE

Shotgun Players
The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley

Dates: Now through January 25, 2026
Run time: Approx. 2 hours 50 minutes, including intermission

Tickets:
shotgunplayers.org/show/sunday

Box Office: (510) 841-6500

Accessibility: Onstage seating available.
ASL-interpreted and audio-described performances listed on the show page.

This taut, atmospheric thriller grips from first shadow to final blackout.

A gripping, meticulously crafted production of Frederick Knott’s classic thriller that has held audiences breathless for decades. Under the steady, sure-handed direction of Carl Jordan, this staging leans into the story’s psychological tension and delivers the kind of slow-burn suspense that only live theatre can conjure. It’s smart, sharp, and performed with an immediacy that keeps you leaning forward from start to finish.

Story Line
Set in a modest Greenwich Village apartment in the 1960s, the story follows Susy Hendrix, a recently blinded woman who becomes entangled in a dangerous criminal scheme involving a doll stuffed with contraband. As three con men manipulate their way into her home under false identities, Susy must piece together the truth using her instincts, her wits, and her heightened awareness of sound.

The play’s signature twist — plunging the stage into complete darkness as Susy turns the tables — remains one of the great theatrical coups of the last century. And here, RVP executes it with precision that lands exactly as intended: a collective audience gasp, followed by stillness you can feel.

On Stage
Tina Traboulsi gives a standout performance as Susy Hendrix, grounding the role with subtlety, stamina, and a deep emotional thread. She builds the character moment by moment — listening, feeling the room, and recalibrating her world through sound — creating an authenticity that drives the entire production.

Tina Traboulsi builds Susy’s world through sound, instinct, and sheer will.

Opposite her, David Yen is chillingly effective as Roat, the mastermind criminal whose calm, predatory presence gives the play its edge. Without raising his voice, he conveys danger with the smallest turns of phrase.

David Yen’s Roat is cool as a straight razor and twice as dangerous.

David Abrams (Mike) and Rob Garcia (Carlino) offer strong contrasts as the uneasy criminal pair — one smooth and sympathetic, the other blunt and opportunistic — giving the production texture and momentum. Young actors Coco Brown and Diora Silin alternate as Gloria, bringing spark and attitude to a role that is vital to Susy’s evolution.

Photo Credit: Robin Jackson

Themes & Takeaway
At its core, Wait Until Dark remains compelling because it’s not just about suspense — it’s about unexpected courage. Susy’s shift from vulnerability to active, strategic control underscores the story’s belief that strength can emerge in darkness, both literal and emotional.

This is why we go to live theatre — tension you can feel in your bones.

In an era dominated by digital effects, this production is a refreshing reminder that timing, presence, and craft still create the most memorable thrills.

Technical Brilliance
Tom O’Brien’s apartment set creates a fully realized home that becomes the battleground for the escalating tension. Frank Sarubbi’s lighting design sculpts the atmosphere with precision — gradually dimming the world until shadows become characters in their own right. Billie Cox’s sound design enriches Susy’s sensory universe, while Valera Coble’s costumes and Dhyanis’s props complete a cohesive visual environment. Nic Moore’s fight choreography ensures the climactic struggle feels both believable and intense.

When the lights go out, the entire house seems to stop breathing.

Director Carl Jordan weaves these artistic elements together with confident pacing, creating a production that honors the original play while giving it fresh vitality.

Final Notes
The Barn Theatre — tucked into the Marin Art & Garden Center — is an ideal venue for this production. Intimate, well-tuned acoustically, and responsive to silence, it heightens every moment of tension.

A confident, razor-sharp opener to RVP’s 96th season.

Dates, Locations, Tickets
November 14 – December 14, 2025

Performances
Thursdays–Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
(No shows November 27–28; special 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday, November 29)

The Barn Theatre
Marin Art & Garden Center
30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross

Tickets
Starting at $30
Available at: rossvalleyplayers.com

Hope, humor, and heart light up the stage.

A Joyous and Heartfelt Kick-Off to the Holiday Season

Berkeley Playhouse opens its holiday season with a bright and beautifully staged production that reminds us why this story continues to resonate across generations. Directed and choreographed by Megan McGrath, the show balances heart, humor, and a professional polish that brings Broadway energy to the Julia Morgan stage.

Story Line

Annie, Daddy Warbucks, Miss Hannigan, and Sandy the dog star in this heartwarming holiday production.

Set in Depression-era New York, the musical follows Annie, an irrepressible orphan who refuses to give up hope of finding her parents. Her optimism catches the attention of billionaire Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, whose generosity transforms not only Annie’s life but his own. Filled with classic songs — “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” and the timeless “Tomorrow” — Annie celebrates courage, love, and belonging.

On Stage

The Annie I saw, Emma Jilizian, delivered a standout performance — confident, natural, and filled with charm. She commands the stage with an ease that makes you forget her age. The role is shared with Cara Impallomeni, another talented young performer alternating as Annie on select nights, continuing Berkeley Playhouse’s long tradition of nurturing exceptional youth talent.

Brendan Simon gives Warbucks both authority and warmth, Melinda Meeng adds grace and poise as his secretary Grace Farrell, and Sarah Bylsma steals every scene as Miss Hannigan — delightfully over-the-top but never cartoonish. The production bursts with charm, laughter, and the timeless message that courage and kindness can change lives.

The musical direction by Daniel Alley and choreography by Hannah Martinez-Crow give the show a professional rhythm and energy. Set design, lighting, and costumes evoke the period beautifully, shifting from the shadowy orphanage to the gleam of Warbucks’s mansion with cinematic ease.

Cast Highlights

Photo Credit: Berkeley Playhouse

This is a large and impressive company. Liam Cody and Maia Campbell bring humor and flair to Rooster and Lily, while Adam Saville adds warmth as President Roosevelt. The ensemble works together with precision and joy, and the alternating youth casts perform with remarkable confidence.

Add in Mac and Penny, the two well-trained dogs alternating as Sandy, and you have a cast of 38 performers — 36 actors and two four-legged scene-stealers.

I went in expecting a cute, good-hearted show — and was completely surprised by the professional quality of the performances and production. The precision of the choreography, the clarity of the vocals, and the level of ensemble discipline are all exceptional. With nearly 40 performers on stage, there are a lot of moving parts here — and it all works!

Berkeley Playhouse consistently brings heart, talent, and high production standards to its stage — and this Annie is a perfect example.

Themes & Takeaway

Beyond the laughs and music, this Annie shines because it feels genuine. It’s about optimism, kindness, and the belief that family can be found in unexpected places. The story may be set in the 1930s, but its message — that hope endures — feels especially welcome now.

Annie reminds us that even in hard times, love and optimism can light the way.

Audiences of all ages will leave the theater smiling, humming “Tomorrow,” and maybe feeling just a little lighter.

Musical Highlights

The show runs two and a half hours with intermission and moves quickly from start to finish. Familiar songs like “Maybe,” “Easy Street,” “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” and “A New Deal for Christmas” are performed with freshness and style. The orchestra, under Daniel Alley’s direction, gives the score warmth and momentum without overpowering the singers.

Full Song List

Performances
November 7 – December 21, 2025
Fridays – Sundays + select weekday evenings

Berkeley Playhouse
Julia Morgan Theater
2640 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704

Tickets
$29 (previews) • $19 – $55 (regular) + $3.95 vendor fee per ticket
Group rates available for 10 or more people.
Prices subject to change without notice.

Purchase
(510) 845-8542 ext. 351
www.berkeleyplayhouse.org

An outstanding production that blends heart, humor, and Broadway-level professionalism — a treat for all ages.

Teen Angst Meets Creative Chaos

Absurdity as Art

What begins as an ordinary day in a high-school classroom soon explodes into a Dadaist free-for-all — absurd, tuneful, and unexpectedly revealing.
Central Works’ latest world premiere is a hilarious, sharp-edged swirl of rebellion, chaos, and truth.
Set in the manic world of high-school overachievers and art-school dreamers, it turns teenage turmoil into a full-blown Dada experiment — where nonsense becomes the only honest language left.

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The Setup
A prep-school rebellion collides with the art of nonsense.
Overachiever Annabel hatches a plan to impress Harvard by directing a “Dadaist homage” to The Sound of Music.
She enlists Tyler, the school’s charismatic con artist, and Mariah, a shy bassist chasing authenticity, while Mr. Dorfman, their frazzled math-and-drama teacher, tries to keep order.
As ambition curdles into chaos, scams pile up, morals bend, and Dada itself becomes both the joke and the truth.

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What Is Dada? Born in 1916 Zurich, the Dada movement rejected logic, reason, and artistic rules. It celebrated chaos, chance, and humor as acts of creative rebellion — a protest against a world that had stopped making sense.

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Cast Highlights
Jacob Henrie-Naffaa (Tyler) steals scenes as a fast-talking manipulator who says anything to get his way. His energy is relentless and perfectly amoral — the classic hustler who thrives in confusion. At times, his delivery fires so fast that a breath or two more would help the humor fully land. Still, his bravado and control anchor the show’s manic heartbeat.

Zoe Chien (Annabel) gives ambition a comic edge. Her Harvard-bound intensity drives much of the farce, and her eventual unraveling — capped by a howling rejection — hits both funny and sad.
Chanel Tilghman (Mariah) is the quiet soul of the story. Her final solo performance — literally playing her own song — is both moving and defiant, the evening’s truest moment of art emerging from chaos.
Alan Coyne (Mr. Dorfman) grounds the madness with weary wit. His slide from moral compromise to collapse mirrors the adults’ world the teens are rebelling against, giving the satire its human cost.

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Director Highlight
Gary Graves directs with precision and abandon — a combination only Central Works can pull off.
He keeps the tone wild but the storytelling tight, letting absurdity and honesty co-exist.
Scenes spiral from classroom realism into bursts of absurdist theater, and the cast rides the chaos with fearless control.
Graves’s direction finds truth inside the nonsense, and laughter where it hurts a little to laugh.

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Very Up-Close Theater

Central Works’ 49-seat City Club space turns this production into full-contact theater.
Tyler literally jumps into the front rows. Annabel snatches her handbag from the railing beside my seat. The audience joins chants, cheers, and call-and-response moments that blur the line between viewer and participant.
It’s not just immersive — it’s contagious. You feel pulled into their reckless, hilarious experiment, as if you’ve become part of the Dada performance yourself.

Adding to the mayhem, Tyler even handed out his own “official” promo flyer for a spin-off show, The Itch of the Sound of Oklahoma — “a professional, Dadaist, musical romp through the Old West featuring never-seen-before Dadaist Crocodiles.”

It’s a riotous parody of self-promotion, a perfect in-joke made tangible.

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Delicious Uncertainty / Takeaway
By the end, all facades collapse. Annabel’s Harvard dreams implode, Tyler’s scams crash, and Mr. Dorfman loses both job and conscience. Only Mariah remains — standing alone, bass in hand, singing her own song. It’s absurd, touching, and oddly inspiring: in a world of pretense, authenticity wins by simply existing.

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Observation & Suggestion
The show’s pacing is breathless — a strength that occasionally outruns itself. A few half-beats of pause between comic volleys could sharpen the humor and let its satire resonate.
And those recurring “Curve the Line” hats? They’re such an instantly iconic gag that they practically beg to become merch — wearable proof that Dada still sells.

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Go see it — you’ll be surprised — maybe even enlightened.

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Catch It In Berkeley
Dada Teen Musical: The Play runs through November 17, 2025
at the historic Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA.
Performances: Thursday & Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 7 pm, Sunday at 5 pm.
Tickets: $25–$35 (sliding scale) with Pay-What-You-Can preview opening weekend.
For tickets and info, visit centralworks.org or call 510-558-1381
Runtime: approximately 90 minutes with one intermission.
Masks recommended; available at the box office.

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Authorship & Creative Statement

Each review is created through my proprietary FocusLens℠ method—an original editorial process shaped by firsthand experience, critical insight, and structured narrative design. Original photography, graphics, director quotes, and animated elements are incorporated to enhance reader engagement and visual impact. State-of-the-art scaffolding systems support organization and phrasing, but every sentence and decision reflects my own voice and judgment. These are not AI-generated reviews—they are authored, shaped, and published by me.