By: Ainsley Northrop

People Editor

The 2021-22 season of Broadway San Francisco is almost over, so be sure to catch the final two shows! This season consisted of several performances ranging from amazing to laughable: Hadestown, The Prom, Oklahoma, To Kill a Mockingbird, Moulin Rouge, and Ain’t too Proud.

The first show I watched was Hadestown, a musical that focuses on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Written by Anaïs Mitchell, Hadestown incorporates a medley of folk and jazz-inspired original music as it follows the somewhat tweaked version of the original story. Not only did this show have a stellar cast, but its set included a revolving stage, an onstage band, and blinding lights to represent the train to the underworld. 

The next show I attended was The Prom. The show followed the struggles of a lesbian teenager in an Indiana town, whose one wish is to take her girlfriend to prom. It was an incredibly enjoyable experience. I enjoyed the vibrant, sparkly costumes, as well as the enthusiastic choreography. 

In August, my friend and I watched Oklahoma at the Golden Gate Theater. Oklahoma was easily the most enjoyable show, but only because of its strange artistic choices. The original show, written by Rodgers and Hammerstein which debuted in 1943, struck audiences by surprise, providing a thoughtful escape from the times of World War II. In the theater world it is still considered a revolutionary musical. However, I would argue that the revival did not do the original justice. The show included awkward artistic decisions such as modernized costumes, spontaneous green lighting, night vision cameras, and a contemporary dance solo (in contrast to the original ballet). The Oklahoma revival was a thrill to watch, but was objectively among one of the worst professional musicals I have seen.

In September I caught Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird at the Golden Gate Theater. This was the only play of the otherwise musical-filled season and was very well done. It at first surprised me to see that adults played the children in the story, but the actors were so incredibly talented that their age eventually became irrelevant as the play progressed. The show took inspiration from the classic book by the same title, which follows the plot of lawyer Atticus Finch as well as the theme of underlying racism in his town through the case of Tom Robinson, who is a man unjustly accused of sexual assault. Despite not containing music or dance, this play was excellent and still entertaining.

Moulin Rouge, A jukebox musical containing songs such as “Single Ladies,” and “Shut Up and Dance,” was the final show that I attended. This musical was the love story of a poor song writer and an extravagant performer that followed the plot of them fighting to keep the nightclub she works for open through creating a musical. The dancing skills were impeccable and the set included realistic star backdrops as well as extravagant lights. In addition to this, the costumes were incredibly detailed.

This season of Broadway SF has been very entertaining so far, so make sure to check out the two shows still running: Moulin Rouge and Ain’t Too Proud!