Curtain Calls: ‘Bright Star’ marks return of summer musical to Castro Valley
Castro Valley Arts Foundation (CVAF) has a stellar summer musical planned for Bay Area residents. “Bright Star” by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell will light up the Castro Valley Center for the Arts with its sweeping tale of love and redemption, Aug. 19-27.
“For the first time in 11 years, we have a summer musical in Castro Valley,” said co-producers Berenice Sullivan of CVAF and Dayna Speed of TMC Arts.
Inspired by the true story of a young infant thrown from a train outside of Irondale, Missouri, in 1902 and dubbed Iron Mountain Baby, “Bright Star” opened on Broadway in February 2016. The show won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and features a country and bluegrass score, not to mention lots of energetic square-dances. The eight-piece band takes center stage alongside the actors.
A rollercoaster ride of emotions and lively tunes, “Bright Star” highlights such local talent as Robert Lopez, Rachel Powers, Victoria Speed and Tommy Lassiter.
“TMC Arts and CVAF have gathered a stellar cast and musicians from around the Bay Area to make this an unforgettable theatrical experience; the first opportunity for many people to see this enchanting show live,” said the co-producers.
CVAF also launches its concert series with soul singer/songwriter Cornell C.C. Carter on Saturday.
Born in Berkeley and raised in San Francisco, Carter now performs extensively in the United Kingdom and Europe.
“Europeans have a real love for soul music,” said Carter, who was “blown away” by the audience’s reaction to American soul the first time he appeared in England.
The Castro Valley Center for the Arts is located at 19501 Redwood Road. Parking is free. It is a mile away from the Castro Valley BART station. For tickets, go to cvartsfoundation.org/shows/.
Martinez: Comedians who are also playwrights seem to be the theme of late summer shows as Onstage Theatre presents Lewis Black’s “One Slight Hitch,” Friday-Aug. 27 at the Campbell Theatre, 636 Ward St., Martinez.
Lewis Black, best known as a stand-up comedian with many appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, began his career as a playwright before taking off on the road as a comedian.
“I left the theater at 40,” wrote Black on his website. “I thought 22 years of rejection was enough.”
But as Black went on to be a successful comedian and TV personality, he never completely let go of his plays. Tinkering here and there with them, including “One Slight Hitch.”
The play is inspired by a long-time girlfriend who broke up with Black while telling him she never wanted to get married and then surprised him later by calling and announcing her impending wedding to another. All his friends attend, but he stayed away wondering why he was discarded after such a long relationship. His wonderings turned into a play about the incident. Only in his play, the ex-boyfriend does show up to the wedding.
In Black’s comedy, it’s Courtney’s wedding day, and her mom Delia is making sure everything is perfect. The groom and the dress are perfect. The decorations, when they finally arrive, will also be perfect. Then, the doorbell rings. Is it the late decorations, or an unexpected guest?
Edwin Peabody directs the comedy which, not surprisingly, includes many one-liners, snappy wisecracks and social commentary, the hallmarks of Black’s stand-up act.
For tickets, go to campbelltheater.com.
Danville: The Eugene O’Neill Festival is underway with a staged reading of playwright Jennifer Maisel’s new work “Yellow Wallpaper 2.0 2020” slated for Aug. 19 at 4 p.m. and Aug. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building, 400 Hartz Ave., Danville.
The play takes a new look at Perkins Gilman’s story about a 19th-century woman confined to an upstairs nursery for her postpartum depression. In Maisel’s play, it’s a young mother who self- isolates from her family when she shows signs of COVID.
For more information on “Yellow Wallpaper” and the many other events including a fully staged production of O’Neill’s “Anna Christie,” go to eugeneoneill.org.
Castro Valley: Plethos Productions presents a “Circus Menagerie: Murder on the Midway” Aug. 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. at TwiningVine Winery. This murder-mystery dinner theater promises lots of fun for guests and a very creative event for the theater company.
Audience members should wear 1940s ensembles to meet Ringmaster Isaac Van Amburgh and his curious collection of odd colleagues. Put on your best detective face as you wander the circus grounds and interrogate suspects while also dining on a delicious repast from M.A.D. Creationz and wine from TwiningVine Winery. Prizes awarded to those intrepid investigators who unravel the crime.
For tickets, go to plethos.org.
Alameda: Ready or not, the birds are here and have flocked to Altarena Playhouse for a production of “The Birds.” Based on the original short story rather than Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Conor McPherson’s drama relies more on the characters’ interaction with nary a bird in sight!
For tickets, call 510-523-1553 or go to altarena.org.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.