Berkeley: You may remember Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor Jimmy Smits from \u201cNYPD Blue,\u201d \u201cWest Wing,\u201d \u201cLA Law,\u201d \u201cDexter\u201d or one of his many films. But did you know he also has such Broadway shows as the Pulitzer Prize-winning play \u201cAnna in the Tropics\u201d and \u201cGod of Carnage\u201d to his credit?<\/p>\n
Well, you\u2019ll be able to see him in action in Berkeley Repertory\u2019s \u201cAll My Sons,\u201d running Feb. 20 through March 29. He shares the stage with actress and real-life partner Wanda De Jes\u00fas. The duo has performed together on several occasions including in 2003 in Berkeley Rep\u2019s production of \u201cThe Guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Written by Arthur Miller, \u201cAll My Sons\u201d looks at the American Dream and the moral compromise often needed to obtain it. The powerful play centers on a family whose hard-won success is threatened by a father\u2019s fateful decision.<\/p>\n
Berkeley Rep\u2019s Associate Artistic Director David Mendiz\u00e1bal reexamines this classic work through a lens of race, ethnicity and class \u2013 sharpening its themes of justice and inequality.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a rare and thrilling opportunity to work with artists of this caliber,\u201d said Mendiz\u00e1bal. \u201cJimmy Smits and Wanda De Jes\u00fas bring an extraordinary depth, history and authenticity to \u2018All My Sons.\u2019 Their real-life connection infuses every moment with an intimacy that amplifies the play\u2019s emotional stakes. The doors that they have opened for Latino artists in the field have paved the way for me to be able to bring my vision of Miller\u2019s incredible play to the stage, and it\u2019s such an honor to have them leading this production.\u201d<\/p>\n
Single tickets have recently gone on sale. To secure yours, call 510-647-2949 or go to berkeleyrep.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also in Berkeley: The Marsh on 2120 Allston Way dishes up Marga Gomez\u2019s \u201cSpanish Stew\u201d to spice up 2026.<\/p>\n Running Jan. 17 through Feb. 22, this comedic recipe charts Gomez\u2019s youthful history starting in Manhattan where her mother abruptly \u201couts\u201d her sexuality and continues as she follows her college girlfriend to San Francisco. Here Gomez finds new girlfriends, cults, weird roommates and a survival job at a bohemian caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n Using her trademark lightning-fast transitions, Gomez plays a host of vivid characters in this colorful one-woman show.<\/p>\n For tickets, go to themarsh.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Walnut Creek: Synergy Theater returns to Lesher Center for the Arts on 1601 Civic Drive with the world premiere of \u201cImprovised Stephen King: The Improvised Comedy that\u2019s a Screaming Good Time!\u201d<\/p>\n This hysterical homage to the master of horror runs Jan. 15-25.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s 1981 and Stephen King needs to write a new book,\u201d said Artistic Director Kenn Adams. \u201cSo, he turns to the legion of demons, to whom he\u2019s sold his soul for seventy-five years of fame and fortune, for help. Now, the demons, of course, are the audience and that\u2019s how we get our suggestions to improvise the show.\u201d<\/p>\n Adams plays Stephen King and throughout the show fields suggestions from the audience like \u201cWhat\u2019s hiding behind the door?\u201d or \u201cWho jumps out from behind the chair?\u201d However the audience responds dictates the next line of action.<\/p>\n For a \u201cscreaming\u201d good time, call 925-943-7469 or go to lesherartscenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also in Walnut Creek: Here\u2019s your chance to see the next generation of comedic talent with \u201cBest of San Francisco Stand-Up\u201d coming to the Lesher Center on Jan.10.<\/p>\n Maybe the next Robin Williams or Dana Carvey, who both honed their comedy skills in San Francisco, will be in the line-up.<\/p>\n For tickets to this comedy tour de force, go to lesherartscenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com<\/a>, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com\/author\/sally-hogarty<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jump-start the New Year with the North American tour of \u201cTina \u2013 the Tina Turner Musical,\u201d Jan. 21-22…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[2245,60388,60389,60395,2248,2241,1472,60386,60390,2246,2242,967,60387,60385,2236,60393,2240,2244,2239,101,103,102,2247,104,106,105,2243,60394,2235,60392,1058,60384,60391],"class_list":["post-112321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-acting","tag-all-my-sons","tag-berkeley-repertory","tag-best-of-san-francisco-stand-up","tag-choreography","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-darilyn-burtley","tag-david-mendizabal","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-entertainment","tag-jimmy-smits","tag-kaiser-center","tag-lesher-center","tag-marga-gomez","tag-musicals","tag-on-stage","tag-performing-arts","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-screenwriting","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-singing","tag-spanish-stew","tag-synergy-theater","tag-the-marsh","tag-theater","tag-tina-turner-musical","tag-wanda-de-jesus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Marga](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BRN-L-CC-COL-0102-2.jpg\")
Marga Gomez brings her one-woman show “Spanish Stew” to the Marsh Berkeley from Jan. 17 through Feb. 22. (Photo by Lois Tema)\u00a0<\/p>\n