Joanne Engelhardt

3 weeks ago | stageandcinema.com | Joanne Engelhardt

CYRANO GETS A CONFUSING NOSE JOBWhy anyone involved in Los Altos Stage Company’s current production of Cyrano thought it would be a good idea to make Cyrano a woman—and without the trademark large proboscis at that—is a bit of a mystery. Cyrano de Bergerac remains a beloved staple of the stage, loosely based on the real-life 17th-century duelist-poet who famously wielded both a sharp sword and an even sharper wit.

3 weeks ago | stageandcinema.com | Joanne Engelhardt

Palo Alto Players’ Jersey Boys Finds the Beat, Even When the Staging StumblesOpening night at Palo Alto Players’ Jersey Boys had the Lucie Stern audience itching to jump out of their seats and dance. And who could blame them? The hits keep coming in this crowd-pleasing jukebox musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons—the signature falsetto, tight harmonies, and irresistible rhythm are all here. Bob Gaudio (Andrew Cope), Frankie Valli (James M.

3 weeks ago | stageandcinema.com | Joanne Engelhardt

COUCH SURFING AND CULTURAL BAGGAGEIt makes sense that Jeffrey Lo—a Filipino artist who writes, directs, and knows the Peninsula theater scene inside and out—could write a play like Writing Fragments Home. It’s personal without being sentimental, funny without trying too hard, and it lands exactly where it needs to. I was at the near-sold-out opening night at Hillbarn Theatre, and you could feel how much this story mattered—not just to the characters onstage, but to the people in the seats.

2 months ago | stageandcinema.com | Joanne Engelhardt

WILD ROMP IN SENIOR LIVINGTheatreWorks Silicon Valley has launched an uproarious spoof of senior living with Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical. It’s an all-encompassing effort by Min Kahng. She knows her stuff: she’s definitely of an age to qualify for Medicare, but Kahng wrote book, music and lyrics, and produced this absolutely hilarious, ribald and definitely over-the-top musical about shenanigans in a retirement community.

2 months ago | stageandcinema.com | Joanne Engelhardt

A MUSICAL THAT CURVES IN CONCENTRIC CIRCLESFly by Night, an affecting chamber musical which premiered in 2014 at Playwrights Horizon, has been described as a “darkly comic rock-fable,” and that’s about as accurate as any attempt to define this quirky show. With a book, music, and lyrics by Kim Rosenstock, Will Connolly, and Michael Mitnick, the musical blends folk, rock, and theatrical storytelling into a sweeping tale of fate, love, and loss.