Heather Raffo Explores the Anguish of Losing Home by Patricia L. Morin “Noura” confronts the destruction of war and the hardship of building new lives. Noura (amazing Denmo Ibrahim), an Iraqui refugee, stands outside her New York apartment in the falling snow on Christmas Eve. Listening to “the loudest silence I have ever heard,”…
Jane Anderson Touches Parent’s Baffled Suffering by Patricia L. Morin Feisty Isabelle Arc (powerful Sherman Fracher) begins her torture when her impulsive teen-age daughter Joan (riveting Rosie Hallett) claims to have spoken with Saint Catherine. At a testy age, Joan announces that she will fight the invading English army, saying, “I am not afraid…
Cristina Garcia Weaves a Sparkling, Surreal Ghost Story by Lynne Stevens In the tradition of Grand Hotel, but with a strong Latin twist, “The Lady Matador’s Hotel” by Cristina Garcia–adapted from her novel, takes on the fundamental issues of birth and death–confronting glory and honor. Central Works, in the beautiful Berkeley City Club, is…
Millennial Notes Leslie Martinson Turns People & Props into Time Travelers by Jose Martin Aveldanes After a night out in an London musical hall in 1935, a banal Englishman, Richard Hannay (elegant Lance Gardner), meets a mysterious, soon-to-be-murdered German woman. In the satirical and comic “The 39 Steps,” which spoofs the Hitchcock movie, Hannay…