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Judy Richter

Judy Richter

Cal Shakes stages Spanish classic

By Judy Richter

California Shakespeare Theater ventures into the Spanish classics with Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s 17th century “Life Is a Dream,” translated and adapted by Nilo Cruz.

Taking place in an unnamed country, the convoluted plot focuses on Prince Segismundo (Sean San José), who has been isolated and imprisoned since birth because his father, King Basilio (Adrian Roberts), believes a prophecy that his son would do great harm to his kingdom.

Segismundo’s cousins, Estrella (Tristan Cunningham) and Astolfo (Amir Abdullah), hope to succeed Basilio to the throne.

Testing the prophecy, Basilio orders his son’s jailer, Clotaldo (Julian López-Morillas), to drug him and take him to the palace. When he comes to, Segismundo is so enraged by what his father had done that he behaves like a monster, leading Basilio to have him drugged and imprisoned again. Upon awakening, he is told that his previous experience was all a dream.

Also figuring into the story is Rosaura (Sarah Nina Hayon), seeking revenge against Astolfo for wronging her, and her servant, Clarin (Jomar Tagatac). Romantic attraction and rebellion are involved, too.

Productions of the play elsewhere have run more than two hours with one intermission. This version runs 100 minutes without intermission. The program incorrectly says there’s one intermission.

Even this slimmed down version seems padded in places with numerous iterations of Segismundo’s pondering whether he’s really experiencing a dream. This effect is heightened because there’s little variation inSan José’s speech patterns, weakening his impact.

Directed by Loretta Greco, the rest of the cast is solid, though, especially the two women along with Abdullah as Astolfo, López-Morillas as the jailer and Roberts as the king. Tagatac deserves special mention as Clarin, a traditional Fool’s role.

The set is by Andrew Boyce with lighting by Christopher Akerlind and costumes by Alex Jaeger. Fight direction is by Dave Maier.

Music and sound by Cliff Caruthers can become intrusive. The sound for the battle scene is anachronistic: Helicopters and jets are heard overhead while the onstage combatants wield swords.

Despite some drawbacks, the production is mostly enjoyable.

“Life Is a Dream” runs through Aug. 2 at Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Way (Wilder Road exit off Hwy. 24), Orinda. For tickets and information, call (510) 548-9666 or visit www.calshakes.org.

 

‘Book of Mormon’ finds its way to San Jose

By Judy Richter

Funny, obscene, energetic, sacrilegious.

These are all ways to describe “The Book of Mormon,” the wildly popular musical presented by Broadway San Jose.

Winner of nine 2011 Tony Awards, including best musical, it’s the brain child of Trey Parker (who co-directs), Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, the threesome that wrote the music, book and lyrics. Parker and Stone also are known for creating “SouthPark.” Lopez is co-creator of  “Avenue Q.”

Taking off on the requirement that pairs of young Mormon men must spend two years as missionaries trying to gather converts, the musical focuses on two opposite personalities. Handsome, egotistical Elder Kevin Price (Billy Harrigan Tighe) hopes to go to Orlando, Fla. Instead, he’s paired with dorky, insecure Elder Arnold Cunningham (A.J. Holmes) to serve in a village in Uganda.

Kevin is sure he can convert the villagers, but he and Arnold quickly learn that they’re more focused on day-to-day survival. They’re also threatened by the thuggish General (Corey Jones), who wants to circumcise all of the females.

After some traumatic experiences, Kevin decides to leave, while Arnold stays.  He’s attracted to and has established a rapport with Nabulungi (Alexandra Ncube), a young woman in the village. The villagers are bored when he tries to read the Book of Mormon to them, but they perk up when he uses his tendency to lie in order to embroider its stories with some vividly imagined improvisations.

As for the ways this show can be described, it can be quite funny, but it’s liberally laced with obscenities and religious mockery that some people might find offensive.

Perhaps the most lasting impression comes from the energetic dancing by the 36-member cast (choreography by co-director Casey Nicholaw) and fine performances by everyone, especially the principal characters, led by Holmes as the puppy-doggishArnold. Ncube as Nabulungi is a show-stopping singer, as shown in “Sal Tlay Ka Siti,” her way of pronouncing Salt Lake City.

Even though this is a road show, production values are high with sets by Scott Pask, costumes by Ann Roth, lighting by Brian MacDevitt and sound by Brian Ronan. Justin Mendoza is musical director.

Running about two and a half hours with one intermission, “The Book of Mormon” might not be to everyone’s tastes, but it garnered a loud, enthusiastic response at opening night.

It runs through July 12 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets and information are available by calling (800) 982-2787 or visiting www.BroadwaySanJose.com.

 

Economic malaise personified in ‘Detroit’

By Judy Richter

The title of Lisa D’Amour’s play, “Detroit,” is a symbol rather than a geographic reference. In fact, that city is never mentioned, and the action takes place somewhere in suburbia.

Aurora Theatre Company is giving the four-person play its Bay Area premiere. As it opens, a middle-aged couple, Ben (Jeff Garrett) and Mary (Amy Resnick),  have invited their younger new neighbors over for a backyard barbecue.

Mary, a paralegal, and Ben are barely getting by after he’s laid off from his job as a loan officer. Meanwhile, Kenny (Patrick Kelly Jones) and Sharon (Luisa Frasconi) have next to nothing, not even furniture for his late aunt’s empty house. They’re trying to start over after meeting in rehab, they say.

As their friendship continues, cracks in Ben and Mary’s relationship are revealed.

In his program notes, artistic director Tom Ross says, “Detroit refers to the state of economic despair Americans were experiencing in 2009,” when the play was written.

Directed by Josh Costello, this production lacks a sense of ensemble because Garrett’s Ben tends to be one-dimensional. He often wears an expression of surprise, as if he doesn’t quite understand what’s happening. The other three actors create more complex characters.

Costello also allows one scene near the end to get out of control. It starts when the wives decide to go off on a camping trip, leaving the husbands to their own devices. The men are just about to enjoy a boys’ night out, when the women unexpectedly return. The scene devolves into a too loud, too long drunken dance party that’s no fun for the audience.

The backyard set is by Mikiko Uesugi with lighting by Kurt Landisman,  sound and music by Cliff Caruthers, and costumes by Christine Crook.

Running about 100 minutes without intermission, the play does have its amusing moments and interesting scenes, but, at least as presented in this production, it doesn’t seem to merit being named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for 2011.

“Detroit” will continue through July 19 at Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. For tickets and information, call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.

 

‘Love and Information’ inaugurates ACT’s new Strand Theater

By Judy Richter

American Conservatory Theater has introduced its new theater, the Strand, with an intriguing production of  Caryl Churchill’s enigmatic “Love and Information.”

The Strand actually isn’t new. It’s an extensively renovated 98-year-old movie theater that had been closed for 12 years and had fallen into major disrepair.

ACT bought it in 2012 and undertook a renovation and restoration project that preserved many of its historic features while incorporating the latest in technology and amenities for a total cost of $34.4 million.

The result is the mainstage 283-seat Toni Rembe Theater plus the 140-seat Rueff with its flexible seating for performances, education programs and other special events.

Located across from UN Plaza convenient to BART and SF Muni lines, this theater is in San Francisco’s fast-evolving mid-Market neighborhood where tech companies like Twitter have moved in.

Thus this play seems like an apt choice to open this theater because even in this high-tech age, people still hunger for information and love.

Like so many high-tech innovations, the play breaks with convention. Thus audiences might have a hard time figuring everything out, but it’s so well done that one can just go along while remaining closely attentive.

Running about 90 minutes without intermission, the play has 57 non-related vignettes with no story arc and no connection between scenes. Some scenes are mere seconds, while the longest is just over five minutes.

In most of the vignettes, the characters are seeking some love or some sort of information, sometimes both. Humor and poignancy abound.

The cast of six women and six men of various ages and races creates 140 characters. Most vignettes have only two speaking characters.

Shona Tucker and Sharon Lockwood have the first vignette, “Secret,” in which one woman begs another to tell her something.

In another vignette, two middle-aged men played by Anthony Fusco and Dan Hiatt have dinner together and reminisce about the relationship they once shared.

Others in the versatile, talented cast include Joel Bernard, Cindy Goldfield, Joe Holt, Rafael Jordan, Christina Liang, Leo Marks, Dominique Salerno and Mia Tagano.

Because playwright Churchill doesn’t specify locations or provide stage directions in this 2012 play, each producer and director can make their own choices.

In this case, director Casey Stangl makes San Francisco the primary location. Settings include Union Square as well as BART, Muni and the fountain across from the theater.

Robert Brill’s scenic design features Micah J. Stieglitz’s projections on a large upstage screen along with simple, easily moved furniture. C. Andrew Mayer’s sound design, complete with BART noises, contributes to the ambiance, along with Lap Chi Chu’s lighting design and Jessie Amoroso’s costumes.

“Love and Information” is indeed an unusual play, but it holds one’s attention and interest thanks both to Churchill’s writing and to the talents of the actors and artistic team using the Strand’s resources.

It will continue through Aug. 9 at ACT’s Strand Theater, 1127 Market St., San Francisco. For tickets and information, call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.

 

‘Chinglish’ explores East-West differences

By Judy Richter

Although China and the United States have been trying to conduct more business with each other, cultural differences can still get in the way.

That’s what the central character discovers in David Henry Hwang’s “Chinglish,” presented by Palo Alto Players.

Daniel Cavanaugh (Chris Mahle) runs a family-owned sign company in Cleveland and is trying to land the sign contract for a new cultural center in Guiyang, China. Officials there want to avoid embarrassing English translations such as “deformed man’s toilet” on signs for restrooms for the disabled.

Because Daniel has never been toChina and doesn’t speak Mandarin, he hires a consultant, Peter Timms (Michael T. McCune), an Englishman who has spent several years in China and knows the language and customs.

His knowledge comes in handy during Daniel’s first meeting with Minister Cai Guoliang (Jeffrey Sun) and Vice Minister Xi Yan (Joyce F. Liu) because their interpreter isn’t  always accurate in either her English or her Mandarin translations. English supertitles show the differences and aid the audience throughout the two-hour (one intermission) play.

Daniel soon learns that there’s much he doesn’t understand, especially when he, a married man, becomes involved in an ill-advised affair with a married woman.

The play is loaded with hilarious moments, many of them from miscommunications and botched translations.

Perhaps the most amusing scene occurs in the second act when Daniel again makes his pitch to Chinese officials. They listen politely until he tells them that he formerly worked for a firm whose financial misdeeds roiled the U.S. economy. Even though he assures them that he wasn’t involved in any wrongdoing, they’re excited and impressed that he knew some of the chief culprits.

Lily Tung Crystal is making her directoral debut with this production, but she has appeared in the play elsewhere and lived in China for nearly a decade. Thus she directs with a sure hand and with respect for cultural aspects of the play. She also is fortunate to have a skilled cast in which all of the actors except Mahle as Daniel speak Mandarin.

The cast also includes Dianna Hua Chung, Isabel Anne To and Phil Wong, each playing several characters.

The set by Kuo-Hao Lo (lit by Nick Kumamoto) revolves, facilitating scene changes. The character-appropriate costumes are by Y. Sharon Peng, the sound by Jeff Grafton.

Playwright Hwang is perhaps best known for his Tony-winning “M. Butterfly,” which also looked at cultural differences between the East and West. His 2011 “Chinglish” is far more humorous, but there are serious undertones, too, making for a rewarding theatrical experience.

It will continue through June 28 in the Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or visit www.paplayers.org.

 

‘Choir Boy’ tells coming of age story

By Judy Richter

Five students at the all-black Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys try to find their way to adulthood through their studies and especially through its prestigious choir in Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “Choir Boy” at Marin Theatre Company.

The title character is Pharus Jonathan Young (Jelani Alladin), whose homosexuality is an open secret at the boarding school. As the play opens, he’s a junior singing the school hymn at the school’s 49th graduation. He becomes distracted when someone in the background whispers slurs.

However, citing the school’s honor code, he refuses to tell Headmaster Marrow (Ken Robinson) who it was.

In an effort to instill more unity among the boys the next fall, the headmaster asks a former Drew teacher, Mr. Pendleton (Charles Shaw Robinson), a white man, to teach a class of his choosing. He chooses critical thinking. Soon the boys are engaged in a lively debate about the role of spirituals among blacks both during the slavery era and today.

Other choir members are Pharus’s nemesis, Bobby Marrow (Dimitri Woods), the headmaster’s nephew; A.J. James (Jaysen Wright), an athlete and Pharus’s kind, mature roommate; Junior Davis (Rotimi Agbabiaka), Bobby’s sidekick; and David Heard (Forest Van Dyke), who wants to become a minister.

The choir is their unifying element as the young men evolve during the school year. Hence, they do a lot of wonderful a cappella singing, blending well. (Darius Smith is music director.)

Playwright McCraney is a talent to be reckoned with. Bay Area audiences may recall his “The Brother/Sister Plays” trilogy with MTC, Magic Theatre and American Conservatory Theater each presenting one of the plays. His “Head of Passes” was a hit for Berkeley Repertory Theatre this season.

“Choir Boy” is a noteworthy addition to his canon despite some underwriting for characters like David and Mr. Pendleton. The play includes a several-minute shower scene with full frontal nudity, but its significance becomes clear later.

Director Kent Gash keeps the action flowing smoothly, aided by an outstanding ensemble cast, especially Alladin as Pharus.

The set is by Jason Sherwood with lighting by Kurt Landisman, costumes by Callie Floor and sound by Chris Houston.

This 2012 play runs slightly more than 100 minutes with no intermission.

It’s a thought-provoking, absorbing, coming of age story told with empathy, music, humor and drama.

“Choir Boy” will continue through June 28 at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., MillValley. For tickets and information, call (415) 388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org.

 

Comic acting props up Coward’s early ‘Fallen Angels’

By Judy Richter

Not many actors can get away with the style of comic acting seen in TheatreWorks’ production of Noël Coward’s “Fallen Angels,” but Rebecca Dines and her colleagues do so with hilarious results.

Cannily directed by Robert Kelley, the play is set in a dining-drawing room of a London flat in the fall of 1927. The plot concerns two complacently married women, friends since girlhood, who had passionate flings with the same Frenchman before they were married.

They haven’t seen him in the intervening years, but he has told them that he’s in London and wants to see them. This news sets them both aflame, but they don’t want to jeopardize their upper middle class marriages.

Dines plays Jane Banbury, married to Willy Banbury (Cassidy Brown). Her friend is Julia Sterroll (Sarah Overman), married to Fred Sterroll (Mark Anderson Phillips). While the stodgy husbands go golfing, Jane visits Julia, and the two talk and talk.

They also drink and drink, getting quite drunk while waiting to hear from their former lover, Maurice Duclos (Aldo Billingslea). The drunker they get, the more physical their comedy becomes, with Dines seemingly able to move her body and face any way she wants. Overman’s reactions are more subtle but humorous nonetheless.

Occasional witness to their goings-on is Tory Ross as Saunders, the Sterrolls’ new maid. Usually deadpan and discreet, she’s a fount of knowledge from her varied past experiences. She also sings well.

“Fallen Angels” is one of Coward’s earliest plays, written he was only 24. It lacks the depth, bite and polish of many of his later works. Nevertheless, it reflects the changes taking place in English society as women begin to break free from the Victorian strictures that had defined their roles for so long.

Besides the skilled cast, this production features a handsomely tasteful set by J.B. Wilson. Fumiko Bielefeldt, designer of the elegant costumes, says she adopted French fashion for the women and British country style for the men.

Lighting is by Steven B. Mannshardt with sound by Cliff Caruthers. William Liberatore serves as vocal coach and pianist.

Running more than two hours with one intermission, the play is talky and the plot is thin, but this production succeeds because of Kelley’s direction and some superb acting.

“Fallen Angels” will continue through June 28 at the Mountain ViewCenterfor the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets and information, call 650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

 

Director sees glass ceiling in ‘My Fair Lady’ in Redwood City

By Judy Richter

“My Fair Lady” boasts more than its fair share of memorable music thanks to the team of composer Frederick Loewe and lyricist-book writer Alan Jay Lerner.

The 1956 Broadway hit musical is based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” and starred Rex Harrison as an English professor of phonetics and Julie Andrews as the Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from him in order to become a lady.

Broadway By the Bay’s production features Scott Solomon as the professor, Henry Higgins, and Samantha Williams as the flower girl, Eliza Doolittle.

The differing success of their performances reflects the overall quality of this production, directed by Ken Savage.

Williams has both the vocal and acting prowess to undertake the challenges of transforming from a hardscrabble but proud flower seller to an elegant, well-spoken woman.

With her refined vocal technique, she delivers fine renditions of such songs as “Wouldn’t It be Loverly?” “The Rain in Spain” and “I Could Have Danced All Night.”

Solomon got off to a shaky start opening night with “Why Can’t the English?” and never quite commanded the stage as the domineering, inconsiderate Higgins.

Supporting characters come off better, especially Praveen Ramesh as Colonel Pickering, Higgins’ colleague; Kristina Hudelson as Mrs. Pearce, Higgins’ housekeeper; and Karen DeHart at Mrs. Higgins, Henry’s mother, who bewails his lack of manners.

The vocal standout among supporting characters is Sergey Khalikulov as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, who’s charmed by Eliza. His “On the Street Where You Live” is a show-stopper.

Gary Stanford Jr. plays Eliza’s drunken, opportunistic father, Alfred P. Doolittle, but he’s too blustery, especially in “With a Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me to the Church on Time.” He’s a good dancer, though.

Musical direction is by Jesse Sanchez, whose 11-member orchestra seems under-rehearsed and sometimes tinny in Jon Hayward’s sound design.

The set by Annie Dauber is intended to be a “crystal palace which doubles as a rigid glass cage,” according to director Savage’s notes. “The glass ceiling of this musical bars women and minorities from fully becoming equally respected members of British society,” he says.

Hence it seems appropriate that Eliza, traditionally played by white women, is played by Williams, a black woman.

Running nearly three hours, opening night seemed slow with a low energy level. Still, the memorable music and plot show why “My Fair Lady” has endured over the years.

It will continue through June 21 at the Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City. For tickets and information, call (650) 579-5565 or visit www.broadwaybythebay.org.

It will move to the Golden State Theatre, Monterey, June 27 and 28  For tickets and information there, call (831-649-1070 or visit www.goldenstatetheartre.org.

Faith unites community in ‘This Golden State — Part One: Delano’

By Judy Richter

Playwright Luis Alfaro honors a community of hard-working people in “This Golden State, Part One: Delano,” being given its world premiere by Magic Theatre.

This Kern County agricultural community has a largely Hispanic population, many of them field workers. The people that Alfaro honors are members of a Pentecostal Church whose longtime pastor has died.

Another pastor, Elias (Sean San José), from a San Diego church has returned to his hometown after seven years to preside over the pastor’s funeral and to help the church with the inevitable changes. With him is his new wife, Esther (Sarah Nina Hayon), who has never been to Delano and has no intention of staying.

During the course of the 90-minute play (no intermission), all of the main characters undergo transformations rooted in their faith, not just religious faith but a larger sense of caring for and helping one another.

Besides Elias and Esther, those characters include Hermana Cantu (Wilma Bonet), the late pastor’s widow; Moises (Armando Rodriguez), a young man whose marriage is dissolving; and Brother Abel (Rod Gnapp), the only outsider and non-Hispanic.

The Oregon resident has been sent by the Association of Pentecostal/Apostolic Churches to help with its transition. The fear is that he might recommend merging this Delano church with some neighboring churches.

One other character, Romie (Carla Gallardo),  is seen in flashbacks with Elias before he left Delano.

The play opens with a memorial service presided over by Elias, who tells how the late pastor saved his soul and treated him like son after his parents had died. It’s a scene with Elias in his preacher mode along with shouts of  “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.” It also introduces the other main characters, seated in the audience, as they give testimony.

One recurring reference in the play is California’s drought, now in its fourth year. The people’s reaction to it is one reason why the hard-boiled Brother Abel decides the church can remain independent.

In a speech that summarizes the play’s theme,  he says to Esther that the people “are loyal to a fault. … This town is drying up … but they’ve all stayed.  A real community. Four years of drought that is going to make the Joads look like a bunch of crybabies and no one leaves. They are going to endure this hell together. That’s California — in the face of adversity they grow a garden … They band together and hold on, which is why this church doesn’t waver.”

Artistic director Loretta Greco directs with a sure hand. Although everyone in this ensemble cast does well, Hayon deserves special mention as Esther undergoes one of the more interesting transformations in the play.

The church set by Andrew Boyce includes pews in the front rows and allows for easy transition between scenes. Lighting by Solomon Weisbard helps to differentiate between present scenes and Elias’s memories. Costumes are by Alex Jaeger with sound by Jake Rodriguez.

Adding to the sense of church are two songs for the audience (congregation), with music and words provided in the program for the late pastor’s service. Christopher Winslow serves as musical director.

“This Golden State, Part One: Delano” is the first installment of a trilogy co-commissioned by the Magic and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where Alfaro is playwright in residence.

At first the play ran nearly two hours, but Alfaro cut about 30 minutes. There might be spots for a few more cuts, especially in the opening scene and in the tamale-making scenes with Esther, Hermana and Moises.

Nevertheless, it’s an engrossing, uplifting play because of the humanity and resilience of its characters.

It will run through June 14 at Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. For tickets and information, call (415) 441-8822 or visit www.magictheatre.org.

 

Mostly female cast enlivens ‘Twelfth Night’ at Cal Shakes

By Judy Richter

Director Christopher Liam Moore has chosen a nearly all-female cast to portray the pranksters and mixed-up lovers in William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at California Shakespeare Theater.

Except for Ted Deasy, who plays Feste the fool and some minor men, the rest of the eight-member cast is all women, most of them longtime favorites of Bay Area audiences.

Set in Illyria, the story goes like this:  Olivia (Julie Eccles) is mourning the recent deaths of her father and brother and wants nothing to do with men such as Duke Orsino (Rami Margron), who ardently pursues her.

About that time, Viola (Lisa Anne Porter) washes ashore after surviving a shipwreck that she believes killed her twin brother, Sebastian (also Porter). Until she can get the lay of the land, she disguises herself as a eunuch named Cesario and offers to serve the duke. She’s strongly attracted to him, but he sends his new aide off to woo Olivia for him.

Olivia finds herself attracted to Cesario. Thus the mismatching begins.

In the meantime, Olivia’s roisterous uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Catherine Castellanos), drunkenly cavorts with his cohort, the foppish Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Margo Hall), and Olivia’s maid, Maria (Domenique Lozano). They plot to make a fool of Olivia’s pompous steward, Malvolio (Stacy Ross), by making him think Olivia loves him and wants him to act and dress in a certain way.

And, unknown to  Viola, her twin, Sebastian, arrives safely from the shipwreck. Soon there are hilarious mistaken identities as one twin is taken for the other.

All turns out well with lovers properly matched, but the trickery against Malvolio goes too far, leaving him bereft.

Since men and boys played all roles in Shakespeare’s day, using a mostly female cast here works well today, especially with such accomplished performers in an ensemble cast.

Costume designer Meg Neville outfits everyone in traditional Elizabethan garb. However, there are some anachronistic props, mainly the smart phone used by Feste to cue in music (sound by Andre Pluess) and by Maria to take pictures of Malvolio when he’s ridiculously garbed.

Symbolizing the mourning that sets the initial mood, a coffin remains onstage in Nina Ball’s stark but striking set design (lit by Burke Brown). Feste rises from it at first, but later it’s used to store props like beer bottles and to imprison Malvolio.

Although all of the actors deserve praise, special mention goes to Ross as Malvolio in the comical gulling scene that ends the first act.

Moore’s direction keeps the action flowing crisply and allows for plenty of laughs. Credit goes to movement consultant Erika Chong Shuch for some brief dance scenes and to fight director Dave Maier for the fight scenes.

Taken as a whole, this 2 1/2-hour (one intermission) production is a great way to open Cal Shakes’ 2015 season with its often chilly temperatures that require warm clothing and blankets.

“Twelfth Night” will continue through June 21 at Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way(off Hwy. 24), Orinda. For tickets and information, call (510) 548-9666 or visit www.calshakes.org.