Lily Janiak
SF Chronicle
San Francisco, CA, United States
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Past articles by Lily:
A Black theater director on dealing with cutbacks — and death threats
'We don't want to disturb our patron base by telling them that they'll have to share the space with other people. What I want to do is disturb the notion… → Read More
Review: Berkeley Rep’s ‘Cambodian Rock Band’ is a paean to the power of art
San Francisco native Lauren Yee's play about a Khmer Rouge survivor shows the absurdity of seeing any fellow human as anything but a brother. → Read More
This Bay Area artist has ALS and can’t speak — but she’s still directing her dream project
The local theater community rallied around Erin Merritt to ensure she could direct 'Tea Party' by Gordon Dahlquist. → Read More
Bay Area theater supergroup unites playwright, composer and shadow puppeteer
'Sojourner ZY' used a sci-fi trilogy by Chinese author Cixin Liu as a jumping-off point but soon departed from the source material. → Read More
Review: Magic’s ‘The Travelers’ dares to say the untamed and impossible
Director Catherine Castellanos signals that here, in a crumbling monastery in the Central Valley village of Grangeville, the outside world is a distant land. → Read More
Review: All hail BroadwaySF’s ‘Six,’ about wives of Henry VIII
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss' musical about the six wives of Henry VIII knows what it wants and how to get it. → Read More
Actors are heroes through two power outages at Marin Theatre Company’s ‘Justice’
Gusting winds twice stalled opening night of a new musical, by Lauren M. Gunderson, Bree Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan, about female Supreme Court trailblazers. → Read More
Review: ACT’s ‘The Headlands’ is an S.F. valentine for locals
In American Conservatory Theater's West Coast premiere, S.F. native Christopher Chen sprinkles in clues and red herrings with the expert timing of a symphony conductor. → Read More
Can ChatGPT write a better theater review than a paid critic? Here’s what we found
Has A.I. made the future for full-time human theater critics - about a dozen of us in the U.S. - bleaker still? → Read More
‘Hadestown’ and ‘Frozen’ to bookend Broadway San Jose’s 2023-24 season
Other highlights coming to the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts include 'Ain't Too Proud' and 'Mean Girls.' → Read More
Review: Center Rep’s ‘Red Bike’ is liberated writing
Playwright Cardid Svich trusts that her audiences can function in the world of metaphor and allusion. → Read More
This San Francisco native wrote a play that’s in one of the city’s grandest theaters
'I decided I want to make the most Chris Chen play I could possibly make,' Christopher Chen said of ACT's 'The Headlands.' → Read More
New leader takes over S.F. Shakes in midst of change at Bay Area Shakespeare theaters
Santa Clara native Carla Pantoja has worked with the 40-year-old company for two decades as teacher, director and actor. → Read More
What’s immersive opera? Opera Parallèle’s ‘Everest’ offers one worthy answer
'Everest: An Immersive Experience' might be best thought of as immersive animated opera film rather than immersive opera. → Read More
Review: S.F. Playhouse’s ‘Cashed Out’ probes dark heart of gambling addiction
Claude Jackson Jr.'s world premiere is life-affirming without being sentimental, somehow hopeful without being unrealistic. → Read More
Review: In Aurora's 'Paradise Blue,' the theatrical planets have aligned
To playwright Dominique Morisseau's ace dialogue, director Dawn Monique Williams brings both micro and macro sensitivity. → Read More
Review: Musical version of 'Mean Girls' isn't mean enough
Musical theater's tools only deaden the show, an adaptation of the 2004 movie written by Tina Fey. → Read More
If you haven't put Oakland Theater Project on your arts agenda yet, you're missing out
Co-founder Michael Socrates Moran is making his playwriting debut with the company, with 'Exodus to Eden.' → Read More
Review: Alison Leiby’s ‘Show About Abortion’ says what women everywhere are thinking
The SF Sketchfest stand-up program distills the absurdities, burdens and outrages of walking through the world as a woman. → Read More
Review: A perfect sandwich is a religious experience in ‘Clyde’s’ at Berkeley Rep
In Lynn Nottage's comedy, a sandwich shop is a kind of purgatory, a prison after workers get out of prison. → Read More