Drama

:Every Sunday matinee we do a post-show discussion with the audience, so they get a chance to make comments and ask questions of the actors. We saw there were a lot of people who were quite moved and quite touched by the play. So the opening weekend could not have gone better, as far as I’m concerned," said director Steven David Martin.

It’s that time of year when critics look back and attempt to encapsulate an entire year’s worth of productions into one easy-to-read list of the “best of” the year. Why? Because ...

Local drama takes another step forward with the next play at the Raven, "Who Will Dance with Pancho Villa?" But the production, which opens on Jan. 22 for an eight-performance run, is hardly new. Gabriel Fraire and his brother John wrote it over 30 years ago and it had its first off-Broadway performance in New York in 1994.

"Macbeth stomped about the stage more concerned with his manly swagger than any of the events taking place in the play. If his desire was to make Macbeth a raging, petulant symbol of toxic masculinity, then Witthaus was quite effective. I hope this was the intention," says critic Caitlin Strom-Martin

To enjoy a Ken Ludwig farce, one must fully engage one’s suspension of disbelief as miraculous coincidences, ridiculous impersonations and preposterous behaviors take center stage. Doubly so for this particular production of 'Lovely Ladies' in Cloverdale.

'Heisenberg' is the 80-minute, two-person play being staged this weekend at The 222. Just like the high school chemistry teacher in 'Breaking Bad,' the play takes its reference from the theoretical physicist who postulated that a thing cannot ever truly be measured—the so-called uncertainty principle.

Even those who haven’t read the book or watched the movie probably know the plot: Francesca Johnson (Katie Watts-Whitaker) is a disillusioned Italian war bride now stuck in an Iowa farmhouse with a stereotypical American farmer (Matthew T. Witthaus) as a husband. Her husband and the kids have gone to the fair, leaving Francesca alone for four days... Entanglements ensue.

'Two Gentlemen of Verona' is one of Shakespeare’s earlier works. I’ve always thought it was one of the Bard’s easier plays to follow, written before he got all “Shakespeare-y.” It’s the tale of besties Valentine and Proteus whose friendship is tested by, of course, a woman.

There are some great production elements here. Director Emilie Talbot’s staging is clean and very effective for The 222’s unorthodox space. The costumes by Naomi Arnst are excellent. The choice of the yellow dress is especially perfect for clueing the audience into the setting of the show and the time period...

The Raven Players’ offerings begin as soon as Thursday, July 31, with the performance of one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, "Two Gentlemen of Verona," at the newest Raven venue, Bacchus Landing. While it’s technically not part of the Raven Players’ season, it fits the playbill nonetheless.