In The Press

October 14, 2025: Grim and morbid suits me fine these days. And the David Lear-helmed Bad Seed, running through Oct. 26 on the Monroe Stage at 6th Street Playhouse, provides that in spades.

October 2, 2025: There are certain projects you need to get halfway through before realizing that it’s going to require more of you than expected, that you will, in fact, need to pull out all the stops “from the foot up.” For “Petaluma-grown” actor Sandra Ish, these words perfectly describe the feat of playing Christine Penmark…

September 3, 2025: A Chorus Line opens with a backstage look at dozens of dancers trying out for a part in a new show. The live music is energizing and brassy; the director of the audition is pushy and demanding.

August 28, 2025: The guests on the first of two “Theatre Thursday” segments on 08/28/25 on The Drive on 95.5 were director Lorenzo Alviso and choreographer Hannah Woolfenden from the 6th Street Playhouse production of A Chorus Line.

August 26, 2025: Sing, dance and act all at the same time? Sure, nothing to it. Chorus lines do it every day.

The Press Democrat’s Best of Sonoma County Awards.

June 7, 2025: ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ runs through June 21 in the GK Hardt Theater at 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. Sixth Street, Santa Rosa. Thurs-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm

June 3, 2025: Every well-rounded theatergoer should see at least one Gilbert and Sullivan production in their lifetime, and Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse is presenting a delightful opportunity to do so. Its robust production of The Pirates of Penzance runs through June 21.

May 22, 2025: Ginger Beavers and Drew Bolander from the “Bones” cast of the 6th Street Playhouse production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance joined Harry Duke’s Theater Thursday segment on 95.5 The Drive.

April 8, 2025: Anchored by two stellar performances and a set that looks like a rose garden vomited in the best possible way, 6th Street Playhouse’s current production of Oscar Wilde’s iconic classic, The Importance of Being Earnest, will make one smile like a dolt.

April 8, 2025: If you’re looking to hang out in a festive atmosphere, enjoy a frozen concoction or two and sing along to some catchy tunes, then by all means head for Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse.

March 9, 2025: Clyde’s, at the 6th St. Playhouse in Santa Rosa through March 23, is a sneaky little devil of a play. Sandwiched between frequent effervescent sight and verbal gags and a generous helping of street slang mixed with overt sexuality, you can discover layers of caustic but insightful opinions.

March 1, 2025: Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s, running at 6th Street Playhouse through March 23, is a stunning piece of theater.

6th Street Playhouse’s January 2024 production of August Wilson’s Fences received 4 Nominations from San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC) for their 48th Excellence in Theatre Awards!

February 4, 2025: The 6th St. Playhouse production in Santa Rosa is decidedly edgier, darker and more sexualized than the smash 1993 film starring Bill Murray about a nasty weatherman assigned to cover Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania who finds his humanity after getting trapped in a time warp.

March 7, 2025: My guests on the 03/06/25 “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 were Shanay Howell and Tajai Britten from the 6th Street Playhouse production of Clyde’s.

February 18, 2025: For folks who think local theater has gotten too repetitive, has Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse got a show for you. Groundhog Day: the Musical.

February 2, 2025: There are two kinds of time loops. The kind where you wake up, brush your teeth, drink coffee, and do the same old thing until the sun explodes. And then there’s Groundhog Day: The Musical, where waking up to the same day over and over turns out to be a wildly entertaining, knee-slapping, show-stopping event.

January 28, 2025: The local production of the musical runs Jan. 31 through Feb. 23 at the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, directed by Sonoma County live theater veteran David Lear.

January 13, 2025: 6th Street Playhouse presents Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me,” a fast-paced, 90-minute, profoundly personal and political play that challenges us to reconsider the relevance of the U.S. Constitution.

Catch a play in the wine country these days, and chances are it was touched in some way by 29-year-old Jonathen Blue— a jack of all theater trades currently making the rounds between playhouses and drama classrooms across Sonoma and Napa counties.

April 5, 2024: I rocked my way through the 1960s and ‘70s, blithely unaware that the music that made me dance had its roots in ‘50s-era Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

March 29, 2024 – “Theatre Thursday” segment on The Drive on 95.5 hosted an interview with Steven Lasiter and Jennifer Barnaba.

January 13, 2024 – THEATRIUS: August Wilson’s Portrait of a Man at War with Himself. Meet Troy Maxson, Pittsburgh garbage collector, former baseball talent, father of two sons, and a man grappling mightily with his own fierce demons

January 3, 2024 – The show is relevant today in that it deals with universal themes,” said the play’s director.

Harry Duke’s at The Bohemian features 6th Street Playhouse 2023 productions in Top Torn Tix reviews.

6th Street Playhouse voted again by readers as Best of Arts and Culture 2023: Best Theater Troupe/Performance, Bohemian, June 2023

For 50 years, 6th Street Playhouse has been offering Sonoma County residents access to entertainment and theatrical instruction at its downtown Santa Rosa facility.

The key to the success of this particular production is the affection the cast has for the material and the joy they exhibit in delivering it. It’s infectious.

Musical tells story of famed country singer and one of her earliest fans. Now the show is back in a new production at Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse, with homegrown country singer Shannon Rider in the title role as Patsy Cline.

A Raisin in the Sun at 6th Street Playhouse: Lorraine Hansberry Revival Reminds Us of Our Opportunities, via Theatrius

‘Raisin in the Sun’ at 6th Street Playhouse traces Black family’s struggles by The Press Democrat

Interview with Gillian Eichenberger and Noah Sternhill from the 6th Street Playhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors from the January 26 broadcast of the The Drive with Steve Jaxon & Harry Duke on KSRO.

Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse will present live weekend matinee performances of “A Year with Frog and Toad” all month, starting Saturday.

“THE RIVER BRIDE” asks, “WHAT PRICE LOVE?” at 6th Street Playhouse. Marisela Treviño Orta’s Exotic Fairytale Unites Romance & Myth.

Steve Lasiter, Jennifer Barnaba, and Levi Lloyd stopped by The Drive with Steve Jaxon on KSRO again to promote the last weekend of performances of Hank Williams: Lost Highway as well as a musical benefit for 6th Street Playhouse.

Jukebox musicals tend to be happy, peppy shows where the hits of an artist or a genre are strung together with a minimal story to create a fan-pleasing production. But what do you do with a story that ends with its star dead in the back seat of a Cadillac? 

“Hank Williams – Lost Highway” is a stunning, essential piece of Americana. Despite the tragedy at its core, it proves to be an uplifting, life-affirming experience. 6th Street deserves accolades not merely for producing it, but for producing it so well.”

Guitarist and singer Levi Lloyd is no stranger to Sonoma County stages. He has played at a long list of local nightclubs since he moved here from Oakland in 1995, but his supporting role at the 6th Street Playhouse in the musical play “Hank Williams: Lost Highway” is his first outing as an actor.

If you’re looking for an uplifting, thoroughly entertaining night out, look no further. The Legend of Georgia McBride, playing now at 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, may sound at first like the show you didn’t know you needed, but trust me, it’s a guaranteed evening of warmth and laughter.

My “Theatre Thursday” guest on a special Tuesday, November 16 broadcast of The Drive with Steve Jaxon on KSRO was Brian Herndon from the upcoming 6th Street Playhouse production of Scrooge in Love!

6th Street Playhouse is anticipating our upcoming production of The Legend of Georgia McBride, running Jan 6-30 on the Monroe Stage.

My “Theatre Thursday” guest on a special Tuesday, November 16 broadcast of The Drive with Steve Jaxon on KSRO was Brian Herndon from the upcoming 6th Street Playhouse production of Scrooge in Love!

“Richaud’s passion for the piece and the brothers’ love for each other comes through and grips the audience for the show’s 75-minute running time.”

Jean-Michel Richaud shines in “Vincent,” a solo performance highlighting the powerful bond between Vincent Van Gogh and his loving brother Theo, who was also his connection to the art world.

KSRO Interview – Anne Clark of 6th Street Playhouse.

Interview with director Laura Downing-Lee and stars Ginger Beavers and Trevor Dorner.

Interview with director Laura Downing-Lee and stars Ginger Beavers and Trevor Dorner.