The pandemic was tough on live theater, with actors and directors needing to become overnight filmmakers—Zoommakers, in order to practice their craft and reach an audience. Because without an audience, what’s the point? The audience makes the circle complete.
We houseboaters are lucky. No need to cross a bridge to see great theater. From classics to world premieres, we’re only minutes away from a significant stage and almost always the parking is free!
If the plague years found you buying a bigger screen and turning your streaming into a torrent, get back in the habit of joining the communal celebration that is live theater.
The kids led the way! It was standing room only for Throckmorton Theatre’s youth version of Les Miz. East Pier’s Ted Bravos happily became a “stage grandpa” so grandson Chase could storm the Mill Valley/Paris barricades with other thespian teenagers.
Ross Valley Players has stuffed the venerable Barn Theater at Marin Arts and Garden Center to the rafters with hit after hit in its 94th season. The Divine Sarah is dancing her way from the Belle Epoque to a March 15 opening. That biographical musical is part of a Ross New Works festival.
Extending those Ross festivities, staged readings of new plays on two March Sunday nights let watchers be part of the dramatic development process. On March 24 at 7pm, West Pier playwright Lance Belville’s true crime tale, Cowboy and Widow, stars three actors singing honkytonk tunes by three award-winning songwriters. Tickets to the staged readings are only $10.
Theater in Marin is generally very affordable. Insider Tip: through March 31, you can get a $5 discount on general admission and senior tickets for The Mountain Play’s sassy Kinky Boots. A Marin treasure for more than a century, with only four precious performances June 2 to 16. Super Insider Tip: Sunday June 2, general seating youth tickets are free! So prime your day with a picnic, sit atop Mount Tam, and savor the skyline. It’s even bigger and brighter than that screen you bought.