Drama

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.

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 ...

Who hasn't been tripped up by the slip of a finger while texting with family or been infuriated with ducking autocorrect? Who hasn’t mistakenly wished for the death of their grandfather in a text chain with a sibling and then found themselves exploring options for doing so? That's the premise of 'The Burdens,' the play now on stage at The 222...

Andrew Lloyd Webber bought the stage rights to the 2003 Richard Linklater/Mike White film starring Jack Black and joined with playwright Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey!) and lyricist Glen Slater (The Little Mermaid) to bring the tale of Dewey Finn’s transformation of a group of prep school students into rock stars to Broadway as a musical. It's now at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg.

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.

For the past four years there’s been a new stage in town: The 222. Located inside the Paul Mahder Gallery on Healdsburg Avenue, the risers and lights are used for many other kinds of performance art at The 222.. We spoke with Aldo Billingslea, the producer of the Theater series at The 222, to learn about the challenges and advantages of theater in Healdsburg.

This coming weekend sees three shows hit the floorboards, with another in the wings. From Cloverdale to Windsor, and back to Healdsburg.

Fair warning that this is the sort of play to which audience members will want to bring tissues. It is not a fluffy play by any means, forcing its audience to listen carefully and think deeply about difficult topics.

Reviewer Harry Duke last spent time with The Sugar Bean Sisters eight years ago at a production by the Spreckels Theatre Company in Rohnert Park. His general reaction at the time was that it was a very strange show. If anything, now it's stranger.

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...