by Charles Kruger The magic show is an art form as ancient as theatre itself. In some of its oldest (and not so old) iterations, it is not so much “entertainment” as seduction, and may even border on the religious. When Harry Houdini was at the height of his fame, many people believed he had […]
by Charles Kruger Nobody in their right mind expects a stage adaptation of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” to make much sense, or achieve Shakespearean depths of meaning and emotion, but anybody who plunks down the cost of a ticket has a right to expect to laugh a lot at Lancelot and the rest […]
by Charles Kruger Romantic love may be passionate or not, but in opera, theatre, and novels, we generally prefer passion to mere companionability, although the latter is often what works best in real life couplings, especially over time. But what about a romantic passion that is so overwhelming it is like an illness and seems […]
by Charles Kruger Eugene Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros,” a classic example of Theatre of the Absurd, is a thinly veiled allegory for the unexpected and frightening rise of fascism in communities where it seems most unlikely to occur. The seemingly normal citizens of a small town in France begin, on an otherwise typical Sunday morning, to transform […]
by Charles Kruger Before I saw “The Orphan of Zhao” at the San Francisco International Art Festival on May 24th, I spent the afternoon viewing the Monet retrospective at the De Young Museum. I walked away reflecting on Monet’s genius, and, in particular, the excellence of his technique. The more perfect his technique, I was […]
by Charles Kruger A dancer for over sixty years, Lucia August was formerly a company member of the beloved Bay area dance company, Dandelion Dancetheater, and has several times performed her unique style of storytelling in movement at the Edinburgh Fringe, where reviewers described her as “a dancer of tremendous joy.” Her work has been […]
by Charles Kruger Jessica Fudim is known to be eccentric. Improvisation is typical of her work as artistic director of the Dance Animals. In every performance, she leaves room for the unexpected. Fudim and the Dance Animals blossomed as part of the legendary Queer community at Mama Carizo’s Voice Factory, whose influence remains alive and […]
