Thank you, Something Rotten!. I need that.

Sometimes you ned light and froth and delectable show tunes to lift you out of the quagmire of our something-more-than-rotten times, and this musical, now at the Orpheum Theatre as part of the SHN season, is just the ticket.

Anthony Rapp (left) is Mark, Lexi Lawson (center) is Mimi and Adam Pascal is Roger in the latest national touring company of the rock musical Rent, coming to San Francisco’s Curran Theatre in October. Photo by Joan Marcus You’re never too old to play a Bohemian 20something who can’t pay the rent. At least that’s the theory behind the latest...

Kurt Deutsch didn’t mean to get into the record business. The self-described “total theater guy” grew up in St. Louis going to theater whenever possible (usually at The Muny) and then studied directing and acting in college. His big break came when Evan Handler had to leave the Broadway production of Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound for health...

With all this talk about the Summer of Love – it was 40 years ago, in case you hadn’t noticed – I’ve been thinking about the musical Hair, which, not so coincidentally, is also celebrating its 40th birthday this year (as am I, but why dwell on such a depressing statistic). “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” as it was known, is a distinct product of...

Here’s a sneak peek at my interview with Adam Pascal, who’s performing Oct. 27 and 28 at the Post Street Theatre in San Francisco (more info below). Like any good blog item, there are bonus features that won’t make it into the newspaper. Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel were friends in high school on Long Island. Well, not friends exactly, more like...