Robert Sokol
SF Examiner
San Francisco, CA, United States
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Past articles by Robert:
Meet the puppet masters behind BroadwaySF's 'Frozen'
Among the forces behind the musical are puppet designers Michael Curry and Lorenzo Pisoni and actors Jeremy Davis and Collin Baja → Read More
‘Working is the best thing’ for Chita Rivera
By the time most people see their 80s, thoughts of work are long gone and endless travel beckons. Almost seven decades after her Broadway debut, dancer-singer-actor Chita Rivera still only » → Read More
‘Black Eagles’ tells sadly timely Tuskegee Airmen story
Injustice is a fertile seed for good drama. So is aspiration. Both are central themes in “Black Eagles” onstage in an African-American Shakespeare Company → Read More
‘Great Leap’ mixes hoops and hopes at ACT
Politics, culture clashes and generational divides are recurring themes for playwright Lauren Yee. The recent production of her “King of the Yees” at San Francisco Playhouse plucked at all these » → Read More
Steves and laughs abound in NCTC’s ‘Steve’
Meet Steven (Greg Ayers), a quip-prone, middle-aged gay man with middle-aged angst about still feeling desirable. Meet Stephen (Joey Alvarado), his older, → Read More
‘Marie and Rosetta’ explores power of music, friendship
It’s always a pleasure to discover new talent, and that pleasure is four-fold in “Marie and Rosetta” at the Lucie Stern Center in Palo Alto under the Theat → Read More
A hugely entertaining rock centers ‘Come From Away’
Dismiss all thoughts of Dwayne Johnson or Alcatraz the next time you hear someone say, “Welcome to The Rock!” Instead, rush over to the city of Gander in Newfoundland, currently » → Read More
Nothing lands in ‘Miss Saigon’ including the helicopter
Slickly produced and soullessly executed, “Miss Saigon” has constructed her helipad at the Orpheum Theatre. The 43-member cast, including five moppets shar → Read More
Matthew Morrison kicks off Bay Area Cabaret’s 15th season
It’s early in the day when Matthew Morrison comes to the phone in his upstate New York home and responds to initial pleasantries with, “I’m doing perfectly → Read More
The music is gonna get you ‘On Your Feet’
There’s a conga line of late-bloomer-Boomer-era song stylists like the Temptations (“Ain’t Too Proud”), Tina Turner (“Tina”) and Cher (“The Cher Show”) heading to Broadway to harmonize life stories with » → Read More
Chris Mann makes his own music of the night
For more than three decades, some very handsome actors have gotten ugly and masked to play the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Oper → Read More
‘Roman Holiday’ a mostly charming ride through familiar territory
A handsomely staged musical adaptation of “Roman Holiday” has begun its journey to Broadway at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre. Directed by Marc Bruni, → Read More
Berkeley Rep’s ‘Monsoon Wedding’ precipitates a path to Broadway
More than marigolds rained down on the sari- and sherwani-bedecked cast at the opening of the musical “Monsoon Wedding” at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Ther → Read More
‘Rags’ spotlights immigrant history in richly sung score
Persecuted immigrants flee to America only to discover more persecution. Headline du jour? Perhaps. It is also a main theme of “Rags,” the TheatreWorks mus → Read More
‘If/Then’ comes to S.F. with Broadway stars
A woman who gets to go in both directions at a major fork in her life’s road is the central theme of the musical “If/Then,” written by Tony Award-winners Brian » → Read More
Opera’s Stephanie Blythe celebrates legacy of Kate Smith
Stephanie Blythe is popping up all over San Francisco lately. She made a surprise appearance at the San Francisco Symphony gala opening last week. She’s also spent the last month » → Read More
Kelsey Grammer sings with the symphony
Captain Picard is beaming up Frasier Crane to open the San Francisco Symphony season! Well, actually Kelsey Grammer has agreed to step into the 2015 gala concert this week because » → Read More
Meet Minnie Driver, singer-songwriter
Judging solely by big screen appearances two decades apart, Minnie Driver’s talents as a singer might be rated really awful (“Goldeneye” in 1995) or unexpectedly classical (2004’s “The Phantom of » → Read More
'Matilda' falls short despite music, talented cast
A hit on London’s West End and on Broadway, the telekinetic bookworm and title character of “Matilda” has landed at the Orpheum with a bang and, unfortunately, a lot of » → Read More
‘Addams Family’ creepy, kooky and grand
San Jose Stage Company wraps its current season with a smorgasbord of outstanding local talent in a sparkling two-snaps-up musical production of “The Addams Family.”... → Read More