Barry Willis
Marin IJ
Contact Barry
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Barry:
Theater review: Strong ensemble work lifts ‘Glass Menagerie’ at Ross Valley Players – Marin Independent Journal
Tennessee Williams’s classic “The Glass Menagerie” is enjoying a tremendous revival by the Ross Valley Players, through April 5. Set in a shabby apartment in St. Louis in the spring of 1939, the st… → Read More
Theater review: COM’s ‘The Tempest’ baffles and dazzles – Marin Independent Journal
A terrible storm, a wrecked ship whose occupants get separated on a magical island and plenty of palace intrigue among the island’s supernatural inhabitants are mere plot devices in College of Mari… → Read More
Theater review: Slow living and staging in NTC’s ‘Our Town’
Welcome to Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, a small town near the Massachusetts state line — a small town where people live, get married, have kids, grow old and die. A small town where people talk… → Read More
Theater review: Lauren Gunderson reaches for the stars in engaging ‘Silent Sky’ – Marin Independent Journal
A young woman’s obsession with astronomy leads to a major breakthrough in human understanding of the universe in the Ross Valley Players production of “Silent Sky,” through Feb. 9. Taking place pri… → Read More
Theater review: A lot of nothing going on in ‘Middletown,’ COM’s odd undertaking – Marin Independent Journal
Will Eno’s “Middletown” opens with an astounding speech by Thomas Peterson. It begins as what might be a more-or-less standard “curtain speech,” wherein a theater company official welcomes the audi… → Read More
Theater review: ‘She Loves Me’ a sweet romantic comedy at Ross Valley Players – Marin Independent Journal
Impossible as it may seem, the holidays are upon us. What better way to usher in the season than with a good old-fashioned romantic comedy? Ross Valley Players and the Mountain Play Association hav… → Read More
Theater review: Fourth wall demolished in ‘Bluff’ at the Belrose – Marin Independent Journal
Be they dramas, comedies or musicals, most theatrical productions adhere to a time-proven formula: exposition-conflict-resolution. They also generally honor the “fourth wall,” or the boundary betwe… → Read More
Theater review: ‘Rocky Horror Show’ a rowdy good time in San Anselmo – Marin Independent Journal
Halloween is a traditional season for “The Rocky Horror Show.” We can count on two or three Bay Area productions every year near the end of October. Marin Musical Theatre Company’s effort is this y… → Read More
Theater review: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ rocks at College of Marin – Marin Independent Journal
“Little Shop of Horrors” has been enjoying quite a resurgence recently. College of Marin’s drama department has just opened a good one with an unfortunately short run, right on the heels of another… → Read More
Theater review: Agatha Christie’s classic ‘Mousetrap’ a lightweight delight at RVP – Marin Independent Journal
A London murder is the precursor to deadly and mysterious events in a newly reopened guest lodge in Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” at Ross Valley Players through Oct. 13. The lodge — Monkswell … → Read More
Theater review: Family life a living hell in Novato Theater Company’s ‘The Humans’ – Marin Independent Journal
Jean-Paul Sartre famously said “Hell is other people.” This pithy aphorism is the premise of his play “No Exit,” in which three people who can’t stand each other are condemned to spend all eternity… → Read More
Theater review: Charming but uneven ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at Ross Valley Players – Marin Independent Journal
Beth Henley’s “Crimes of the Heart” has been a heartwarming theatrical favorite since its 1981 breakthrough, when it won a Pulitzer Prize for best drama. Through Aug. 11, Ross Valley Players offers… → Read More
Theater review: You guys! ‘Legally Blonde’ a fun lightweight romp
The triumph of the underdog or outsider is always a reliable premise for comedy. So is poking holes in pomposity. Both of these eternal theatrical devices get plenty of exercise in Marin Musical Theatre Company’s “Legally Blonde." → Read More
Theater review: An uninhibited ‘Moll Flanders’ at Ross Valley Players
Ross Valley Players ventures out of the comfort zone with Jennifer LeBlanc’s “Incidents in the Wicked Life of Moll Flanders,” through June 16. An adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s 1722 novel, the produc… → Read More
Theater review: Engrossing but uneven ‘Jimmy Dean’ at Novato Theatre Company
A reunion of high school friends in a small Texas town has unexpected consequences in Ed Graczyk’s “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,” at Novato Theater Company through June 9. → Read More
Theater review: Big, sprawling ‘Ragtime’ a hit at Throckmorton – Marin Independent Journal
Success begets success, according to the adage. Following Throckmorton Theatre’s stunning full-immersion production of “Romeo and Juliet,” the company has launched a huge sprawling production of “R… → Read More
Theater review: Father, son, salvation and a secret converge in ‘Boise’
All hell breaks loose when a religious fanatic and end-times believer attempts to connect with his biological son in Samuel D. Hunter’s “A Bright New Boise,” at College of Marin. → Read More
Theater review: Drunken excess meets financial disaster in RVP’s ‘Scott and Zelda’ – Marin Independent Journal
There seems to be inexhaustible enthusiasm for stories about self-destructive artists — manic-depressive painters, heroin-addicted musicians, alcoholic writers. This last category’s exemplar is leg… → Read More
‘Charlie Brown’ a feel-good show at Novato Theater Company – Marin Independent Journal
Theater companies can’t go wrong in putting “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” on their production schedules. Like “Annie,” it’s a lightweight feel-good musical, but without an underlying socio-pol… → Read More
Theater review: Pacing mars insightful ‘These Shining Lives’ – Marin Independent Journal
Industrial workers have long suffered from devastating and often deadly consequences from exposure to toxic chemicals. At Ross Valley Players through March 31, Melanie Marnich’s “These Shining Live… → Read More