Lily Janiak

San Francisco

Theatre Critic at San Francisco Chronicle

Theater Critic @SFChronicle @sfc_datebook. 🚲. Copy editor stan account. 👋: [email protected] she/her.

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Articles

Kennedy Center director blasts ‘Les Miz’ cast as ‘vapid and intolerant’ over Trump boycott

6 days ago | modbee.com | Aidin Vaziri |Lily Janiak

May 8-A planned boycott by performers of "Les Misérables" at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has prompted a fierce rebuke from the institution's controversial new leadership. At least 10 cast members from the touring production intend to sit out the musical's June 11 performance, which President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend as part of a fundraiser for the embattled arts institution.
Review: Oakland Theater Project’s ‘Ironbound’ is a one-of-a-kind love story

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

Adam KuveNiemann, left, and Lisa Ramirez in Oakland Theater Project’s “Ironbound.”Ben Krantz Studio/Oakland Theater ProjectImagine a love story where you don’t root for love. No, that’s too simple, and Martyna Majok’s “Ironbound” is all about ambivalence, the impossibility of definitions, the irrelevance of categories.
A case for ‘Crumbs From the Table of Joy’ as a great American play

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

Asia Nicole Jackson, from left, David Everett Moore and Anna Marie Sharpe in Aurora Theatre Company’s “Crumbs From the Table of Joy.”Kevin Berne/Aurora Theatre CompanyHistory doesn’t happen in great sea changes above our heads. It’s whether one Black family decides to migrate north. It’s which stranger you let talk to you on the train.
Billie Joe Armstrong teases ‘American Idiot’ film

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Zara Irshad |Lily Janiak

Green Day’s “American Idiot” may be getting an on-screen adaptation according to the band’s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong. Santiago Mejia/The ChronicleGreen Day’s debut comedy film is still in the works, but frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says that the band is already thinking about its next on-screen project. The East Bay punk singer hinted that a film adaptation of the trio’s “American Idiot” musical may be on the horizon.
These Bay Area artists, and this show, just got Tony Award noms

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

Bill Irwin, left, and Jessica Hecht in “Eureka Day” on Broadway. Jeremy Daniel/Manhattan Theatre ClubBerkeley’s not just on Broadway; it’s now the toast of Broadway. “Eureka Day,” about a mumps outbreak caused by undervaccination at an elite Berkeley private school, received a Tony Award nomination for Best Revival of a Play.
Inevitably, now there’s a musical about Luigi Mangione

2 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

Luigi Mangione, the suspect indicted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is seen arriving at the South Street Helipad in New York City on Dec. 19, 2024, after being extradited from Pennsylvania. He’s now the subject of a musical. XNY/Star Max/GC ImagesHaving already dominated social media and thirsty group chats, Luigi Mangione is poised to take over another medium: musical theater.
In ‘Shameless Hussy,’ Anaïs Nin makes incest and bigamy look conflict-free

2 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

Johnny Moreno, left, and Arwen Anderson in “Shameless Hussy” at the Marsh. David Allen/The MarshSpend some time with Anaïs Nin, and you might start to feel like a monk, wondering why your life isn’t all bread, cheese and olives followed immediately by sex on a chaise and capped off by some zesty journaling about it all.
Review: Crowded Fire’s latest shows that not everything needs to become a play

2 weeks ago | datebook.sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

Farrah Hamzeh in Crowded Fire Theater’s “The Last of the Love Letters: A Meditation on Loneliness.” Photo: Cheshire Isaacs/Crowded Fire TheaterSay you just broke up from a serious relationship. You’re raw and lost. The questions of why and what now are abysses you see no way out of. You might channel the resulting thoughts into a journal entry or a rant to a good friend. You probably don’t make a 100-minute play out of them.
From stutter to stage star: David Everett Moore’s journey in theater

2 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

David Everett Moore portrays Godfrey Crump during a rehearsal of Lynn Nottage's “Crumbs from the Table of Joy” at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley on April 12, 2025. Santiago Mejia/S.F. ChronicleWhen David Everett Moore landed his first big role in a school play, he had an epiphany. “That was the first time that I noticed that I was on stage speaking these lines, and I didn’t stutter,” he told the Chronicle. “And I was like, ‘What?
Oakland Theater Project’s ‘Ironbound’

2 weeks ago | datebook.sfchronicle.com | Lily Janiak

Adam KuveNiemann as Maks, left, and Lisa Ramirez as Darja rehearse Oakland Theater Project's "Ironbound." Photo: Adam Montanaro / Oakland Theater Project Theater Datebook Pick Adam KuveNiemann as Maks, left, and Lisa Ramirez as Darja rehearse Oakland Theater Project's "Ironbound." Photo: Adam Montanaro / Oakland Theater Project In the first scene, when Darja (Lisa Ramirez) is trying to leave and Tommy (Daniel Duque-Estrada) wants her to stay, he tries to flatter her with “nice conversation.”...