From the luscious Santo Loquasto sets and costumes, to the Tchaikovsky musical pastiche, and the brilliant dancing by the principals and the corps — it works. There is no question about it, no waiting to see how it all gels. San Francisco Ballet has a resounding hit on its hands.

This article is filed under Dance, Performing Arts.

The psychiatric setting also forces – or helps – the production into a particular vision of the play. In some ways this is quite an old-fashioned take, with Hamlet framed as a study of a mind in disintegration.

This article is filed under Blog-Theater, Theatre.

A gala performance such as this, kicking off San Francisco Ballet’s 2012 season, is inevitably programmed with virtuoso showpieces, designed to show off the extraordinary capabilities of what is undoubtedly a world-class company and arguably the finest dance organization in the U.S.

This article is filed under Dance, Performing Arts.

For once the Mouse King is a genuinely compelling villain: his mask is a giant rodent’s skull with red eyes, his costume is murkily tatty and his dancing has a blend of exuberance and creepiness which makes him a joy to watch. James Streeter is the first Mouse King I’ve seen that Clara should be afraid of.

This article is filed under Blog-Dance, Dance.

The ballet consists of two parts. The first half, “The Classical Christmas,” is devoted to traditional ballet with classical Christmas music, including liturgical works. In the second half, “The Cool Christmas,” pointe shoes are out, stilettos and tap shoes are in, and the music shifts from Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic to Lou Rawls, Eartha Kitt, and Leon Redbone.

In “The Classical Christmas,” the big standout for me this year was the simplest. There is something timeless and charming about the minimalist line dance by the company women to “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel.” It reminds us that dance does not always need to be tricky and complicated to be wonderful. Oh, there were masses of tricky solos and partner work, to be sure, but the sheer loveliness of this dance will linger in memory far longer than fancy footwork.

This article is filed under Blog-Dance, Dance.

For this show is funny. I mean, it is really funny. Not the kind of funny you might associate with a National Theatre adaptation of an eighteenth-century Italian play. It’s splutteringly, potato-throwingly, unreasonably hilarious.

This article is filed under Blog-Theater, Theatre.

It showcased all of Noble’s best points: the delight in the ludicrous, the ideas tripping over each other to get out and the revelling in how foolish he may look to an audience. And of course The Voice.

This article is filed under Blog-Theater, Humor, Theatre.

This setup abounds with comic potential, and Diamond wrings plenty of laughs out of the awkward dynamics at hand. But there is much more here than just the usual dysfunction junction drollery. The youths, especially Taylor, have a lot to say about the way the world looks now, and much of their criticism is justified.

This article is filed under African American, Performing Arts, Theatre.

OK. I’ll admit it. I’m a total sap for Nutcracker. You’d think after all the years of attending and appearing in performances, working backstage, and covering numerous productions for various media outlets that I would have become more than a bit bored with the whole thing. Nope. Not a bit. Some productions I like more than others, but basically, I’m a fan.

And San Francisco Ballet, the company that presented the first full-length U. S. Nutcracker, still offers one of the best. From the moment the house doors open, the audience becomes a part of one of San Francisco’s oldest and best-loved holiday parties. Garlands, Christmas trees, and Nutcracker dolls at the boutique welcome the guests decked out in their holiday party best. The lobby is buzzy as children and adults alike eagerly anticipate the performance.

This article is filed under Dance, Performing Arts.

There’s a feeling you get about ten minutes into a Noel Coward play. The lights have come up, the set has been admired, the opening salvoes exchanged and then – whether it’s Hay Fever, Present Laughter or Private Lives – you realize that we’re in here for the duration. It’s like a moment of mild claustrophobia.

This article is filed under Blog-Theater, Theatre.