California Shakespeare Theater

When I checked my Cal Shakes review I was surprised to see I hadn't updated it in 12 years. I can't remember whether we subscribed the season following my initial review, but we have attended several productions over the years and liked them. Most recently, Nina and I attended "The Winter's Tale" last season. It was the first play we had attended anywhere since the start of the pandemic and we were thrilled. We took the shuttle bus up the hill and bought dinner from the concession stand. I remember it as being very good.Our seats in the amphitheatre were well placed w/ good sightlines. The acting was excellent, as it always is. "The Winter's Tale" is one we have seen many times and a play we love. We enjoyed the production a lot until the very end, which we both found disappointing. The play is about reconciliation, forgiveness and redemption and those qualities were given short shrift because of the cuts/edits that were made by the adapters, Eric Ting and Philippa Kelly. I have no issues w/ people editing Shakespeare's plays, reimagining the settings, etc, as long as that works in the service of the play's intent. Cutting out the heart of what the play is about doesn't do that. When the play was over we looked at each other in disbelief and disappointment because the rest of it had been so complex, colorful and well done. We will keep an eye out for future productions and will check the reviews, but like Berkeley Rep, we probably won't subscribe.

"Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble."I had the good fortune of seeing "Macbeth" recently, on a warm summer evening. The theater is just a short (and beautiful!) walk up the hill, but they have a free shuttle if you prefer to ride. The resident dramaturge, Philippa Kelly, gives a scholarly lecture before the show. She set the historical context for the play. I appreciated getting the background on Macbeth, and especially the purpose of the 3 witches.The amphitheater is a comfortable venue, and suits either the comedies or the tragedies. (I have seen both here.) For Macbeth, the stage had clear partitions, behind which the characters (and the witches) could traverse. This was also a handy place for the witches to toss "blood" in several scenes. I sort of knew it was coming, but the red gore still had a big impact on me.I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Macbeth. The actors had clearly studied hard, and the play was professionally executed. I was especially impressed with Lady Macbeth, played by Liz Sklar. Of course, she has a meaty role, sleepwalking in one scene, and trying to get the blood off her hands in another.For cold nights, the staff has blankets for a nominal charge. I was delighted to also see many food options, as well as beer and wine. There are lots of wood tables to sit at and enjoy your meal.The only criticism I have is that for Macbeth the audio was spotty in a few places. For instance, the loud, background effects drowned out the 3 witches in one scene.I thought the ticket was pricey, but of course, buying a season pass is a better value.

"WAR OF THE ROSES" - FOUR SHAKESPEARES' PLAYS INTO ONEMy last class I ever took as an undergrad at UC Berkeley was Shakespeare. In fact my final semester Shakespeare was the only class I took as I had completed all my courses for my Art History major the previous semester. So I wanted to really enjoy learning for my final semester at UC Berkeley. From that Shakespeare course I read and studied plays such as Twelfth Night, Othello, Merchant of Venice,Taming of the Screw, Hamlet, Anthony and Cleopatra, and Richard III.I came here to watch the "War of the Roses" last month. One of my co-worker she saw the play "War of the Roses", which comprises of 4 Shakespeare's plays - "Henry VI (Parts I, II, and III) and Richard III - into one. I've read Richard III but never read Henry VI - Parts I, II, and III. That was a unique concept as each play can be at least 3 hours when performed. The snipets from each play resulted the play of "War of the Roses" 3 3/4 hours performance. A little history note "War of the Roses" is about the English Civil War between two branches of the Plantagnet family - The House of York and House of Lancaster. Also the "War of the Roses" influenced the HBO show "Games of Thrones." The magazine at the theater provided an insight for the summary of the play. This was helpful to understand the flow of the play.One thing I was fascinated was the stage as it was a two-story stage. Most of the acting was the first level stage, but the upper stage was also used as The Tower of London for "Richard III". During the play I was fascinated how the actors were playing two roles where in "Henry VI" they would play one role and "Richard III" in another role. That shows skills from the actors learning lines of two characters. Since the theater is small you can a great view of the play - there are no nosebleed seats. As an outdoor theater I recommend bringing a jacket as the weather tends to get cold at night. Another recommendation is instead of paying tickets online where the prices can be over $40 depending on the seats call the ticket office to get $20 tickets on the day of the show. As stated before since this is a small theater the seating is close to the stage so it's better to call the ticket office on the than order online. If you like Shakespeare and want to watch one of his plays I recommend coming here to this theater.

Purchased tickets through Today Tix App to see Black Odyssey by Marcus Gardley. The audience stood in ovation at the end. This is a play one must see. I'm not even going to try to explain why. Just go see it. You wont regret it. As for the amphitheater itself, it's embedded in the woods of the hills behind Berkeley and Orinda right before the tunnel. It gets cool with fog at night so dress accordingly. They do have blankets to rent. They also sell light food, snacks, drinks and have a bar at the concessions area. The parking area is a mix of pavement and gravel, so if you're wearing heels, beware. It is somewhat challenging coming back down. But it was do-able. I'd recommend skipping the stilettos for this one. If you have a chance to see any play here, please do. Support your local arts.

I went here to see a play and loved it! What I loved was that we could bring our own wine and food and have space to eat it. There was a lot of space to do so. I hate it when I feel like I'm being held hostage by a company because they have one thing that I can buy for them. I love that they allow us to bring the food we want and that they trust us to be the adults that we are.The walk up the hill from the place we park to the arena, is a rough one, but people drive by with carts offering rides and I love that. The parking situation is a rough one period. But the ability to eat what I want is wonderful and I look forward to seeing more plays there.

This place just keeps getting better! I've had season tickets for 5 years now and always enjoy my time here. The cafe is tasty and reasonably priced and they also serve beer, wine and cocktails. If you have enough time, get there early and bring your own picnic and drinks! They have a spacious eucalyptus grove with about 20 or picnic tables for you and your friends to hang in before the show. The stage is always well done and the plays are well written. Out of the 20 or so plays I've seen here, only 1-2 missed the mark but the others have been outstanding!Bring a blanket, picnic, drinks and friends for a lovely night of theater.

Celebrating the beautiful day, we came to Cal Shakes Theater to see The Mystery of Irma VepSuper easy to get to; free parking in lot large enough for the sold out showGorgeous forested area ( loving the smell of all that Eucalyptus! ) with plenty of picnic tables - and people putting them to good use! This is also where they housed the Grove Lectures which ended up being a nice Play pre-talk so we could learn about the author, the history of the Play, its direction, set design, various awards, etc.....very informative!There was also a shaded / sunny area right in front of their cafe which served food, soft drinks & a bar area too!! This area had the more proper cafe tables Staff all over the place, warmly greeting us visitorsThe stage area itself was small & intimate. There were plastic patio chairs in some areas & the smaller, reclined comfy beach chairs in others. We had the beachy chairs & were quite contentLine of sight was perfect & sound as well - the whole surrounding environment was the ideal setting for a Play In the Park! And one we look forward to visiting again as soon as possible!

To go, or not to go...that is the question! And I say yes...1000x yes!!! The California Shakespeare Theatre is a hidden dream in the Orinda hills. I always have trouble following directions to this location, but once you exit the freeway, you're taken to a mini parking lot...and then after parking your car, you'll have to go on a miniature hike past the ticket box office. Once you reach the area with level ground, you're underneath a canopy of white oak trees. And picnic tables all around. So pack a late lunch/early dinner as the grounds open 2 hours prior to showtime. You can enjoy a meal with your date...your family...your friends! Hopeless romantic over here! If you don't feel like bringing your own food, no worries! They have a cafe and a full bar! The drinks that they serve are representative of the play that is showing. How clever! And when the sun goes down, the oaks are dressed up in beautiful white lights that are hanging from them. It can get really chilly since the theatre is outdoors..even on a summer night, so don't underestimate! You're welcome to bring your own blankets or if you are reading this review after you've already gotten to the theatre, the volunteers will gladly provide you with a FREE blanket rental. But make sure to fold them up when you return them. Excuse me while I gush over my experience more in silence. Can't wait to watch another production at this theatre! So much love for it.

Dial M for murder.... or Macbeth.Oh, appearances... they can be *so* darn deceiving, can't they? Fair is foul, and foul is fair... an exploration, to be sure, into the spiraling depravity of man, last night's rendition directed by Sass was a delectable potpourri of And then There Were None, Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness, Crime and Punishment, and the Stranger.As I snuggled into my warm Columbia jacket, hunkering down for a wonderful evening in a 'live movie theater', performed in the centre of nature's essence, amidst a delicious carpeted moonroof of stars dotting a night sky and fresh air all around. The eerie, foreboding descent into the exploration of evil, Shakespeare's gloomy statement into the heart of man was magnified by this delectable additional character.Really, really top-notch performances.. we all know Macbeth's only trajectory is one that is straight down.... aided/abetted by a crazed, unwell Lady whose peripatetic movements all over the stage made me want to pop an Ativan.Who was my favorite? Why Macduff, of course! He has lost his wife and child, and like the mates of Job, a friend exhorts him to "dispute it like a man" (aka take revenge). His poignant retort: "I will, but first let me FEEL it as a man" (and grieves, his performance forming a little knot in me, a pull for the anguish of loss).The elements of deconstruction, with Macbeth wrestling with his conscience and finally succumbing to the tempation of power and greed... the gripping foreshadowing of Birnam Woods "beginning to move".What a wild ride at the Bruns less than 24 hours ago!PS "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."PPS And oh, that Will, such a wily bugger of a playwright he was! He buttered up well by dignifying an admirable man in the character of Banquot, who is also fabled to have been the father of the first Stuart king of Scotland!PPPS Thank you yet again, Yelp!

A beautiful outdoor setting with a free shuttle ride from BART--you have no excuse to not venture beyond the hills...The show that we saw was fantastic, and there was a pre-show lecture given in a eucalyptus clearing that was filled with picnickers with wine and goodies. (If you can't get your act together beforehand, they sell food that looks pretty good.) It gets super super cold, and the blankets that we brought weren't enough, but no fear--they stock two large bins full of blankets that theatre-goer can use freely during the show.Don't get distracted by the bats...