The Pianist of Willesden Lane: ☼ ☼ ☼ BANG

"The Pianist of Willesden Lane" has everything: glorious music, terrible Nazis, a well-meaning heroine, an interesting historical setting and, towering above all this, Bach. Beethoven, Debussy, Scriabin and Grieg.

But there is one niggle. Solo performer and co-writer Mona Golabek is brilliant while she is sitting at the piano, but somewhat less so when not. Her monologues are mannered. Golabek plays piano with a fire that, if transferred to her storytelling, would boost her show to another level.

Regardless, "Willesden Lane" is a joy, because we get long sections of spectacular pianism. We would recommend the show to anyone who wants to grab a feeling of what this musical canon has provided for so many generations of people. Yes, you will cry. Yes, you will leave the theater humming the beginning to Ode to Joy. Yes, you will feel lifted, as have audiences around the world, where the show has played to sellout crowds and standing ovations. Yes, they are making a movie.

And yes, says the San Francisco Theater Blog's resident curmudgeon, me. It could still be much more.

RATINGS ☼ ☼ ☼ BANG

The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division grants "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" Three Stars with a Bangle of Praise. Mona Golabek's musicianship earns three stars all by herself. She earns a BANGLE for the way she played Claire de Lune with such grace while never stopping her narration. And we loved the segment where she plays along to an old film clip of Dame Myra Hess. Very touching stuff.

Sometimes, a show feels smaller than its venue. "Willesden Lane" makes us long for a small cabaret and a performer not forced to walk up and down artificial stage constructs in order to fill up space. Every moment away from the piano for Mona Golabek is a moment wasted.

The Pianist of Willesden Lane

Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

500 Castro Street

Mountain View, CA

EXTENDED through Feb. 16

Pride and Prejudice ☼ ☼ ☼

Wonderful holiday fare, Theatreworks' new production of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" is breaking box-office records in Palo Alto. It is easy to see why -- many of us long for a simple love story with upbeat music. Life is uncomplicated. Love consists of a flirtation followed by a kiss, which leads to eternal bliss. Or servitude, depending on who's asking.

This is Mary Mattinson's show. Playing Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter with backbone and spunk, the story spins through her non-courtship of the handsome and perhaps-not-evil Mr. Darcy (Justin Mortelliti). Charisma is not his strong suit but he's got lots of loot.

Love has spurned Elizabeth's elder sister, the properly calm and reserved Jane (Sharon Rietkerk), but this will not last if Elizabeth has anything to do with it. Heather Orth is her usual charming and in-control self as mother of five unmarried daughters, while her husband, Mr. Bennet (Christopher Vettel) appears to do nothing at all but smoke his pipe and read the newspaper.

As it had to be in a society where women were not allowed to inherit property, money talks. Mr. Darcy seems to have the most. The Bennets live royally, but, by comparison to the Darcy and de Bourgh crowd, are paupers. Prospects can be slim for beautiful, intelligent daughters from families without the promise of huge dowries.

A special mention must be given to Brian Herndon who gives Parson Collins that slimy breath of rotting cheese that he deserves. Equally entertaining are Lucinda Hitchcock Cone as Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Monique Hafen Adams who can play anything -- this time she is the haughty aristocrat Caroline Bingley.

They're all aristocrats but these, thanks to Jane Austen and Paul Gordon, speak lovely dialogue and sing nice songs. They do seem to get their knickers in a twist about relatively small issues, but they do it in a delightful way.

RATINGS ☼ ☼ ☼

The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division grants "Pride and Prejudice" Three Stars. The women are cast beautifully but we were less intrigued by the men. They certainly fall in love easily, though. Audiences love it when aristocrats smooch.

"Pride and Prejudice"

The Lucie Stern Theatre

1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto

EXTENDED through Jan. 4, 2020

$30-$100

"Groundhog Day, The Musical" ☼ ☼ ☼ BANG

For those of us who have seen "Groundhog Day," the 1993 film starring Bill Murray, at least twenty times, "Groundhog Day, The Musical" has special traction. Danny Rubin co-wrote the original screenplay and his book for the musical brings us many of the heartwarming moments from the film, especially as concerns Ryan Drummond, who plays weatherman Phil Connors, the Bill Murray character. We wondered if Drummond, whom we have seen in many different roles over the years, could pull off Murray's loveable grump. We are happy to say he does so, and then some. Plus, he is a gifted singer.

Rinabeth Apostol is very entertaining as his co-producer and eventual love interest. She is a star in the making. We also loved the supporting crowd of Punxsutawnians, especially the always entertaining Michael Gene Sullivan.

The songs by Tim Minchin are clever and advance the story. They work within the style of musical theater writing that seems to be today's standard, where the story counts and the songs are there for little but filagree. A fine band anchored by Dave Dobrusky pumps out rhythmical tunes which keep us pulling for boy to get girl.

Special applause for the staging of this show -- a series of revolving baffles and moving turntable that continually bring us back to the morning of Feb. 2. The show is a delight to watch.

Of course there is also a deeper subtext here -- what would you do if you knew that whatever you did on one day would be erased as soon as you awakened the next morning?  Me, I'd move directly to the Hot Fudge Sunday Bar.

RATINGS ☼ ☼ ☼ BANG

The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division grants THREE STARS with a BANGLE OF PRAISE to "Groundhog Day, the Musical." We love the story, casting and directing by Susi Damilano. The Bangle is for that hysterical hospital scene. A few breakout songs could help make this show a standard.

"Groundhog Day, the Musical" 

San Francisco Playhouse

450 Post Street (2d floor of Kensington Floor Hotel)

San Francisco

Through January 18
$35-$125

OUT OF TOWN REVIEW: “The Great Leap”

Lauren Yee’s “The Great Leap” at Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, CA:

If her “King of the Yees” was a slam dunk, “The Great Leap” is a driible-off-the-foot out-of-bounds. No coach could ever be so foul, no kid so dumb, no story so concocted.

The San Francisco Theater Blog blows the whistle: DON’T BOTHER. Maybe the Father-Son meme worked in Star Wars. Not here.

Robert Townsend: “Living the Shuffle” ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

Robert Townsend has a fascinating history and he’s really, really funny. Known as one of the pioneers of independent film-making, his first feature “The Hollywood Shuffle” was financed on credit cards and shot for $100,000. It grossed over $8 million. As a stand-up performer, his Hollywood stories are very entertaining but he also shows us the frustration of so many actors of color as they seek to transcend the stereotypical roles offered to them. You can only audition so many times to play a pimp. 

We loved Townsend’s stories about growing up on the west side of Chicago, the lessons he gained from wonderful teachers, his move to Hollywood with Keenan Ivory Wayans and his informal initiation into the rat pack by Don Rickles. His performance of Shakespeare through an African-American perspective is amazing. Not everyone knows that Townsend directed Eddie Murphy’s classic “Raw. We loved the bit about meeting with the censors to whittle down the almost constant foul language in that film.  

This is a very respectful man. Perhaps this is what we love best. And he makes us laugh out loud.

It’s a short run, so hurry over to Berkeley for a fun evening, filled with cool stories, and while you’re laughing you’ll learn something about the most basic lesson of Hollywood: “Just keep working.”

RATINGS: ☼  ☼  ☼  ☼

 The San Francisco Theater Blog loves this show. Robert Townsend is as good as it gets. FOUR STARS.

Robert Townsend: “Livin’ the Shuffle”

The Marsh Berkeley

2120 Allston Way, Berkeley

EXTENDED Through Through Dec. 15

$35-$100

"Mother of the Maid" ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

The rare combination of a show that makes us feel alive with understanding, as well as forcing us to think about our place in the world order, has arrived in Mill Valley. Marin Theater Company's production of Jane Anderson's "Mother of the Maid" puts us in a position we have never before considered: what if you are Joan of Arc's mother? Your country is at war with England and your neighbors have been slaughtered. Your daughter has been seeing visions of St. Catherine, who has instructed her to raise an army to drive the invaders away, with God's help, of course.

You know, in your heart, your daughter is insane (and probably not too crazy about boys, as the show hints), but the Mom in you wants to believe the holy story is true. You also know that you are a peasant and that palling up with royalty will end up with you getting the short end of the stick. But you cannot stop Joan from her fate. What's a Mom to do?

In the first place, Joan of Arc's real last name was Arc. (D'Arc, actually.) Who knew?

Played by Rosie Hallett, Joan gives us a fairly typical teenage daughter, except for the swords and armor. She doesn't want to hear any difference of opinion from her parents, and anyway she has convinced the local Priest and Duke to sponsor her. Her father tries to discipline her, but, you know, St. Catherine and God and the Priest are a tough trio to argue with.

Sherman Fracher gives one of the best performances we have seen all year as Isabelle Arc, mother of The Maid, as Joan has come to be known. Fracher should be nominated for Actor of the Year for this role, that gives us a salt-of-the-earth peasant trying to please the royals (especially Liz Sklar as a sympathetic but clueless Lady of the Court).  She is both practical (she can clean her own feet, thank you) and furious, when she realizes the Crown has used Joan to restore its power but has no intention of ransoming her from the English, now that her work is done.

Scott Coopwood is all us fathers, angry but helpless, stung to the heart but unable to make his child understand her inevitable fall. His soliloquy, as he watches his daughter being burnt at the stake, will break your heart and pour hot oil over it.

Robert Sicular is an effective Father Gilbert and Brennan Pickman-Thoon an equally effective Pierre Arc, Joan's would-be-soldier brother. Kudos to the entire cast for making me keep the window open all the way home, that my sorrow at the human condition should not wash me off the Golden Gate Bridge.

RATINGS: ☼  ☼  ☼  ☼

The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division grants FOUR STARS to "Mother of the Maid." This is a brilliant show, with perfect acting to express the unique vision of an Emmy-Award winning playwright. Well done, Jasson Minidakis and the entire MTC team. Please don't miss this show. Afterwards, a few glasses of mead will help.

"Mother of the Maid"

Marin Theatre Company

397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley

Through 12-8-19

$25-$70

Cloud 9: ☼ ☼ ☼ BANG

Caryl Churchill's plays are always a hoot. She defaults your presets. This British playwright wants to skewer everyone's expectations, not only about gender and sexuality, but also how they are presented on stage. Once she's done that, she spins a yarn that makes you nod your head and laugh as you are scratching your chin in wonder.

"Cloud 9" was written in 1979. It is as relevant now as it was then. The story takes place in two time periods, the first in South Africa in 1879, and the second some twenty-five years later, as the characters we saw in Act One have either aged as adults or grown up if they were children.

Well, sort of. In Act Two, the actors from Act One change parts and sexes and everything seems pretty darned confusing, until you sit back in your chair and roll with it. It is a pleasure to do so.

Evan Winet plays the quintessentially Modern Major General in Act One and a bearded spoiled child in Act Two. Mario Mazzetti plays Winet's Victorian wife in Act One and grown-up Edward in act Two, while Alejandra Wahl is baby Edward followed by adult Vic. Others in the cast play duplicate roles and genders as well. Alan Coyne is particularly evil as a black servant although he is white, followed by a coldhearted, trolling gay man who may actually be the only one with a moral compass.

We loved the costumes by Candice Liao, not an easy task due to changing eras. Allie Moss's direction keeps everyone out of each other's way, also not a simple assignment.

RATINGS ☼ ☼ ☼ BANG

The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division grants "Cloud 9" Three Stars with a Bangle of Praise. Act Two runs a bit long as the author is trying to lead you home. The idea seems to be "Relax. We Are Who We Are. Try Laughing."

The Bangle is for the entire ensemble cast. We really got behind this show.

"Cloud 9"

Custom Made Theatre

533 Sutter Street

Through Dec. 15

$25-$55