Mission Mission

We’d heard about epic productions of classics being done to rave reviews at Bay Area parks before, so when We Players latest show Ondine, staged at Sutro Baths, came to our attention we knew we had to check it out. Katie’s not much for the cold and wind, so Brittany and her boyfriend, Sam, donned their layers and took off for a cliff side afternoon of Drama Talk & Drinks.

Brittany: So what did you think?

Sam: There are too many words in the English language for me you to tell you what I think. I’m exhausted.

B: Me too, I enjoyed it though. Not necessarily my favorite script, which is surprising given my love for The Little Mermaid, but it was a really cool production.

S: I enjoyed being led through the forest. It’s fun to just give yourself over to the world of the play. The first act was great because it introduces you to that world, the second act was charming and funny and they give you snacks, but the third act got long.

B: Yeah, I was content listening to cool music and seeing beautiful stage pictures, when it tried to get into the drama it kind of lost me. They had to stick a lot of complicated fairy tale sadness into that final act.

S: That trial was no fun for anyone.

B: Despite the overly complicated ending, I still think its a good show. I’d tell people to see it.

S: Me too. Between the views, the amazing movement work, and a handful of really great actors, I think it’s totally worth it. Besides it’s not often you get a workout watching theater.

The Verdict: Put on your walking shoes, you’ll need them to check out this beautiful show. If you don’t like stairs, or cold, or sitting on the ground this play will make you pretty uncomfortable. If you love Sutro Baths, are game for walking up some hills, and like classical theater, we think you’ll enjoy this innovative production.

The Drama Talk: You can’t get a more beautiful set than Lands End and Sutro Baths. If you love this park, it’s really fun to fall into the world of the play and imagine that the water spirits walking the hills are real. It’s not surprising that Ondine is rarely produced, its not the greatest play. It’s a very long (the show is 3 hours) retelling of a simple fairy tale which is both predictable and unnecessarily complicated. We Players, however, does it beautifully. Ava Ray’s performance of Ondine was fierce and delightful. The chorus of women who played Ondine’s sisters were eerie and created some of the most striking stage pictures we’ve ever seen. Admittedly, we’re a sucker for place based immersive theater, but We Players also really knows how to do it.

The Drinks: The most convenient cocktails after the show can be found at Cliff House, but we were walking to the N Judah, so we opted for the always cozy Park Chalet for post-show drinks. We snagged a seat near their fireplace to warm up, ordered a flight of all their house-made brews, and toasted to an adventurous afternoon of cliff side theater.

Ondine has been extended through June 14th, with performances Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning at 4:30pm at Sutro Baths. When you get your tickets they send intensive instructions on what to prepare for (hiking and cold) so you’ll know what to do.  Tickets are $50-80 per-person and available through the We Players website, and are already almost entirely sold out. They give you fancy water and treats during the show too, so if really cool theater isn’t enough, there’s that.  Also if you really can’t afford it, they say to email them and they’ll see what they can do.

Here at DT&D we feel like every season is a good season to see theater. But the holiday season, with the relative cold, rain and staycation days, is perfect for getting into some cozy theaters. Katie & Brittany suggest some local shows that you might want to check out. Here’s their report:

[file photo by me]

From gin & tonicah Hanukkah fetes, to ugly sweater parties, to awkward office eggnog-a-thons, your calendar may already be booked through 2015. But for those of you who are looking for a theater fix, or to find a family friendly outing while people are in town, we didn’t want to leave you hanging. Although we normally don’t recommend shows without prior viewing, with holiday parties and cold and flu season upon us, we just didn’t have time to see everything. But that’s no reason for you to miss out. So without further ado, here’s our round-up of what caught our eye this holiday season that we didn’t get to see.

Looking for laughs?

A Merry Forking Christmas
PianoFight’s brand-spanking-new-Kickstarter-funded venue is opening this week! The first show to pop the champagne on its main stage is A Merry Forking Christmas, their reliably funny choose-your-own-adventure holiday sketch show. Go check out PianoFight’s new digs, try their new bar, and forget about your holiday stress. From the mouths of marketers:

The Holidays are the most magical time of the year, unless you’re stuck in the mall on Christmas Eve. PianoFight’s A Merry FORKING! Christmas chronicles the final hours of the Christmas shopping frenzy through the eyes of a pot-dealing Santa and his cookie-stand partner in crime, a mall security guard on his last legs, a bride-to-be deserted by her would-be fiancé, and a bored mortician who’s got nothing to do until people get back to the business of dying once the holidays have ended. The fates of these five characters and whether Christmas can be saved for each is left up to the audience who will vote at crucial forks in the plot to determine the final outcome. This December, with 362,880 possible paths through the show, saving Christmas is up to you. Get your tickets here.

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Katie was out of town, so I got to go with Brittany to SHN’s Chicago tour. I’m a big fan of musicals, and I think more people would be if they gave them a chance. Chicago is a great entry point, with its relentless energy, dark humor, sexy style and classic Fosse pizazz. This cast was great and the show was a whole lot of fun. If you really need another nudge, Seinfeld‘s J. Peterman (John O’Hurley) has awesome personality as Billy Flynn, and of course, Bianca Marroquin is amazing as Roxie. Here’s Brittany’s report:

[via SHN]

Thanks to the 2002 film version of the Broadway classic Chicago most people have an idea where they stand when it comes to this play. Since Broadway touring casts tend to be pretty uniformly great, we thought rather than do a normal Drama Talk & Drinks review of the show, we’d go backstage and give you some insights into why you might want to see this current production in particular, now open at SHN’s Orpheum Theater until November 16th.

After a quick backstage tour, we sat down with Christophe Caballero, swing and understudy for Mary Sunshine, and Adam Pellegrine, who plays Harry, Martin Harrison, and is part of the ensemble, to talk about what it’s like to perform in SF and what’s special about this current production of Chicago. Skip to the end if you want our quick and dirty assessment of the show, but Adam and Christophe had some fun things to say.

Brittany: What’s it like to perform for a San Francisco audience?

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Katie & Brittany sat down with Eric Reid, who is starting a new theater company aimed at providing meaningful roles for people of color. Which is awesome. SF has a real diversity problem. Specifically, the African American population is disappearing. And there is far too little effort being made to address this. Eric missed a World Series game to talk with them, so the least you could do is look at his flyer (below), which is also awesome. Here’s their report:

A press release came across our inbox about a new-to-us theater company called Theatre Madcap that was doing a “deliberately diverse” production of True West. Even though we knew we couldn’t make the show to review it, we were intrigued. So we asked the Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Eric Reid, to coffee to tell us about his company and his show.

Katie: Tell us about Theatre Madcap.

Eric: We started it, my wife and I that is, about 2 and a half years ago. We started it really because as a black actor I’m frustrated that I can’t find a lot of roles for myself, or If I’m auditioning for something it’s always “ethnicity ambiguous” roles, nothing really for black folks or persons of color at all. So I thought if it’s going to be hard to be in theater, I might as well do it myself and struggle for moi.

Brittany: What have you been working on so far?

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Katie & Brittany saw Pippin, yes Pippin, and really liked it! It sounds pretty sweet. And while we’re (they’re) speaking (writing) of Bob Fosse and Ben Vereen, check out The Jazz Singer, the final scene is one of my favorite in all of cinema. Here’s their report:

An over-educated privileged youth graduates college and desperately searches for something meaningful to do with his life. He tries war, drugs, casual sex, Burning Man-esque orgies, social revolution, religion, and even farming, but still feels unfulfilled. This may sound like every millennial we love to hate, but this time the youth is a prince, the son of Charles the Great, the Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, and his ennui is the driving coming-of-age story behind the 1972 hit musical Pippin, which won the Tony for best revival in 2013. This lesser known Broadway classic has oddly been Brittany’s favorite musical since she was a little kid (maybe she identified with the privileged angst), so when we found out the tour was coming through SF, Drama Talk & Drinks had to go.

Katie: Wow, so I had no expectations walking in. It’s a musical I’ve heard nothing about, aside from what you’ve told me. So the whole time I was like WHAT! There was a lot going on, and I was a bit overstimulated, but not in a bad way. It was a lot of fun. A real spectacle. It was spectacle spectacle spectacle until the end, and even that was spectacle. I kept trying to guess what the original was like.

Brittany: AWESOME! Yay, I’m glad you liked it. I come into this show with the craziest bias, because I’m pretty sure I’m one of the only people under the age of 30 for whom this is a favorite musical. I watched the movie of the original with Ben Vereen in it at least 100 times. So whereas you were trying to figure out what was revival what wasn’t, I was thinking, “Okay, that dance is the same”, “WHOA, that’s different”, throughout the whole show. It was great seeing what a fresh take on this show can be, and I liked it!

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Katie & Brittany checked out Motown the Musical, and it sounds pretty great. Here’s their report (with a couple notes from me at the end, I couldn’t help myself, sorry):

We were very excited but also very skeptical about seeing Motown The Musical. (We are always at least a little skeptical when it comes to musicals based on already written music) Of course we knew of Motown Records, but didn’t know much about the man who founded it, Berry Gordy, so we were very interested to see how Broadway was going to tell this story.

Katie: I want some more Motown!

Brittany: Me too! The set was insane! There were many times that I was just like how are they doing that??

K: I was really into all those moving screens with media on them. For a second I thought they were projections but realized that they were large TV’s.

B: Amazing production value and cast. Everyone was beautiful and talented. It was disgusting.

K: It was like being taken back in time and attending a Motown concert. When the Marvin Gaye character started singing “What’s Going On” I almost started crying. I was extremely entertained but the only time it got a little slow was at the end of the second act.

B: I loved that since it was opening night Berry Gordy and the director came up after the show. And it was cool to hear the director talk about how this is exactly what we need right now, music that brings people of all ages and colors together, dancing and being kind to each other. And at the end of the first act “What’s Going On” was being sung during video of protests of the day and all I could think was wow, so timely and so on point. Not that it wouldn’t have been amazing otherwise, but the resonance with what’s happening in the world right now and what this play is about was really in sync.

K: Right, and yet I loved hearing these songs in context of the time period and what was going on in history.

B: The girl who played Diana Ross was so good. She was basically her generation’s Beyonce, and that woman pulled it off flawlessly. People should definitely go see it. There was a real story to tell and they did a great job telling it.

K: I could not stop smiling when little Michael Jackson was singing! So freakin’ adorable!

The Verdict: If you love Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, The Jackson Five and being “wow’ed” by talented singers, this is the event you will want to treat yourself to. This was everything you expect and hope for from a Broadway touring show. Amazing set, ridiculously talented actors and being thoroughly entertained for two hours.

The Drama Talk: We were afraid that this musical was just going to be hit song after hit song with a random plot shoehorned in. Instead it was more about what was happening at that time. That’s what really worked, it wasn’t just actors breaking into a song that everyone knows, just because. You really feel like you are at a Motown concert.

The Drinks: We were really excited after the show, so knew we wanted a good, strong cocktail. We decided on a place that was only a couple of blocks away from the theater that we had never heard of called Oddjob, which we found out opened 9 months ago. [They lost me at "bespoke mixologist mastery" - Ed.] Though pricey (our drinks were $14 each) they were really, really good. [Also, re: Oddjob, "working man's cocktail room" with $14 drinks . . . sorry, continue. - Ed.] We both ordered the “For Your Eyes Only”. Such a treat! Oh, and the “secret” entrance is to the left of the building, down the alleyway. Great way to end our entertaining evening. [Oh, secret alleys? Done it. - Ed.]

Motown the Musical runs through 9/28 at the Orpheum Theatre and tickets can be purchased through their website. Ticket prices vary from $45-$200 depending on where you sit. ALSO, another way to go is to grab some of the limited number of $40 rush tickets available two hours prior to curtain at the SHN Orpheum Theatre Box Office. It’s cash only and only 2 tickets per person, and are subject to availability. There are also tickets available on Goldstar for $69-$80.

Here’s the newest dispatch from our vigilant theatre goers, Brittany & Katie. I really love musicals, but I just wasn’t able to join them for this one. That sounds sarcastic when you read it in your head. It’s not supposed to be sarcastic, I really do love musicals. Seriously. Anyway, here’s their report:

We love seeing and supporting new theatre. Especially new works premiering in the Bay Area. One performance space that’s full of innovation is Z Space, a beautiful hub for artists and audiences on Florida Street in the Mission. We were pumped to see their latest world premiere, Hundred Days, “A Folk Rock Odyssey about Love, Life, and Loss”. We were excited for a rockin’ evening of Drama Talk & Drinks.

Katie: The music was amazing, but but the story was lacking! But dammit they were talented musicians and amazing singers.

Brittany: I would totally buy the CD to that musical.

K: Definitely.

B: Really cool music, it reminded me of Mumford and Sons or The Decemberists.

K: Yeah, or the Lumineers.

B: And it’s very different from almost any play I’ve seen. I guess it’s most similar to Tommy by the Who. Or maybe Tom Waits’ musical adaptation of Woyzeck. It’s got songs that you could hear on the radio, and not know that they’re part of a musical, and still enjoy them. The music definitely doesn’t have that “musical” sound to it, which is great. It’s very accessible, it breaks the mold of what you think a musical can be.

K: That’s why I was so excited about it. I love the idea of a musical that I can bring my non-musical theatre friends to.

B: Maybe I’m just a traditionalist though, but I liked that the second act was more like a traditional musical and not like a concert. I didn’t like the first act. They tried to make it like a concert, and that didn’t work for me. I think I get what they were going for, maybe you can bring in a new audience if it doesn’t feel like a play, but the story got lost for me in the first act. I loved the second act. Really cool staging, you got to see the couple living out their life together in 100 days, and you really got to see their beautiful story unfold.

K: Yeah, the first act was rocky. They were acting like they were in a band, and just performing a concert, and very artificially tying in their own story to the play. But It didn’t have the spontaneity of a concert, and all of the banter came off as very scripted and forced. The lead singer was even looking at her script! I loved some of the songs in the first act, but I didn’t care about the in-between commentary or even the acting. I didn’t think they were very believable.

B: It’s strange, because that was actually true. They really are married, and they really are in a band, but for some reason that felt so much more false than when they were just performing the play. I don’t understand why they felt it was necessary to shoehorn in the conceit of an artificial concert. It was so much stronger when they were just telling us the story and letting the play evolve. They were great performers, but maybe not the strongest actors.

K: I don’t know why they had to try to tie their real-life story into the story of the play either. I don’t think it added anything, and it made it feel fake. If this play goes on to be performed elsewhere, by other groups, that’s not going to translate.

B: If the second act had continued to be staged as a concert, I would not tell people to go, but the second act was strong enough, to make it totally worth going. The lighting was amazing, the sands of time design element was really neat, and there was something very sad and sweet about the story they developed in the second act.

K: Agreed. It’s worth it just to see the band. That lead woman’s voice (Abigail Bengson) was RIDICULOUS. I would go to their concert in a second. In the first act the story was lost, and that made it not as strong a play, but still very well done and entertaining.

B: It’s a new play too, and an interesting concept, so I’m sure it will evolve. I had a great time, but there are just some kinks. Their voices were insane, the songs were cool, the staging was cool, but it could still be better. Maybe they’ll take the concert thing further and stage it properly like a concert, or they’ll make the first act fit more stylistically with the second act which was beautiful.

K: I enjoyed myself, it just needs some more development. I liked that it moved, and it left me wanting more. This could be such an amazing piece with just a few changes.

The Verdict: Go see it! The Bengson’s, the band and couple behind this play, are incredibly talented musicians. It’s a fun night of very good music, with some really beautiful lighting and staging to go along with it. Tickets range from $100 for a seat front and center on the couch, to $15 for a seat further back. It’s a loud and visually vibrant performance, so no matter where you sit you’ll have a good time.

The Drama Talk: Hundred Days is unlike most musicals. It feels like a cross between the most epic story time ever and a concert. Although some of the more concert-like elements felt forced, the engaging performances, and a strong second act made this show worth it. The songs could stand alone, and the voices of all the performers made the soulful music come alive. The story is sad, and simple, and sweet, and beautifully told by this talented cast.

The Drinks: They have a great bar at Z Space, and it’s fun to look around their gallery, so since it was a school night we got lazy and just had drinks at the venue. Brittany got a Gin and Tonic, and Katie got Champagne in a can, because that’s the kind of girl she is.

Hundred Days runs through April 6, Wednesdays and Sundays at 7pm, and Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm. Right now there are tickets available on Goldstar for $10 but if those sell out, you can always get tickets through the Z Space website.

Katie & Brittany checked out Peter and the Starcatcher at The Curran and found that they could enjoy it more if they were able to meet the play where was, rather than trying to bring the play to them. They really liked it! Because they really do like theater, and they want you to as well! Here’s their report:

San Francisco, and particularly the Mission, has been called Neverland by some. A place where people go when they don’t want to grow up. So when we heard there was a play that explained the origins of Neverland and the Peter Pan story, we knew we had to check it out. So off to SHN’s Curran Theater we went to see their latest play Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice (based on a children’s book by Dave Berry and Ridley Person by the same name) in its first stop of its national tour.

Brittany: I’m just going to go out and say it, I liked the show.

Katie: Say it loud say it proud!

B: I wish it had been in a more intimate space. I think it would have been a blow-my-mind-amazing-play if it had been in a more intimate space . . . It took me longer to get into it because the Curran is so big, but I still liked it.

K: I liked it, it grew on me. At first I was like, “What the hell is this? There are actors talking at me really fast, are they just going to tell me a story?” For me the Second Act was what did it for me, it was great.

B: Right! I was so sad our entire row, and half the row behind us, left at intermission. I don’t know why they left, because it definitely was not a show that deserved to be walked out on, but they really missed out on the Second Act.

K: They really did, If I had left after the First Act, I would have been like “Meh, that was a cute children’s bed-time story written for adults, and I liked the stage design.” But after the Second Act I was like, “OMG this was so good, the actors were so talented, and this was so entertaining.”

B: I loved the creativity and smartness of this show. The script has lots of fun puns and wordplay. Definitely multi-layered humor for kids and adults. The staging was so creative. I liked that they didn’t sing a lot too. Sometimes musicals go too far. I thought they used music really well.

K: Yeah their transitions were very well done, and they used music really purposefully. The guy who played Black Stash (John Sanders) made the show for me, he rocked the Second Act. When he threw down the “Yeah, and I bet your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard” I lost it. I think my adultness really took over in the first act, and then for the second act I was like, “Fuck it, I am just going to turn myself over to this play”. Once I did that I had a great time.

B: It’s fun when theatre can be that explosion of fun, imagination and creativity. It lets you feel like a kid again, which doesn’t get to happen enough in the default world. I love that a rope can be a wave, and a rubber glove can be a bird, and this play gives you permission to think those things and go on this journey.

The Verdict: Go see it! If you lack all imagination, hate kids, Peter Pan and everything fun, you’re probably not reading this blog anyway. [They underestimate our commenters! - Ed.] So just go see it.

The Drama Talk: Peter and the Starcatcher the play is smart, witty, and totally ties up all those Peter Pan origin questions you always had. Peter and the Starcatcher the touring show is delightful. Even though it has Broadway production quality, it falls back on the barebones of children’s theatre imagination for the staging, which is a welcome respite from high production quality shows that spoon feed the audience cinematic images. The company is tight, and fast. Jokes and puns fly a mile a minute. It’s nice to have a show that’s so fun, but still requires the audience to use their brains.

The Drinks: After a fanciful, and nautical night at the theatre (the show has all the trappings of any Peter Pan, pirates, mermaids, etc.) we thought a bar with tiki punch influences
(which was also listed as one of the top hotel bars in SF) was probably in order. We chose the The Burritt Room for our after-show cocktails. Katie got a Knickerbocker La Monsieur because that sounds fun, and Brittany got the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club because it’s a boat drink. Both were a great conclusion to a Wednesday night of Drama Talk & Drinks.

Peter and the Starcatcher runs until December 1st at SHN’s Curran Theater. For opening week they had Rush Tickets available for the show if you got there two hours before curtain, so check back on the SHN site for more promotions like that. There were also Gold Star tickets available for this show last week, at the time of writing that deal expired too, but that doesn’t mean that there might not be more.

In anticipation of an upcoming Drama Talk & Drinks review of Porgy and Bess, Katie and Brittany got to chat with the cast and crew, here’s their report:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1LAOQKwD54

When we got invited to a pre-show event for Porgy and Bess, opening at SHN’s Golden Gate Theater, we weren’t sure what to expect. We were, however, told there would be free drinks, so of course we went. This special event for SHN subscribers and Press, featured a talk from the Director and one of the show’s producers, as well as a sneak peek behind the scenes of a tech rehearsal. For press it also featured a speed-dating-like round robin of interviews with the Cast and Creatives. Crammed into our little post-it assigned space in the back of the theater against the wall between “Fashionista Lab” and “The Bold Italic”, we had 5 minutes with each interviewee to get the important questions answered. We were pretty nervous, since this is not the kind of thing we usually do, but we are always down for potentially humiliating and awkward yet interesting situations. So we prepped like any speed dater would, and rehearsed our 3 burning questions to get the conversation started: Why are they excited to be in our great city? What’s it like to work on Gershwin’s iconic American folk opera? And why should people come see it?

After some drama talk and drinks here are the highlights from our dates.

Interview date #1: ESosa (Costume Designer who was featured on Project Runway Season 7)

On SF: What I like about SF, coming from New York, is that it’s a walkable city and I love to walk. And the food here is amazing!

On The Show: As a designer I like to work on new things so Porgy and Bess is the first revival I’ve ever worked on. For me theatre design and fashion design are two sides of the same coin and I approach it the same way. I want to make my characters look good, feel good, and be able to tell their story.

Interview date #2: Roosevelt Andre Credit (Fisherman)

On SF: I was born and raised in Oakland and went to Skyline High School. I now live in New York, so I’m excited to be back in the Bay.

On the show: What Diane Paulus (the Director) did was take the opera, which is four and a half hours, and made it short enough to go on Broadway, because you have to have a show in three hours or less. We really wanted to focus in on the story and this story definitely translates to today.

Interview date #3: Kent Overshown (Mingo, the Undertaker, u/s Porgy)

On SF: I grew up in Oakland but I moved to New York 3 years ago but I wish I was still here honestly. I’m not a fan, but it’s where the business is most lucrative, but there is nothing like the Bay Area.

On the show: Unlike most theatre this isn’t about the spectacle, it’s not about this grandiose thing. It’s not above life, it is life. It’s about community. How we communicate with each other, how we struggle together and the challenges we face together. How we celebrate together as well. I think it’s an important story because people feel alienated by the theater especially young people but this is our story and they need to see it.

Interview date #4: Nathaniel Stampley (Porgy)

On SF: This is my first time here. I’m loving San Fran already [Ed. Note: Oops.], I was so excited to hear we were opening the show here. There is so much history and culture here, it’s such a great city.

On the Show: I think the biggest thing about this production is we are introducing this show to a younger audience and I think it’s in a way that they’re going to absolutely love. It’s two and a half hours. I think any night you are listening to Gershwin is a good night. If you have ears and you are alive you are going to love this show.

The Verdict: Our speed-dating-like round robin of interviews was fun but (let’s be honest) stressful. If we had to chose our favorite date Brittany would chose Kent, because who can say no to that deep seeded Bay Area love and Katie was all about ESosa because he’s into the amazing San Francisco food just as much as she is.

The Drama Talk: Based on the very little we saw of the tech-rehearsal, and our conversations with the actors, it sounds like this is a very fresh and real take on this beautiful show. We’re excited to see it and report back to you soon.

The Drinks: SHN knows how to treat their subscribers right. Open bar before a sneak peek tech-rehearsal? Yes please!

Hey guys, here’s the latest installment of our feature where two local theater lovers, Katie Cruz & Brittany Janis, go see a live performance and discuss it over drinks:

Serial killers, family drama, and demon sex, oh my! Last Thursday we climbed the stairs to The Magic Theatre to see their latest and last show of the season, Terminus by Mark O’Rowe, directed by Jon Tracy. Entering into the haze filled theatre, little did we know we were going to be taken on a lyrical journey from heaven to hell and back again (although Magic’s description should have clued us in). This play has so much drama, we sure needed the drinks.

Katie: I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but I struggled a bit. I don’t know if it’s just that I wasn’t in the mindset for this sort of a play, or maybe I was just too tired. That much time without much physical interaction between the characters, who are just reciting monologues, isn’t my favorite sort of play. It felt like I was watching a book being read out loud at me.

Brittany: See, I enjoyed it, but I can see where you’re coming from. I really loved the script and the language of the play, but about an hour in I was hoping for an intermission too. Also, the accents got to me.

K: Yes! I am always a big believer that if you can’t do the accent really well, and can’t keep it throughout the play, please don’t do it at all!

B: Despite the accents though, I really loved the actress who played the mother (Stacy Ross). She was so engaging, every one of her monologues drew me in, she made me care about her story. The guy (Carl Lumby) was great too, although towards the end he got a little yelly for me, which is also when his accent disappeared. Overall, I thought it was well done.

K: The sound design was great. That rumble at the beginning . . . really the best way to start a show I think I’ve ever experienced. It totally set the tone for the dark things that were to come. The set was impressive too, that gravel void with the stark lighting made for some really dramatic stage pictures. Something that Jon Tracy has always been really amazing at creating.

B: This is a great show for someone who is into theatre and poetry. There’s a lot of beautiful language, the play has great theatricality, and has an interesting form. I don’t think I would take one of my friends who isn’t into theater to see this, though. An hour-forty-five of monologues without an intermission can be rough.

The Verdict: Take your artsy friends! Don’t take your kids (the content is mature, to say the least) or your friends who prefer kids movies. This play is a dark, but beautiful, piece of theatre.

The Drama Talk: Put on your artsy pants, wear black, don’t go tired, and be prepared to hear some pretty disturbing things described beautifully. This play is not for the faint of heart, but just get in the mood for something dark and different and you’ll have a great time. There are $20 tickets for those under 30 available on the Magic Theatre website. Also at the moment, there are some tickets for sale on Goldstar, but don’t be surprised if they sell out fast, this play is going to generate some serious buzz.

The Drinks: We decided to hit up a place that we could sit in a chill, low lit, dramatic setting to discuss this intense play, so we chose the Noir Lounge in Hayes Valley. Brittany had a Deschutes Black Butte Porter (to match the darkness of the show) and Katie had a glass of Rose (the color of demon blood!).

Terminus runs through June 16th, at The Magic Theatre in Fort Mason.