Victor Cordell
Bio:
Recent Articles:
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Introduction to Four Shows on The Great White Way Front Page
Liberation, Reunions, Romy & Michele, Six
By: - Nov 14th, 2025While at the American Theatre Critics Conference in NYC, I attended four shows. By coincidence, the common theme of revisiting or reunion emerged. Women's relationships and rights surfaced as another binding element. Reviews of each play will appear separately.
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Parsifal Front Page
San Francisco Opera's Stellar Production
By: - Oct 30th, 2025Wagner's final opera boasts some of his most organic music and lyrics in a tale of redemption. The piece demands enormous resources of every kind, and San Francisco Opera has produced a matchless experience that excels in every way.
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The Wisdom of Eve Front Page
The Metatheatrical Treatise on Ambition
By: - Oct 27th, 2025The theatrical version of the movie "All About Eve" differs around the edges but carries the same impact. The fading star Margo Channing faces the rise of the talented but unprincipled Eve Harrington.
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Dada Teen Musical: The Play Front Page
Central Work's Provocative World Premiere
By: - Oct 24th, 2025High achieving Anabel wants to enhance her Harvard application by creating and producing a Dada version of a popular musical for her high school's theater group. To bring it off, she calls on two unlikely collaborators - self-indulgent Tyler who has money and people resources, and gothic Mariah, who has some music cred. Radical complications ensue.
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Hard Times: Appalachian Stories by Ron Rash Front Page
Word for Word Exquisitely Performs Three Regional Short Stories Without Alteration
By: - Oct 17th, 2025Three short stories span the period from the Great Depression through the end of the 20th century. Though they have little in common, collectively they contribute an insightful portrait of life in a region intimately known and revered by the author.
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Samson et Dalila Front Page
West Bay Opera's Fine Production
By: - Oct 14th, 2025The tale from the Bible is brought to the opera stage. The deceitful temptress Dalila seeks not love but destruction and revenge. Though she succeeds, Samson will have the last word.
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Noises Off Front Page
Metatheatrical Farce Par Excellence by San Francisco Playhouse
By: - Oct 03rd, 2025A full-length play-within-a-play has a cast endure zany pratfalls. Unpreparedness, dipsomania, love triangles, antagonisms, prop misplacements, and more produce endless farce.
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La Traviata Front Page
Avery Boettcher's Performance Highlights Livermore Valley's Outstanding Production
By: - Sep 30th, 2025One of the canon's most fabled operas, the story of a frail, doomed courtesan and her star-crossed love for a man from the upper class has resonated with audiences of all ilks for over 170 years. Verdi's sumptuous score with stunning arias and ensembles is matchless.
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Kim's Convenience Front Page
From Stage to Five Seasons on Netflix and Back
By: - Sep 26th, 2025Korean-Canadian immigrant Appa Kim owns a mini-mart in Toronto. He faces challenges in the two areas of greatest importance to him, his family and his business. Those interests intersect as the store sustains the family; as he has no succession plan because his children aren't interested in running the business; and because he has a good offer to sell the store. But isn't it funny how conditions change?
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Dead Man Walking Front Page
San Francisco Opera Reprises 21st Century's Most Successful Opera
By: - Sep 19th, 2025Joseph de Rocher faces execution for the grisly murders of young lovers. Though unrepentant, he requests and receives spiritual counseling from Sister Helen Prejean. The opera based on the true story scintillates on all dimensions.
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Cosi fan Tutte Front Page
Opera San Jose Charms with a Bright Version of the Mozart / da Ponte Favorite
By: - Sep 17th, 2025A small-scale grand opera, Cosi revolves around a bet that two sisters will be unfaithful to their fiances within 24 hours. To tempt the women, the men are required to dress like Albanians, with each man pursuing the other's beloved. Cosi is full of beautiful, if unmemorable music, but the comic chops of the singers are what makes the opera most appealing.
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Indecent Front Page
Center Rep's Compelling Paean to Paula Vogel's Allegory on Humanity and Acceptance
By: - Sep 15th, 2025The playwright deftly envelopes the essence of Sholem Asch's "God of Vengeance" into a dramatic wrapper of the history detailing Asch's unending challenges from his community and from authorities concerning the play's alleged obscenity.
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The Reservoir Front Page
Memory Loss Two Ways in Thoughtful Dramedy from Berkeley Rep
By: - Sep 12th, 2025Josh returns home to Colorado in hopes of recovering from alcoholism and getting to know his grandparents better. A shared characteristic between them is memory loss, the difference being that the cause of Josh's is reversible, while that of the older generation is not.
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A Night with Janis Joplin Front Page
Sonoma Arts Live's Lively Jukebox Musical
By: - Sep 06th, 2025Janis Joplin was one of rock-and-roll's greatest icons. This musical tribute to her which has thrilled audiences across the country and around the world returns to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she earned her fame.
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Eureka Day Front Page
Marin/Aurora's Masterful Revival of Tony Award Winner Commissioned by Aurora
By: - Sep 05th, 2025The board of a private school in Berkeley, CA must make policy decisions following a mumps outbreak. Jonathan Spector's brilliant script reveals archetypes and arguments, and an exemplary cast enlivens the characters. The arguments concerning vaccinations are timely given the anti-vaxxing crusade of the current federal administration.
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Santa Fe: The City Different - Traveler's Notes Front Page
No Other Small American City Has the Quality and Diversity of Santa Fe
By: - Aug 30th, 2025The unlikely Santa Fe, New Mexico sets a remarkably high standard for tourism on many fronts. Exemplary visual arts, performing arts, museums, cuisine and restaurants, architecture, and festivals are just the beginning.
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Good People Front Page
Altarena's Masterful Look at Working Class South Boston
By: - Aug 25th, 2025Working-class Margie is fired from her job and desperately needs an income. She calls on Mike, now a successful doctor who she dated just before giving birth 30 ago and hasn't seen since. Unexpected clashes occur in this well-produced and riveting play.
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Alabaster Front Page
A Dramedy About Making Connections and Resurrecting Damaged Women
By: - Aug 18th, 2025A tornado destroyed June's family and farm. In isolation, she communicates with a goat. But when Alice, who brings photographic dignity and beauty to damaged women, shows up to do a layout on June, each faces her shortcomings with the possibility of escaping the pain of the past.
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Wozzeck Front Page
A Fine Rendering by West Edge Opera of the Atonal Masterpiece
By: - Aug 10th, 2025Downtrodden Franz Wozzeck suffers abuse from those in higher social classes and is betrayed by his common-law wife who has an affair with a Drum Major. West Edge depicts the drama of the underclass in concert with the dissonance of Alban Berg's music.
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David and Jonathan Front Page
Baroque Opera with a Modern Twist at West Edge
By: - Aug 04th, 2025Charpentier's 1688 opera celebrates the close but star-crossed friendship of Biblical hero David with Jonathan, the son of Saul, Israel's first king. Saul's resistance to God's call to step down in favor of David results in a clash between Saul and David as well as Jonathan's conflict between love and duty. Without bending the text, the West Edge twist is that David and Jonathan's relationship is carnal.
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Dolores Front Page
World Premiere at West Edge Opera Honors Distinguished Labor Leader
By: - Aug 03rd, 2025Dolores Huerta made her mark as Cesar Chavez's most trusted associate in the California grape pickers strike and boycott starting in 1965 that would result in major protections for agricultural workers. Independently, she led strikes and boycotts elsewhere, and she negotiated the contract that would end the unrest.
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Le Comte Ory Front Page
Rossini's Comedy Done Right at Merola
By: - Aug 02nd, 2025The hedonistic and opportunistic Comte Ory takes advantage of men being away at the Crusades to pursue women. Knowing that the Comtesse Adele seeks spiritual guidance, his first gambit is to disguise as a hermit, but his own page gets in the way.
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Die Walküre Front Page
A Tale of Conflicts and Betrayals
By: - Jul 28th, 2025Brünhilde's empathy for illicit lovers Siegmund and Sieglinde induces her to betray the orders of her father Wotan, the king of gods. His punishment is to reduce her to becoming a mortal. Santa Fe Opera's production excels.
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Rigoletto Front Page
Verdi's Tragic Masterpiece at Santa Fe Opera
By: - Jul 27th, 2025The jester Rigoletto vows to protect his daughter from lascivious men. Not only does he fail, but he suffers tragic consequences as a result of his attempted revenge after her abduction and abuse.
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The Turn of the Screw Front Page
Santa Fe's Excellent Production of the Ghost Story
By: - Jul 24th, 2025In this Gothic ghost tale, a young governess is charged with caring for two orphans under the guardianship of an absentee uncle. Two employees on the estate whom the governess encounters are deceased. Is she dreaming, or is their presence real? And are the children innocents, or are they possessed by the ghosts? Benjamin Britten's eerie music fits the ghost story.
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