![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BRN-L-CC-COL-1009-2.jpg\")
From left, Allison Gamlen (Truvy), Melody Payne (Shelby) and Lexy Grant (M’Lynn) starred in “Steel Magnolias,” Town Hall’s opening show of its 2026-27 season. (Photo courtesy of Travis House Photography)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lafayette: One Louisiana beauty parlor and six women equals friendships that nurture during the best and worst of times. Such is a brief summary of Robert Harling\u2019s \u201cSteel Magnolias,\u201d which recently closed at Town Hall Theatre. Hopefully, you had a chance to peek into Truvy\u2019s beauty salon and spend some time with the colorful characters who stop by for a cut and curl.<\/p>\n
While I\u2019ve seen this play several times and been in it once, it still touches all my emotions as I watch these women deal with the ups and downs of life and the extraordinary friendship they share.<\/p>\n
Director Richard Perez and his talented cast of Allison Gamlen (Truvy), Lexy Grant (M\u2019Lynn), Melody Payne (Shelby), Aero England (Annelle), Kristine Ann Lowry (Ouiser) and Marsha van Broek (Clairee) for showing us small-town life at its best.<\/p>\n
Next up at the Lafayette theater is \u201cRobin Hood of the Reservoir \u2013 a holiday panto.\u201d If you\u2019re unfamiliar with this popular British farce, here\u2019s your chance to experience one without flying to Britain.<\/p>\n
This lively musical comedy is performed across the UK during the Christmas and New Year season. While the storyline changes, it always includes colorful costumes, silly jokes and usually women playing men\u2019s roles and vice versa. Audience reaction is encouraged so be ready with your boos and cheers and tune up your voice to sing along with the cast.<\/p>\n
Town Hall\u2019s panto deals with a power-hungry sheriff who threatens to drain the town\u2019s beloved reservoir. Marian decides to protect her home, family and community by opposing the sheriff\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n
Written and directed by local residents Heather Cousins, Lulu Braunstein and Kathleen Olson, the show runs Dec. 11-19. For more information and tickets, call 925-283-1557 or go to townhalltheatre.com\/a-holiday-panto<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oakland: Celebrating its 54th year, the internationally acclaimed Dimensions Dance Theatre performs the world premiere \u201cMemory Freedom Joy (Healing to Joy Part 3)\u201d featuring new choreography by Alseny Soumah and Deborah Vaughan. The event takes place Oct. 17 at Valley Center for the Arts on 3500 Mountain Blvd.<\/p>\n The provocative premiere uses dance and music to shine a light on Bangoura women and the women of the Black Panther Party who fearlessly challenged political systems, overcame oppression and inspired ordinary people to participate in extraordinarily transformative movements.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we look toward the October 2026 performance, we honor the truth that joy is rarely effortless and recognize the profound ways women have contributed to movements for freedom,\u201d said Deborah Vaughan, Dimensions founder and artistic director. \u201cJoy asks something of us: reflection, healing and the strength to face memory with compassion. Yet it is through this personal work that hope takes root. Memory becomes not only a record of where we have been, but a bridge to where we can go together. In choosing joy, we create space for connection, resilience and the possibility of a stronger, more caring community.\u201d<\/p>\n For tickets, go to dimensionsdance.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Antioch: On a sad note, the El Campanil Theatre Preservation Foundation has been served a 60-day notice from the attorney representing the new owners of Antioch\u2019s historic El Campanil Theatre terminating the Foundation\u2019s tenancy.<\/p>\n The Foundation will continue with its current calendar of shows through Nov. 30. They hope to move the community\u2019s beloved \u201cNutcracker,\u201d performed by the Black Diamond Ballet, to an earlier date in November before they vacate the cultural landmark. For more information, go to elcampaniltheatre.com<\/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":"It was impossible not to be intrigued when I received an invite to \u201csoar to the second star…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[189365,2245,2248,189367,2241,1472,189993,2246,2242,116200,967,2240,2244,2239,189992,101,103,102,63718,2247,104,106,105,2243,137499,1058,40185],"class_list":["post-486096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-peter-pan-goes-wrong","tag-acting","tag-choreography","tag-cody-tellis-rutledge","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-dimensions-dance-theatre","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-el-campanil-theatre","tag-entertainment","tag-musicals","tag-on-stage","tag-performing-arts","tag-robin-hood-of-the-reservoir","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-san-francisco-playhouse","tag-screenwriting","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-singing","tag-susi-damilano","tag-theater","tag-town-hall-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486096","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=486096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}