Julian Fellowes & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Creation Rocks the Rafters by Joanne Engelhardt Take 15 fresh-faced young rock-star kids and let them all do their thing—playing musical instruments, singing, dancing and what do you get? A guaranteed hit, that’s what! Palo Alto Players’ production of “School of Rock,” based on the 2003 film of…
Hershey Felder Plays Beautifully & Performs with Charm by Joanne Engelhardt If you want to see a superb, polished performance of Fryderyk Chopin playing his music in his Paris salon, the new Hershey Felder production is the ticket. Felder’s special blend of theatricality, history, and piano work shine in “Hershey Felder: Chopin in Paris.” I’ve…
Father Joe Bradley’s Inspirational Story Calls for Sharper Focus by Joanne Engelhardt “The Four Gifts,” at Hillbarn Theatre in Foster City, shows what happens when a person who is not a playwright decides to write a play about himself. Heartfelt and fast paced, yes. But theatrical? No. Father Joe Bradley and his co-author Antonia…
Joanne Engelhardt is a San Jose State University journalism graduate who spent about seven years working at newspapers on the San Francisco Peninsula. Later, she wrote and edited employee publications for Hewlett-Packard. She began writing theater reviews about 20 years ago, first for the now-defunct San Mateo County Times and now for both the Peninsula News/San…