Front Row Reviews

“Death of a Salesman” showcases society’s false promises

Bruce Kaplan (Willy Loman) Arthur Miller’s deeply moving story of a struggling family spotlights the failure of society’s false promise: work hard, and you will achieve wealth. Staged on Broadway in 1949, Miller’s play sought to destroy this myth, especially in the grip of the Industrial Revolution. Society, in the post-WWII era, proved the harsh … Read more

“The Strange Library” Expands Our Imagination

Jed Parsario (boy), Julie Kuwabara (sheep Man), Chuck Lacson (LIbrarian), Ogie Zulueta (old Man) Haruki Murakami’s The Strange Library takes readers on a mind-expanding journey through the depths of imagination and surrealism. Z Below and Word for Word bring this novella to life in a superlative production, directed by Lisa Hori-Garcia and Keiko Shimosato Carreiro. … Read more

“Ghost Quartet”

Monica Rose Slater (Rose) The Oakland Theatre Project and New Performance Traditions, existential musical, “Ghost Quartet” by David Malloy, magnificently unravels a complex, multi-generational fairytale. The paranormal mystery unfolds through four storytellers who portray multiple characters and sporadically travel through time. Malloy’s diverse musical styles—ranging from folk and electropop to doo-wop, jazz, honky-tonk, and ballads—mirror … Read more