Stage Notes Bay Area

Episode 8: "To be or not to be" with Joel Roster and Michaela Sasner

We may not have a lot of time for recording our podcast but we do manage to see a lot of shows! Renee and Keenan travel all of over CA for this one and interview Joel Roster (Executive Artistic & Managing Director of Contra Costa Civic Theatre) and Michaela Sasner (Ophelia in CCCT's Hamlet).

Shows we discuss:

Peter Pan National Tour
Jersey Boys at Music Circus Sacramento
The Handmaid's Tale at San Francisco Opera
The Prom at Berkeley Playhouse
Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead at CCCT

Episode 7: Dave Abrams, gem of the Bay Area

Keenan and Renee got a chance to catch up with good friend Dave Abrams before he headed to LA with A Strange Loop. They also discuss some great Bay Area shows they saw last spring and this summer. TMC's Anastasia, Hillbarn's Something Rotten and San Jose Stage Company's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. We apologize for our delay in getting this episode out, we had every intention to get it out sooner but our busy lives had other plans. Enjoy! 

Episode 5: Meet the von Trapplings part 1

Keenan and Renee discuss touring in China and interview castmates: 

Addyson Tabankin @addyson.evelyn, Luke Cantu Gutierrez @lukecgutierrez, Avril Kagan @avril_elyse9 and Everett Baumgarten @everettbaumgarten

Episode 6: Meet the von Trapplings part 2

Keenan and Renee continue to interview the remaining kids who play his onstage siblings in The Sound of Music international tour: 

Haddie Mac Wesson @haddiemac, Lily Philbrook @lily.philbrook and Pippa Blaylock @pippablaylock

Episode 4: ”Try and tear me down”

It’s been a minute….find out why Keenan and I had to take a podcast pause and my dear friend Ashley Garlick steps in as my guest co-host. We meet Shelley Doty from Shotgun Players hit production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and discuss her next exciting project We 3

Learn more about great things happening at Shotgun Players in Berkeley here https://shotgunplayers.org/

Follow Shelley @theshelleydoty and Ashley @ashgnar

 

Pic: Keenan living his best tour life. Clearly he made it to that beach in Shenzhen China he was talking about!

 

Episode 3: “Do you remember?”

Special guests Tommy Lassiter @tommylassiter_ and Tori Speed @torispeed_ from TMC’s production of Bright Star. 

Keenan and Renee also discuss Hippest Trip at ACT, Cruel Intentions at Ray of Light (Renee’s biggest mom fail of the year 🙄) and Kinky Boots at Berkeley Playhouse.

Throwback pictures of Tori (playing Ado Annie in Oklahoma in 2012) and Tommy (playing Sky in Mamma Mia in 2019) both the productions where they first met Renee. And a recent pic of Keenan with them and Arriana Glenn at Bright Star this past summer.

 

 

Episode 2: ”Do You Hear the People Sing?”

Special guest Kyle Herrera @mudsdalemadness

We discuss the Les Mis national tour, Gypsy and Beautiful at Woodminster, Falsettos at The Pear and Becoming Robin Hood at Berkeley Playhouse. 

We're amateur podcasters and we raved about the the Jean Valjean without naming the artist 🤦‍♀️ so apologies to Nick Cartell, we loved your performance. 

We asked how The Pear Theatre got it's name? In 2015 it moved to it's current location at 1110 La Avenida St, but prior to that it was located on 1220 Pear Ave. in Mountain View.

Picture: Keenan and Kyle Herrera as Les and Davy in Newsies at Tri-Valley Rep (2022)

 

Episode 1 ”Start Spreading the News”

Renee and Keenan discuss their recent trip to New York and dish about Sweeney Todd, Kimberly Akimbo, New York New York and more!

Pictures: Keenan and I snagging tickets to Kimberly Akimbo from the TKTS booth fresh off our flight from SFO. Keenan chatting with Victoria Clark at the stage door after the show.