William Shakespeare (1564-1616), playwright, poet, actor. The Bard of Stratford-on-Avon. People have been interpreting and re-interpreting his works for more than 400 years. He has had his language censored, happy endings added to tragedies, plays turned into musicals (“Maria-a-a-a! I just met a girl named Maria-a-a-a!”), gender roles switched, and translated into Klingon.
Fresno State Theatre Professor Kathleen McKinley is retiring, and her last show to direct at Fresno State, At The Wedding, opens this weekend. KRL took a moment to chat with Professor McKinley about the show and her time at Fresno State.
The Visalia Players at the Ice House Theater are presenting the world premiere of The Norma Conquests, by Los Angeles playwright Rom Watson. As the Assistant Director for the production, I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to share this wildly entertaining comedy with the community. Running September 15-October 1, 2023, this play is a parody sequel to Billy Wilder’s 1950 noir classic, Sunset Boulevard, following the continuing adventures of silent movie diva, Norma Desmond.
Arsenic and Old Lace, that classic killer comedy about sweet little old ladies with a homicidal hobby, is knockin’ ‘em dead at the Good Company Players’ 2nd Space Theatre through October 8.
The Pillowman opens this weekend at Fresno State presented by Fresno State’s University Theatre. We had the chance recently to chat about the show with the show’s director, J. Daniel Herring, who is also a professor and Department Chair at Fresno State.
She Kills Monsters hit the Selma Arts Center stage this weekend with swords, elves, dungeon masters, and fun! Recently I have been drawn in by the Dungeons and Dragons community on TikTok so when I saw that this play involved Dungeons and Dragons I had to see it.
For decades, writers have made up tales of William Shakespeare having affairs that inspired his great plays. In 1998, Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s script became the film Shakespeare in Love starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, with Geoffrey Rush and Judy Dench. In 2014, Lee Hall adapted the film script for the stage. Now, you can see Shakespeare in Love performed live at the Good Company Players’ 2nd Space Theatre through February 19, and you can fall in love with it, too.
Oedipus El Rey will be opening this weekend at the Selma Arts Center (SAC). We took a moment to chat with the show’s director Rodolfo Robles Cruz recently to learn more!
How can there be a play where the star of the show is never seen?
Wellllll, it helps if the star happens to be an invisible, six-foot-tall rabbit.
The answer is Harvey, Mary Chase’s 1944 comedy classic, lovingly presented by the Fresno Pacific University Theater Department through November 19.
Join us as The Kings Players at the Temple Theater wrap up their 2022 season with the light-hearted comedy, Wage Warfare. Young Hope finds herself sandwiched in between prim Bonnie and surly Louise, with the only apparent ‘hope’ for relief a sudden opportunity for promotion. Antics ensue when the three women all vie for the promotion and do their best to undermine each other, as Hope is reluctantly drawn into the other two women’s skulduggery.
