{"id":493537,"date":"2026-10-12T13:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T13:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/493537\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T13:14:09","slug":"prepare-to-be-surprised-by-campy-spoof-disaster-in-clayton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/493537\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepare to be surprised by campy spoof ‘Disaster!’ in Clayton"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know you\u2019re about to have an interesting interview when the first thing your interviewee says is, \u201cI can\u2019t tell you too much without giving away all the surprises.\u201d Such was the beginning of my conversation with Clayton Theatre Company\u2019s Managing Director Roxanne Pardee, who directs the upcoming campy disaster-movie spoof appropriately titled \u201cDisaster!\u201d<\/p>\n

The homage to 1970s disaster movies runs Friday through Oct. 25 at Endeavor Hall on 6008 Center St. in Clayton.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever been to Endeavor Hall, you know how small the stage is, and I couldn\u2019t help but wonder how Pardee and her crew could create a floating casino that succumbs to an earthquake, a fire, a tidal wave and more.<\/p>\n

While Pardee wouldn\u2019t say much, she did mention that sound effects and other special effects will be used to create the chaos needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to wreck the surprise for the audience,\u201d Pardee said. \u201cBut we\u2019re doing as much as can possibly be done in our little space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The large cast of 16 already challenges the small area with its limited backstage. According to Pardee, pop-up tents outside the backdoor will provide dressing room space for the actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seven actors new to our company plus a youth which we haven\u2019t had in one of our productions for quite some time,\u201d said Pardee.<\/p>\n

While \u201cDisaster!\u201d has lots of technical challenges, its music and quirky sense of humor appealed to Pardee and Artistic Director La Tonya Watts, who is choreographing the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like the music. It\u2019s a jukebox musical based on existing 1970\u2019s music,\u201d Pardee said. \u201cWith all the political stuff going on right now, we just wanted to do something fun and silly.\u201d<\/p>\n

To see \u201cDisaster!\u201d unfold, go to claytontheatrecompany.com\/shows<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"DaronDaron Jennings (King Henry II) and Katina Psihos (Eleanor of Aquitaine) rehearse a scene from \u201cThe Lion in Winter,\u201d running Oct. 22 through Nov. 22 at Alameda’s Altarena Playhouse. (Photo courtesy of Grizzly De Haro)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alameda: Few historical figures have been more fascinating than the combatant Plantagenet family with the beautiful and wealthy Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband King Henry II.<\/p>\n

Playwright James Goldman penned a comedic yet dramatic tale of the inner conflicts of the controversial royal family in \u201cThe Lion in Winter,\u201d presented by Alameda\u2019s Altarena Playhouse Oct. 23 through Nov. 22.<\/p>\n

The action takes place during Christmas 1183, and Eleanor has been imprisoned by her husband since raising an army against him. King Henry lets her out only for holidays, and as Christmas approaches King Henry gathers his estranged wife and their three surviving sons \u2013 Richard the Lionheart, Geoffrey and John \u2013 to decide the succession of the English throne.<\/p>\n

Lots of conflict and comedic situations ensue as young King Philip of France and his half-sister Alais (who is betrothed to Richard and is Henry\u2019s mistress) attend the holiday gathering. Talk about complicated family dynamics!<\/p>\n

Angela Mason directs a cast of Daron Jennings (Henry II), Katina Psihos (Eleanor), Sydney Harmon (Alais), Dominic Antonich (John), Julian Dion (Geoffrey), Colin Epstein (Richard) and Ryan Chu (King Philip).<\/p>\n

For tickets, call 510-523-1553 or go to altarena.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Berkeley: Shotgun Players love to stretch their creativity with new works and new ways of presenting older works. Their latest, \u201cThe Fall Show,\u201d is a unique example of their ingenuity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fall Show\u201d deals with two older people (Reginald Wilkins and Beth Wilmurt) who fall in love late in life, discovering love doesn\u2019t necessarily become easier with age. Not a traditional play, \u201cThe Fall Show\u201d blends a mix of dialogue, song and often wild movement into a surreal landscape reminiscent of a crazy dream.<\/p>\n

To create this distinctive portrait of love, Director Erika Chong Shuch went to American playwright Charles Mee\u2019s works. Mee allows his plays to be licensed by anyone and permits artists to produce his work in any way imaginable.<\/p>\n

Shuch and Dramaturg Sarah Rose Leonard took stage directions from \u201cFirst Love\u201d and several other of Mee\u2019s plays. They also connected with elders in the Bay Area to find out about their experiences with love, and what it\u2019s like to lose touch with old friends and enter new phases of life.<\/p>\n

The result is \u201cThe Fall Show,\u201d a poetic foray into love with a wild, multi-talented ensemble (Atosa Babaoff, Marit Brook-Kothlow, Vivian Huang, Louel Se\u00f1ores, Apollo Javier Sohrabi and Chris Steele) driving the action.<\/p>\n

Huang adds beautiful classical piano tunes to the piece with Wilmurt breaking out her ukelele and everyone contributing well-done vocals to the mix.<\/p>\n

The problem lies in the writing which seems pedantic and cliched at times. Wilmurt and Wilkins, however, manage to create lovely, poignant moments of connection despite voicing the often-banal dialog.<\/p>\n

Extended until Nov. 1, tickets to \u201cThe Fall Show\u201d at 1901 Ashby Ave. in Berkeley can be had by calling 510-841-6500 ext. 303 or going to shotgunplayers.org\/show\/fall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Walnut Creek: After seven years as a nonprofit improvisational theater, Synergy Theater is ceasing operations Oct. 28. Classes will continue through that date, as will the Diablo Improv Festival this weekend at the Lesher Center.<\/p>\n

For more information, go to synergytheater.com\/performances<\/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":"You know you\u2019re about to have an interesting interview when the first thing your interviewee says is, \u201cI…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2245,2237,2248,187744,2241,1472,192007,2246,2242,967,2236,2240,143,145,144,2244,2239,192006,2247,32220,2243,2235,1058],"class_list":["post-493537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-acting","tag-altarena-playhouse","tag-choreography","tag-clayton-theatre-company","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-diablo-improv-festival","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-entertainment","tag-lesher-center","tag-musicals","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-on-stage","tag-performing-arts","tag-roxanne-pardee","tag-screenwriting","tag-shotgun-players","tag-singing","tag-synergy-theater","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493537","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=493537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}