Santa Cruz Shakespeare gives Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years” a thoughtful production, with terrific performances and wonderful live musicianship leading the way. But this musical autopsy of a failed marriage ultimately leaves us with one lingering question: What have we learned from the wreckage?
Santa Cruz Shakespeare
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Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s ‘Private Lives’ is deliciously funny — and gloriously toxic
Santa Cruz Shakespeare opens its fall season in delicious style with Noël Coward’s “Private Lives.” Charles Pasternak and Paige Lindsey White are marvelous as the spectacularly combustible couple who can’t seem to stay together or apart, bringing sparkling chemistry and impeccable comic timing to Laura Gordon’s stylish, laugh-out-loud production.
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Santa Cruz Shakespeare goes big: Eight shows take the stage in 2027
Santa Cruz Shakespeare is going bigger than ever in 2027, with eight productions stretching from spring through winter, including a record four-show summer season. But at a warm gathering in the Audrey Stanley Grove on Monday night, the company also looked back, surprising former artistic director Mike Ryan by naming the Grove stage in his honor.
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The applause isn’t over yet: Your fall/winter theater guide
Summer theater might be winding down, but the curtain isn’t closing anytime soon. Santa Cruz County’s stages are packed with comedies, dramas, musicals, opera, holiday favorites and a few surprises, giving audiences more reasons than ever to head to the theater.
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The stories we inherit: SC Shakespeare builds a remarkable ‘Fences’
August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece “Fences” receives a powerfully acted and deeply moving production from Santa Cruz Shakespeare, led by a remarkable Derrick Lee Weeden and an outstanding ensemble.
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The price of power: Santa Cruz Shakespeare delivers a spellbinding ‘Macbeth’
Paul Mullins masterfully directs Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, pairing exceptional performances with vivid stagecraft and making Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” a must-see centerpiece of the summer season.
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‘Much Ado About Everything Right’: SC Shakespeare’s perfect summer comedy
Filled with infectious comedy, colorful design, inspired music and superb performances, Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” is a joyful season opener, Jana Marcus writes, that proves Shakespeare can still leave audiences laughing four centuries later.
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The stage is set for a big Santa Cruz summer theater season
Shakespeare in the redwoods. “Rocky Horror” downtown. Opera at a brewery. Santa Cruz theater companies are throwing everything they’ve got at audiences this season – and the result is one of the most ambitious local lineups in years.
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In Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s brilliant ‘Master Harold,’ superb performances deliver devastating truths
Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “‘Master Harold’ … and the Boys” is both intimate and explosive. What begins with dancing and banter unravels into a devastating portrait of racism, betrayal and moral choice. With five-star performances, this is a must-see.
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Santa Cruz Shakespeare set to expand again, with six full productions slated for 2026
Santa Cruz Shakespeare announced Monday that it will expand its season in 2026, presenting six full productions, including a second show in the fall.
