I’ve always loved going to carnivals and riding on the colorful carousels, but Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical “Carousel” goes beyond the colorful rides and gives a behind the scenes look at the people who make the magic happen.
The popular musical revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow and his romance with mill worker Julie Jordan which results in her pregnancy and his participation in a robbery to provide for his unexpected child.
According to Rodgers, “Carousel” was one of his favorite musicals. Given a more hopeful ending than the Hungarian-language drama “Lilliom” upon which it was based, “Carousel” includes such songs as “If I Loved You,” “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” With the more hopeful ending and such beautiful tunes, the musical enjoyed a huge success when it opened on Broadway in 1945, as well as its 2018 revival. Confirming its enduring legacy, Time magazine named “Carousel” the best musical of the 20th century in 1999.
Woodminster Musicals presents the popular show at the beautiful Woodminster Amphitheater in the Oakland hills from Friday through July 19. Joel Schlader directs a cast which includes Cody Craven (Billy Bigelow), Elise Walters (Julie Jordan), Ashley Garlick (Carrie Pipperidge), Michael Parrott (Enoch Snow) and Susan Powers (Nettie Fowler).
For tickets, call 510-531-9597 or go to woodminster.com/tickets.
Chloris Li, left, and Keiko Shimosato Carreiro play a variety of roles in SF Mine Troupe’s latest political satire “Wreckage: A Musical Tragicomedy” with free performances throughout the Bay Area. (Photo courtesy of Ben Krantz Studio)
Oakland and Berkeley: The Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe (SFMT) brings its own special brand of political satire and the search for hope amidst the rubble of our modern world to the East Bay with its free production “Wreckage: A Musical Tragicomedy” from July 15 through Aug. 30.
Celebrating its 67th season, SFMT continues its mission to expose social and economic injustice on behalf of working people and to do so with artistry and humor and more than a little political satire.
This new musical by veteran SFMT member Michael Gene Sullivan asks, “Is it just us, or does it feel like everything is falling apart?” followed by “When it’s all over will there be enough left to build something new out of this wreckage?”
Director Lisa Hori-Garcia and performers Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, Chloris Li, Jed Pio and Sullivan play a diverse array of characters including an evangelical preacher, an AI developer and a sergeant in the National Guard.
The company performs throughout the Bay Area and beyond with East Bay performances July 15-16, 7 p.m., Lakeside Park, Oakland; July 18-19, 2 p.m., Live Oak Park, Berkeley; Aug. 22-23, 2 p.m., Willard Park, Berkeley; and Aug. 29-30, 2 p.m., Cedar Rose Park, Berkeley.
The three-piece SFMT band (Will Durkee, Daniel Savio and Miguel Jose Wacher) begins playing a half-hour prior to performances.
For more information, call 415-285-1717 or go to sfmt.org.
Also in Berkeley: Playwright Yvonne Martinez’s latest play “Scabmuggers” tells her true story of fighting back against sexism and politics in the labor movement during her time as a National Fellow of the Harvard Trade Union Program in 1994.
The title refers to turn-of-the-century militant, multi-ethnic women activists who disrupted picket lines to deter “scabs” from crossing the line. Martinez, whose grandmother was a scabmugger, uses the term to draw parallels to activism today and the fight against sexism, racism and harassment within labor and political entities.
In “Scabmuggers,” a White female student finds herself stalked by a Black male classmate. As others find out, the students take sides and a power struggle erupts, splitting the class along race, sex, sexual orientation and class lines.
The show plays July 14 and 21 at The Freight on 2020 Addison St. in Berkeley. Tanika Baptiste directs. For tickets, go to secure.thefreight.org/15960/15963-scabmuggers-260721.
Orinda: The Orinda Starlight Village Players continues its season with Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter.” Directed by Patrick Atkinson, the witty romantic comedy runs July 24 through Aug. 15 at Orinda Community Center Park’s Amphitheater on 28 Orinda Way.
Set in 1941, this perfect summer comedy revolves around a famous actor as he prepares to go to Africa on a theater tour. However, he is thrown into a midlife crisis as he attempts to juggle his household staff, business partners, personal secretary, his estranged wife and an affair that could ruin everything.
For tickets, go to orsvp.org.
S.F.: Orpheum Theatre celebrates its 100th anniversary this summer with a very special ticket initiative. Throughout the remainder of 2026, ATG San Francisco will offer 100 tickets to select productions at the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate Theatres for only $10. The first “100 for 10” production was announced this week.
Announced exclusively through ATG San Francisco’s Instagram and Facebook channels (@ATGSanFrancisco), the $10 tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.
“As we celebrate this extraordinary milestone, ‘100 for 10’ is our way of saying thank you to the community and ensuring that even more people have the opportunity to experience the magic of live theater,” said ATG General Manager Jamie Budgett.
Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.