Charles Lewis III

1 week ago | 48hills.org | Charles Lewis III

When the musical Parade (through June 8 at the Orpheum Theatre) premiered in 1998, it came at the tail-end of a tumultuous decade that everyone revisions as innocuous. Despite what reruns of Friends might have you believe, those of us who were alive in the ‘90s (particularly, those of us from marginalized groups) recall every great stride of the Clinton era being tempered with an equal-if-not-greater setback.

2 weeks ago | 48hills.org | Charles Lewis III

A common thread in the two shows below is how they nail the catharsis of placing blame. Be it baseless scapegoating or calling out the genuinely guilty, there’s a relief to putting a face to your frustrations. Humans have abstract thought, but we share the same fear of the unknown as every other sentient creature. A simple “just because” is never enough for when things go wrong; we need to know there’s a diabolical villain out to get us. When we don’t find it, we’ll make one up.

3 weeks ago | 48hills.org | Charles Lewis III

This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof. I’d missed opening night for Crumbs from the Table of Joy (through May 25 at Aurora Theatre Company) because of the same DOGE-ified public transit woes I’ve mentioned before. Finally got to see it this past Friday.

1 month ago | 48hills.org | Charles Lewis III

This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof. Explaining to folks that you’re a professional critic often involves dispelling misconceptions. But one stereotype that carries a hint of truth is that critics are unable to turn off the scrutinous parts of their minds. Why should we?

1 month ago | 48hills.org | Charles Lewis III

This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof. Recently, I interviewed SF Mime Troupe’s Micheal Gene Sullivan about the Troupe’s emergency fundraiser. Like all of us in the nonprofit world (particularly us unabashedly leftists), they’ve felt the sting of a leaner-than-usual spring donation season.