Lafayette: I\u2019m always amazed at Kimberly Ridgeway. She always looks gorgeous and seems so at ease, as if stress has never touched her life. You\u2019d never suspect she is a busy actress, director and playwright who often juggles at least two or three projects at the same time.<\/p>\n
She just finished directing the Altarena\u2019s \u201cThe Wisdom of Eve\u201d and has now teamed with Town Hall\u2019s Artistic Director Richard Perez to write a new holiday show. Of course, she is also directing the heartwarming tale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe journey of writing \u2018Snowbound: A Holiday Tale\u2019 surpassed every expectation,\u201d said Ridgeway. \u201cRichard Perez\u2019s artistry, collaboration, creativity and generosity made the process a fulfilling experience, and together we\u2019ve created a story full of humor, humanity, connection, kindness and gratitude \u2014 the true spirit of the holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perez couldn\u2019t agree more: \u201cWhen I returned to the Bay Area three years ago, I had the privilege of being directed by Kimberly Ridgeway,\u201d he said. \u201cI quickly discovered what so many already know \u2014 she is an extraordinary artist whose talent and vision elevate every project she touches. Co-writing \u2018Snowbound\u2019 with her has been an absolute joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The story created by these two enthusiastic artists sets the action in 1992 when Nirvana ruled the airwaves and \u201cHome Alone 2\u201d was the movie to see. The holidays take an unexpected turn when a high school group in route to a national academic competition becomes stranded by a blizzard and take shelter in an abandoned house. As they deal with missing their families, tensions rise, secrets unfold and unlikely bonds form. Through laughter, conflict and moments of ingenuity, they discover the true meaning of the season isn\u2019t about what you get or where you are but rather who you\u2019re with.<\/p>\n
\u201cSnowbound: A Holiday Tale\u201d runs Dec. 6-20 at Town Hall Theatre on 3535 School St. in Lafayette. For tickets, all 925-283-1557 or go to townhalltheatre.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n S.F.: The incredible Cirque Du Soleil returned to San Francisco with a jaw-dropping performance of its latest spectacular show \u201cEcho.\u201d Playing through Jan. 18, the show melds together poetry, stagecraft, fantastical acrobatics including a vertical ballet, amazing juggling feats and cutting-edgy technology as it explores the delicate balance between people, animals and the world we share.<\/p>\n \u201cEcho\u201d carries on the company\u2019s bold visuals and vibrant characters as the multimedia extravaganza tells of a young girl Future (French trapeze artist Louana Seclet-Monchot) and her dog Ewai (Canadian Philippe Dupuis) who stumble upon a magical cube that sends them to a fantasy world where they join animal characters to rebuild the planet and create a better world. They are joined by two clowns who interact often with the audience.<\/p>\n Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar directs the highly organized chaos which includes Nicolas Vaudelet\u2019s incredible costumes featuring performers in meticulously crafted animal heads often paired with a suit. The skilled artists then move around the stage exhibiting all the qualities of their animal. The \u201cbirds\u201d literally soar through the air, and two aerial \u201cfireflies\u201d astound with fantastical moves while suspended by their hair. Ouch!<\/p>\n Set and props designer Es Devlin created the extraordinary cube that constantly transforms throughout the show.<\/p>\n For tickets to this amazing evening of theater, go cirquedusoleil.com<\/a>. Located at Oracle Park\u2019s Parking Lot A on 74 Mission Rock St. in San Francisco, public transportation or advanced reserved parking is recommended.<\/p>\n Santa Cruz: If you prefer the traditional \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d and happen to find yourself on the coast during the holiday season, you can catch Santa Cruz Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cA Christmas Carol,\u201d which runs through Dec. 24 at the Veteran\u2019s Memorial Hall on 846 Front St. in Santa Cruz. Mike Ryan stars as Scrooge. For tickets to the 90-minute, no-intermission show, call 831-460-6399 or go to santacruzshakespeare.org\/christmascarol<\/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":"December comes in with a bang \u2014 or rather a stomp \u2014 as Oakland\u2019s newly reopened Henry J.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67597,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2245,2248,26734,2241,1472,2246,2242,967,40184,2544,2240,143,145,144,2244,10420,2239,40186,2247,2243,40183,1058,40185],"class_list":["post-67596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-acting","tag-choreography","tag-cirque-du-soleil","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-entertainment","tag-henry-j-kaiser-center","tag-kimberly-ridgeway","tag-musicals","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-on-stage","tag-oracle-park","tag-performing-arts","tag-santa-cruz-shakespeare","tag-screenwriting","tag-singing","tag-stomp","tag-theater","tag-town-hall-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67596","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=67596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BRN-L-CC-COL-1128-2.jpg\")
The dog Ewai (Philippe Dupuis) makes new animal friends in the fantastical world created by Cirque du Soleil’s “Echo,” now in San Francisco through Jan.18.\u00a0Photo by Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Savaria<\/p>\n