Altarena Playhouse » Reviews http://www.altarena.org Frederick L. Chacon, Artistic DIrector • 1409 High St. • Alameda, CA 94501 • (510) 523-1553 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:13:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Bus Stop: “A terrific show with a great cast, in an excellent little theatre” http://www.altarena.org/2010/01/25/a-terrific-show-with-a-great-cast-in-an-excellent-little-theatre/ http://www.altarena.org/2010/01/25/a-terrific-show-with-a-great-cast-in-an-excellent-little-theatre/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:42:11 +0000 Armando Fox http://www.altarena.org/?p=564 7 of the first 9 shows were sold out or nearly sold out, but we’re releasing some 1/2 price tickets to promote our new Thursday shows!

]]> …that’s what Charles Jarrett Reviews says about Bus Stop.  And although we are not allowed to quote directly from Goldstar patrons’ reviews, check them out for yourself and see why we’re getting an impressive three-and-a-half stars (out of four)!

7 out of the first 9 performances either sold out or were within a few seats of selling out, but we’ve added Thursday night shows in 2010, and are even promoting awareness of them by releasing additional Goldstar 1/2 price tickets for those shows.  Don’t miss director Michael Ryken’s production of this classic, delivered, as Jarrett writes, “so very well by such a hard working and motivated cast.”

]]> http://www.altarena.org/2010/01/25/a-terrific-show-with-a-great-cast-in-an-excellent-little-theatre/feed/ 0 The Nerd: “Crisp & funny”, “lighthearted fun” http://www.altarena.org/2009/09/13/the-nerd-is-crisp-and-funny-lighthearted-fun/ http://www.altarena.org/2009/09/13/the-nerd-is-crisp-and-funny-lighthearted-fun/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:38:35 +0000 Armando Fox http://www.altarena.org/?p=439 Ken Bullock calls The Nerd “crisp and funny”, and Alice Chalip enjoys its “Lighthearted fun”! Tickets still available for most performances!

]]> “Crisp and funny…
the cast comes through as individuals and ensemble. And it’s a perfect role for comic actor Beagley…”  —Ken Bullock, Berkeley Daily Planet

“Lighthearted fun” —Alice Chalip, Inside Bay Area


Get Your Tickets Now: We’ve already had many sold-out performances! The Nerd runs through October 25, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, and Sunday Matinees at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $20, or a discounted $17 for students (under 18) and seniors (62+).  You can also call (510) 523-1553, but to ensure your reservation is received, please call well in advance of the desired show date.  Same-day tickets, if available, may be purchased at the theatre box office starting one hour prior to showtime.

]]> http://www.altarena.org/2009/09/13/the-nerd-is-crisp-and-funny-lighthearted-fun/feed/ 0 Alameda Sun: Spitfire is “A wonderfully perfect, endearing treat” http://www.altarena.org/2009/07/16/a-wonderfully-perfect-endearing-treat/ http://www.altarena.org/2009/07/16/a-wonderfully-perfect-endearing-treat/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:19:07 +0000 Armando Fox http://www.altarena.org/?p=291 Today’s Alameda Sun says of The Spitfire Grill: “By the end of the show you will have fallen in love with every character on stage…there isn’t a weak link” and praises director Fred Chacon’s “invisibly perfect” staging and “most impressive” cast for putting on a show with “the kind of heart that you root and cheer for.”

]]> Today’s Alameda Sun carries a rave review of our production of The Spitfire Grill: “Director Fred Chacon once again shows his penchant and talent for the musical…by the end of the show you will have fallen in love with every character on stage…there isn’t a weak link.”

Alice Chalip, writing in the Alameda Journal, adds: “Audience members leave the theater feeling good about life and about their own place in the world.”

We at Altarena have always taken special pride in our ability to use Altarena’s intimate space to engage the audience in ways that a big theater can’t. And we’re thrilled that the Sun’s theater critic Higgins agrees with us: “…[T]he kind of heart that you root and cheer for. . . the kind of rare emotional connection you can find only in the theater, and in this case, your Altarena Playhouse.”

Some performances are already sold out, and with reviews like this the seats will go fast.

Get your tickets online now (or call 510-764-9718) and don’t miss this “simple musical about small towns, redemption, forgiveness, hope and love.”

]]> http://www.altarena.org/2009/07/16/a-wonderfully-perfect-endearing-treat/feed/ 0 “Love At First Bite” http://www.altarena.org/2008/10/03/love-at-first-bite/ http://www.altarena.org/2008/10/03/love-at-first-bite/#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:25:44 +0000 Webmaster http://www.altarena.org/?p=140 Bat Boy, The Musical opened at the Altarena last weekend to sold-out crowds and standing ovations. So we had a pretty good idea that there's a lot of love for for our pointy-eared hero, but it's always nice to see that the local critics [...]]]> Bat Boy at the AltarenaBat Boy, The Musical opened at the Altarena last weekend to sold-out crowds and standing ovations. So we had a pretty good idea that there’s a lot of love for for our pointy-eared hero, but it’s always nice to see that the local critics agree.

Ken Bullock of the Berkeley Daily Planet writes:

“It’s a raucous, goofy, off-kilter dysfunctional family entertainment, staged with elan by Alameda’s Altarena Playhouse”

and

“From Bat Boy’s first melodic ululations, swinging in his cage, to production numbers featuring the batty boy in top hat, with cane, accompanied by the entire cast of 14 (and the stalwart quartet in the flies, guitar, bass and drums led by Sierra Dee on keyboards), the songs wash over the fast-moving, brilliantly paced show.”

In her review titled “Love At First Bite” for the Alameda Sun, Sharon Edler Reid agrees, adding:

“There is a strong underlying theme of acceptance that flows throughout the show but because the show is so funny and layered, it never feels heavy-handed. And in the capable hands of co-directors Angelo Benedetto and Paul Plain, the cast delivers that message with high energy and big laughs. The bat boy himself is played with rabid abandon by Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez is in his element as the misunderstood monster of the abandoned mines, an iconic role in the vein of Frankenstein’s monster.”

Bat Boy, The Musical runs through November 1 and tickets are selling fast (which seems to be the rule around the Altarena this year). Don’t miss out; get your tickets through our online box office today. It’s quick, secure, and there’s never an additional handling or processing fee.

Embrace your inner Bat Boy this Halloween season!

]]> http://www.altarena.org/2008/10/03/love-at-first-bite/feed/ 0 Local Critics Love Hay Fever http://www.altarena.org/2008/07/25/local-critics-love-hay-fever/ http://www.altarena.org/2008/07/25/local-critics-love-hay-fever/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:01:20 +0000 Webmaster http://www.altarena.org/?p=120 The reviews are in for our production of Noel Coward's "Hay Fever," and everyone seems to agree... it's a hit! Alice Chalip, writing for the Alameda Journal, opens this way:
"Politely sexy, magnificently costumed and produced, and downright hilarious are apt descriptions of "Hay Fever," the [...]]]> Hay Fever (2008) The reviews are in for our production of Noel Coward’s “Hay Fever,” and everyone seems to agree… it’s a hit!

Alice Chalip, writing for the Alameda Journal, opens this way:

“Politely sexy, magnificently costumed and produced, and downright hilarious are apt descriptions of “Hay Fever,” the wild show currently gracing the 70-year-old stage of Altarena Playhouse.”

Ken Bullock, in the Berkeley Daily Planet, writes:

“Hay Fever, an ensemble show if ever there was one, is put on with panache at Altarena Playhouse, with a cast of nine—four ravenous and infighting family members and four increasingly gun-shy weekenders, plus the redoubtable Clara—directed by artistic director Frederick Chacon, all of them working together to make the pieces fit in a hilarious jigsaw puzzle of a pristine day in the country reflected in a sideshow mirror.”

And Gabriella Centurion’s review for the Alameda Sun can be summed up by its headline:

“Howls of Laughter for Hay Fever”

“Hay Fever” runs through August 9th, but shows are selling out quickly. Get your tickets before they’re all gone.

]]> http://www.altarena.org/2008/07/25/local-critics-love-hay-fever/feed/ 0 Urinetown is ‘Surprisingly Delightful’ http://www.altarena.org/2007/09/14/urinetown-is-surprisinly-delightful/ http://www.altarena.org/2007/09/14/urinetown-is-surprisinly-delightful/#comments Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:38:27 +0000 Daniel Zilber http://www.altarena.org/2007/09/14/urinetown-is-surprisinly-delightful/ his review of the Altarena's Urinetown, The Musical. One quote sums it up:
"So far, this is the most must-see show of the Alameda theatrical season. Don't miss it."
What can we say? We agree with Tom completely. :) Read the full review | Tom Billings, writing for today’s Alameda Journal, weighs in with his review of the Altarena’s Urinetown, The Musical. One quote sums it up:

“So far, this is the most must-see show of the Alameda theatrical season. Don’t miss it.”

What can we say? We agree with Tom completely. :)

Read the full review | Buy tickets

]]> http://www.altarena.org/2007/09/14/urinetown-is-surprisinly-delightful/feed/ 0 Music, comedy flow brightly in ‘Urinetown’ http://www.altarena.org/2007/09/13/music-comedy-flow-brightly-in-urinetown/ http://www.altarena.org/2007/09/13/music-comedy-flow-brightly-in-urinetown/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:14:35 +0000 Daniel Zilber http://www.altarena.org/2007/09/13/music-comedy-flow-brightly-in-urinetown/ Urinetown in today's paper. Alice Chalip writes:
"URINETOWN, THE MUSICAL, now at Altarena Playhouse in Alameda, is like nothing you've ever seen and like everything you've ever seen. It is a strange, but fascinating, and superbly done show. This is possibly one of the most successful musicals Frederick L. [...]]]> The Oakland Tribune published a glowing review of Urinetown in today’s paper. Alice Chalip writes:

“URINETOWN, THE MUSICAL, now at Altarena Playhouse in Alameda, is like nothing you’ve ever seen and like everything you’ve ever seen.

It is a strange, but fascinating, and superbly done show.

This is possibly one of the most successful musicals Frederick L. Chacon has directed.”

Chalip’s review goes on to give a great overview of the story, characters, and music, and closes with another quote for our scrapbook:

“Urinetown, The Musical is a thoroughly enjoyable show — like an old friend in some ways, but remarkably different in others.”

Read the full review here.

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