Lily Janiak
@lilyjaniak.bsky.social
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San Francisco Chronicle theater critic, wheelwoman, How can there be any sin in sincere?
âDirector Susi Damilano shows how attending theater can be as grounding and clarifying as going for a walk in the forest and taking a deep breath.â So glad I very belatedly caught âInto the Woodsâ at San Francisco Playhouse!
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Why S.F. Playhouseâs âInto the Woodsâ is so much more than escapism
Susi Damilanoâs production shows how attending theater can be as grounding and clarifying as going for a walk in the forest and taking a deep breath.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/sf-playhouse-into-the-woods-21270473.php
about 6 hours ago
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When Tony, Joy and I first started reporting this timeline of SF Oasis' history, back in October, we thought counting down to NYE would be a way to say goodbye. But sometimes your wildest dreams come true, and you get to reframe a sad story into a happy one.
www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
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From tears to triumph: A timeline of S.F. drag club Oasis
Oasisâ whole history â partner changes, death, the financial losses from the pandemic closures and slow San Francisco nightlife recovery â has been whiplash-inducing.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/timeline-oasis/
4 days ago
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Earlier this year, S.F. actor Radhika Rao told me she was getting theater work from an usual source: an AI company. That made me wonder: How else could theater artists (and other artists!) work inside an industry that often seems hostile to ours?
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Can theater artists work inside the AI industry?
Cross-pollination between theater and AI is not yet widespread. But a few early partnerships point to what might be.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/theater-artists-ai-industry-21223645.php
8 days ago
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Us, too, inflatable man. Us, too.
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9 days ago
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My mind is BLOWN. The Curran has a new owner, and it's... the San Francisco Giants?!?!? As a theater critic, I never thought I'd be texting with the owner of an MLB team, but there you go!
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San Francisco Giants buys the Curran Theatre
Speaking to the Chronicle by phone, Giants President and CEO Larry Baer said, âWeâre in the live entertainment business.â
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/sf-giants-curran-theatre-21250725.php
17 days ago
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The former leader of Berkeley's Aurora Theatre is now running â wait for it! â a movie theater! The transition comes as both art forms, for all their differences, share a struggle: getting butts in seats.
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This former stage directorâs next act? Running a movie theater
Josh Costello, the former artistic director of the now-defunct Aurora Theatre Company, admitted he was initially skeptical about running the Lark Theater in Marin County.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/josh-costello-lark-theater-21243811.php
17 days ago
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Honored to amplify the story of Brian Copeland's relationship with Rob Reiner and his family. A great way to judge someone's character is how they treat someone with less clout when no one else is watching.
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Want to know what Rob Reiner was really like? Ask this Bay Area actor
San Leandro comedian, radio host and novelist Brian Copeland has known Rob Reiner for more than two decades. âIf you want to know what he was like, think of the nicest person you ever met.â
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/brian-copeland-rob-reiner-21246591.php
18 days ago
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Going to rewatch "The American President" tonight. RIP to an artist who married craft to commercial appeal â i.e. he understood how people work. If you're also looking for some streaming options as you mourn, fellow Chron staffers and I offer a few:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Essential Rob Reiner movies: Where to stream the genre-defying director's best films
In the wake of the filmmakerâs tragic death, explore his best works on film and in TV â from âAll in the Familyâ to âWhen Harry Met SallyâŠâ
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/rob-reiner-best-movies-streaming-21243861.php
20 days ago
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I admit Iâve previously been down on revisiting âA Christmas Carol,â so Center Repertory Company has my gratitude for reminding me how much juice the story has. On its new version, in collaboration with Axis Dance:
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Center Repâs âChristmas Carolâ feels like hearing the story for the first time
One of the master strokes of the production, directed by Jared Mezzocchi, is to partner with Axis Dance, which specializes in using disabled and non-disabled dancers.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/center-rep-christmas-carol-review-21239855.php
22 days ago
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I read the Tom Stoppard line, and I thought, "If I ever get married, I want this to be said during the ceremony." 1/
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Why Tom Stoppard was San Franciscoâs unofficial playwright laureate
Tony Award-winner Tom Stoppard, who died on Nov. 29 at age 88 after being a staple of American Conservatory Theater for decades, wrote plays that blazed with light and warmth.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/tom-stoppard-appreciation-21230559.php
22 days ago
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Another magical Nina Ball set! At Center Rep for âA Christmas Carolâ!
23 days ago
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Can't wait for this new take on "Carol" at Center Repertory Company in partnership with Axis Dance:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Inside Bay Areaâs groundbreaking âChristmas Carolâ told through Timâs eyes
Center Repâs take on Charles Dickensâ classic is produced in association with Axis Dance Company, which specializes in using disabled and nondisabled dancers.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/christmas-carol-center-repertory-21192772.php
29 days ago
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If âDear San Franciscoâ is doing a holiday show, then hot damn, I get to go back and give them another rave:
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Why âDear San Franciscoâ is your best bet for holiday theater â without trying too hard
For those needing a reason to revisit or finally try out 7 Fingersâ production, now in its fourth year at Club Fugazi, the âHome for the Holidaysâ edition is the perfect excuse.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/dear-san-francisco-holidays-21193416.php
29 days ago
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Killing My Lobster always seems like the best party in S.F. on Giving Tuesday, and all the more so this year. Read on for a rare bit of good news in Bay Area theater:
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Killing My Lobster to produce again, in rare good news in Bay Area theater
The 28-year-old company is reintroducing âSketch on Speedâ in 2026, thanks to a partnership with Mission District nonprofit Z Space.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/comedy/article/killing-my-lobster-returns-21219600.php
about 1 month ago
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On Olivia Nuzzi and whether being good at one kind of writing necessarily qualifies you for another:
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Olivia Nuzziâs memoir about her affair with RFK Jr. shows she should stick to politics
Journalist Olivia Nuzzi might be an oracle of American political power, but in âAmerican Canto,â she turns myopic when she directs that gaze inward.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/books/article/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto-review-21215875.php?fbclid=IwZnRzaAOcnVJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeZrSIDhelj6zVc1LRCVFhpkWfxR-ENCQY7VqESmw12YHNPmncoh_GqxiPBiA_aem_14KbhXR16iHLDtmY2vPDQg
about 1 month ago
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I happened to see "Hamnet" the day after I saw Shotgun's "Sunday in the Park With George," and they felt like they were in conversation with each other â
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How âHamnetâ rewrites the tropes of the artist biopic
In Chloe Zhaoâs feature film about Shakespeareâs family, Paul Mescal interprets a scene of âHamletâ in a way Iâve never seen done in all my years as a theatergoer.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/hamnet-hamlet-zhao-mescal-21195630.php
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Lily Janiak
please be nice to patrick
about 1 month ago
food takes are what got jean valjean into trouble
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What imaginative riches. On Shotgun Players' "Sunday in the Park With George":
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Why Shotgun Playersâ âSunday in the Park With Georgeâ feels like an immersive experience
Shotgun Playersâ production of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheimâs 1984 musical insists on the equal importance of every being who contributed to Seuratâs famous painting â artist and subject...
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/shotgun-sunday-george-review-21192497.php
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Lily Janiak
Kevin Daly
about 1 month ago
Still thinking about the audience member the other night who shouted âYou go, girl!â when Louise told Mary Todd Lincoln âYou are not nice!â
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You know that feeling of âno one else could make theater like thisâ? Thatâs what itâs like to see Manual Cinema. On âThe 4th Witchâ at Cal Performances:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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I went to see Manual Cinemaâs âThe 4th Witchâ â and it was spellbinding
In âThe 4th Witch,â a Cal Performances co-commission, the inventive blend of theater, film and puppetry proves why this Chicago company deserves a place in your arts alerts.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/manual-cinema-4th-witch-review-21192477.php
about 1 month ago
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Huge news in Bay Area theater. Slide into my DMs if you want to discuss favorite Pam projects â or trade fantasy theater football picks about who the successor should be!
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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The Bay Areaâs top theater leader is stepping down
Pam MacKinnon told the Chronicle that sheâs leaving American Conservatory Theater in order to return to her freelance directing career.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/pam-mackinnon-departs-act-21193395.php
about 1 month ago
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âWhat happens when an industry spends 15 years telling talented young journalists that personal brand is currency ⊠that being a character in the story makes better contentâand then acts shocked when someone takes that logic a few degrees too far?â
www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
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The Olivia Nuzzi Comeback Is Everything Wrong With Modern Media
Olivia Nuzziâs comeback isnât a personal scandal storyâitâs proof that todayâs media rewards access, personality, and controversy more than ethics.
https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-olivia-nuzzi-comeback-is-everything-wrong-with-modern-media/
about 1 month ago
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Wish I could give a more positive report on this one. On Berkeley Rep's latest:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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âMother of Exilesâ tries to be a stirring immigration drama but feels more like a Zoom meeting
Jessica Huangâs play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre traces immigration journeys across three generations of a single multiracial family over more than a century.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/berkeley-rep-mother-exiles-review-21192464.php
about 2 months ago
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Love being the first one in the theater! At Berkeley Rep!
about 2 months ago
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There is now new Anh Phoong fashion merch, it came about because an S.F. designer dressed up as an Anh Phoong *billboard* for Halloween, and now I know what I want for Christmas.
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Bay Area billboard queen Anh Phoong drops streetwear line with a charitable twist
The $25 T-shirt and $50 hoodie both feature a pocket-size illustration of the ubiquitous billboard lawyer on the side of a box of Asian takeout.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/anh-phoong-merchandise-21193265.php
about 2 months ago
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Two nights in a row at SF Opera !!!
about 2 months ago
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The touring cast of "Stereophonic" wasn't going to perform in the Bay Area without visiting the Sausalito studio where their show is set â and where Fleetwood Mac recorded "Rumours." On Monday, 2025 met 1976 in a totally surreal, beautifully fluid way.
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The âStereophonicâ cast visited Fleetwood Macâs studio. Hereâs what it was like
The touring cast of David Adjmiâs Tony Award-winning play took a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge to 2200 Studios, formerly known as the Record Plant, where Fleetwood Mac recorded âRumours.â
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/stereophonic-record-plant-sausalito-21158218.php
about 2 months ago
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It's not every opening night that gets interrupted by a fire alarm. On Actors' Reading Collective's "Mary Jane":
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âMary Janeâ review: A real fire alarm echoes the playâs constant sense of crisis
As Republicans block Affordable Care Act subsidies, Amy Herzogâs âMary Janeâ spotlights the human cost of Americaâs broken health care system.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/mary-jane-fire-alarm-review-21146629.php
about 2 months ago
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This one didnât work for me, but I hope it finds its audience.
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Review: TheatreWorksâ âA Driving Beatâ breaks down on the roadside
TheatreWorksâ mother-son road trip play feels like a life skills skit at a school assembly.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/theatreworks-driving-beat-review-21138422.php
about 2 months ago
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Belatedly catching some TheatreWorks!
about 2 months ago
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I love plays about great big horrible family secrets. On "The Hills of California" at Berkeley Repertory Theatre:
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Review: In âThe Hills of California,â four sisters harmonize â and scream â beautifully
Jez Butterworthâs play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre time-travels from an adolescent quartet of would-be Andrews Sisters to their jaundiced older selves.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/hills-of-california-review-berkeley-21138410.php
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Lily Janiak
Claire Willett
2 months ago
in my heart I know that Lin-Manuel Miranda wants to play Zohran Mamdani on SNL so bad it physically hurts him
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As a former wannabe Andrews Sister myself, I am jazzed for Berkeley Repâs latest!
2 months ago
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Very grateful to have experienced this work of theater by these artists. On Marin Theatre's "Sally & Tom," which shows how art can set free:
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âSally & Tomâ at Marin Theatre frees Sally Hemings of Thomas Jefferson
Suzan-Lori Parksâ backstage drama follows the making of a play-within-a-play about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sally-tom-marin-theatre-review-21138400.php
2 months ago
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Big night at Marin Theatre! My feature on the show at the link in bio.
2 months ago
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We donât often get to see Broadway tours like this one. On âStereophonicâ:
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Wonder what it was like when Fleetwood Mac recorded âRumoursâ? âStereophonicâ captures that chaos brilliantly
David Adjmiâs play, in an American Conservatory Theater and BroadwaySF presentation, is as intricate as a Bosch painting and musically satisfying as a Bach invention.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/broadwaysf-stereophonic-curran-review-21073947.php
2 months ago
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Finally!
2 months ago
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Eight years ago, the play "Thomas and Sally," about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, upended the Bay Area theater community. Now the same theater is mounting a very different play about those same two characters. Can it help us heal?
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A Sally Hemings play nearly broke this Bay Area theater. Now itâs mounting another one
Marin Theatre Executive Artistic Director Lance Gardner is adamant that Suzan-Lori Parksâ âSally & Tomâ is not a response to Thomas Bradshawâs much-maligned âThomas and Sally.â
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sally-and-tom-marin-theatre-21114940.php
2 months ago
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No offense to my brother, but this play made me wish I had a sister. Yes, Sosan and Nadia are ruthless with each other, but still. On Golden Thread Productions and Z Space's latest:
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Review: âPilgrimageâ portrays Muslim women with the complexity they deserve
Golden Thread Productions and Z Space are billing the script as the first world premiere co-written by an Afghan American woman in the United States.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/pilgrimage-sf-muslim-review-21073934.php
2 months ago
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In the round at Z Space for Golden Thread !
2 months ago
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I needed to see this show. Maybe you do, too.
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Why âSuffsâ looks just like Trump protests at the East Bay Coast Guard base
Shaina Taubâs Tony Award-winning musical âSuffsâ parallels modern protests, linking the suffrage struggle to Trump-era activism in the Bay Area and beyond.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/suffs-broadwaysf-review-protests-21073924.php
2 months ago
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How do you look as good as Fleetwood Mac when you have only a few weeks to rehearse? On the touring cast of "Stereophonic," in BroadwaySF and ACT performances beginning next week!
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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These âStereophonicâ actors had one concert to get as good as Fleetwood Mac
When David Adjmiâs Tony Award-winning play tours to the Curran, its cast members are supposed to play together like a band that could record a rock masterpiece.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/stereophonic-fleetwood-mac-concert-21089630.php
2 months ago
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In January Berkeley Rep unveiled artwork for "The The Thing About Jellyfish" with an AI credit. Since then I've talked to artists and designers who love it as a tool, who use it as a spur, who loathe it as a threat. Also: How do they even use it?
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Bay Area theaters are struggling. Will AI help, or hurt?
As AI encroaches on more and more stages, artists are confronting its ethical and artistic dilemmas in the Bay Area.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/ai-art-theater-artist-20421903.php
2 months ago
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reposted by
Lily Janiak
Bob Calhoun
3 months ago
So much better than Sweet James!
add a skeleton here at some point
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Legend.
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Anh Phoong goes from billboards to NBA uniforms
After dropping a rap music video over the summar, the tort lawyer of âSomething wrong? Call Anh Phoongâ fame is now advertising on Sacramento Kingsâ uniforms.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/anh-phoong-kings-jerseys-21112113.php
3 months ago
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The journalist Ida B. Wells is a character in "Suffs," and she has descendants â one of whom lives in the Bay Area. I got to talk to two of her heirs about what it was like to grow up with her legacy and crusading for justice in their own ways, on their own terms.
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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âI was hereâ: Ida B. Wellsâ family still feels her fight against erasure â and âSuffsâ shows why
Family legacy is complicated for the descendants of Ida B. Wells, in a way that only underlines the message of Shaina Taubâs musical âSuff,â touring to BroadwaySFâs Orpheum Theatre.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/ida-b-wells-broadwaysf-suffs-21104513.php
3 months ago
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For any Bay Area theater fans reading âLin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist,â Daniel Pollack-Pelzner has planted a jaw-dropping Easter egg. My marginalia? OFF THE CHARTS.
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Before âHamilton,â Lin-Manuel Miranda had a college crush on this Bay Area theater director
Lin-Manuel Mirandaâs college days with S.F. director M. Graham Smith is only one morsel in a new biography packed with revelations and insights that should make musical theater nerds squeal.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/lin-manuel-miranda-biography-21094813.php
3 months ago
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It's pretty badass to still be writing plays at 87. On Ishmael Reed, the vile Disney movie "Song of the South" and Reed's new play âThe Amanuensis,â now in a staged reading:
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Disney buried its racist âSong of the South.â Now an Oakland playwright is digging it back up
In âThe Amanuensis,â the prolific satirist Ishmael Reed takes on dreck from the Disney vault and its equally racist back story.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/disney-ishmael-reed-amanuensis-21101123.php
3 months ago
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I knew there would be contemporary parallels, but I don't think I anticipated quite so many. Theatre Lunatico's show is required viewing for every AI proponent or apologist. The rest of us can just savor those scrumptious Gothic thrills this Halloween.
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
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Why âFrankensteinâ gets AI better than Silicon Valley ever will
Theatre Lunaticoâs adaptation of Mary Shelleyâs novel seems tailor made for our artificial intelligence era.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/theatre-lunatico-frankenstein-review-21073913.php
3 months ago
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Tell the aspiring arts journalists in your life: the Chronicle is hiring a Datebook intern for next summer! Application deadline: Nov. 3.
eevd.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
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Datebook Intern, Summer 2026
The San Francisco Chronicle is seeking to create a pipeline for the next generation of arts journalists. The position will be based with Datebook, our guide to arts, entertainment and culture in the B...
https://eevd.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_15/job/2025262?keyword=datebook&mode=location
3 months ago
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