Do you have a curious nature? If so, why not take a tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice and experience “Curious and Curiouser — the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Musical” playing Oct. 12 at Lafayette’s Town Hall Theatre.
Presented by East Bay Children’s Theatre, the musical kicks off the company’s 92nd season.
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In this world-premiere musical, Alice encounters a curious collection of cracked eggs, singing flowers, mad hatters and screaming queens. Award-winning playwright and composer/lyricist Ron Lytle created the new work full of new tunes, hilarious comedy and magical special effects designed to entertain the entire family.
Children — of all ages — are encouraged to come in costume and have their picture taken on stage with the cast following the show. In addition to performing at Town Hall Theatre (3535 School St.), the show also runs Oct. 20 at Alameda’s Elks Lodge and Oct. 27 at Danville’s Village Theater.
For additional information and tickets, visit ebctonline.org/curious.
S.F.: If you’re ready to laugh until it hurts, find your way to San Francisco Playhouse for “The Play That Goes Wrong.” I happened to see the final preview of this crazy show that had the audience, including this critic, laughing non-stop. I was thankful when intermission came so I could catch my breath.
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, “The Play That Goes Wrong” features the madcap world of a play within a play. Think Agatha Christie meets Monty Python.
In this case, it’s the Cornley University Drama Society’s opening of “The Murder at the Haversham Manor.” Between lost props, forgotten lines, unconscious actors and faulty scenery, everything that could go wrong, does. Backstage crew even jump on stage to read lines when actors become indisposed. The cast valiantly attempts to continue telling the story as they try to make the best of a bad situation until the murders are finally solved.
From left, Joe Ayers, Phil Wong, Renee Rogoff and Patrick Russell try to keep the show on track in “The Play That Goes Wrong,” presented by San Francisco Playhouse through Nov. 9. Photo by Jessica Palopoli / SF Playhouse
Director Susi Damilano and her intrepid cast (Tasi Alabastro, Greg Ayers, Joe Ayers, Adam Griffith, Renee Rogoff, Patrick Russell, Erin Solorio and Phil Wong) have impeccable timing and impressive physical skills to pull off the myriad physical comedy required. I can only imagine how sore they must be after each show.
Huge kudos to Cody Tellis Rutledge for designing a period set that looks great and has the strength to fall apart each performance without injuring the performers and to lighting designer Michael Palumbo for enhancing the set and several dramatic moments with his creative lights. Clever fight scenes by Chelsea Pace add to the fun with colorful period costumes by Sarah Niamh Nietfeld.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” runs through Nov. 9 at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St., San Francisco. For tickets, call 415-677-9596 or go to sfplayhouse.org/sfph.
Antioch: If you’re a Linda Ronstadt fan, you won’t want to miss the Ronstadt Revolution playing at Antioch’s El Campanil Theatre, 602 W 2nd St., Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. before beginning a West Coast tour. Proceeds from the performance benefit the animal rescue foundation Umbrella of Hope.
I caught the band at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center in August, and their musical performance and vibrant energy had people dancing in the aisles.
Playing to a full house at the Center’s Margaret Lesher Theatre, these talented musicians covered not only Ronstadt’s rock and country hits of the ’70s and ’80s, but also her time with The Stone Poneys and her Spanish language album in a fun performance that included slides of Linda Ronstadt throughout her career.
Recently seen as Camila in Center Rep’s “Into the Heights,” lead singer Natalie Amaya certainly has the pipes and sultry tones to belt out one Ronstadt tune after another. Amaya has also toured nationally with the musical “Selena Forever” and performed internationally with Latin Grammy winner Alvaro Torres.
Backup singer Marisa Barley adds her impressive vocals to the mix, harmonizing nicely on many Ronstadt hits. Barley also appears on local stages when not performing with various musical groups.
Accomplished instrumentalists include drummer Brayden Cone, keyboardist David Esparza, bass guitarist Don Schiff (who ignited the place with his solo on “You’re No Good”), saxophonist Jeff Teczon and guitarist John Wheeler. The impressive band members count such luminaries as Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Sammy Davis Jr., and Carlos Reyes among the many they have played with.
For tickets to the El Campanil show, go to www.elcampaniltheatre.com.
Martinez: Get ready for Halloween with Radio Plays 2024 presented by Onstage Theatre. Written and directed by the uber-talented Bill Chessman, “Frankenstein 4.1” plus bonus material takes place Oct. 18-20 at The Campbell Theater, 636 Ward St., Martinez. Go to campbelltheater.com for more information.
Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.