There’s nothing like your first love — In light of Valentine’s day quickly approaching, and the copious amounts of time I’ve spent living in my head this past pandemic year, here goes. This is the story of my first, and so far only, love.

Michael Oakley Highlights Comedy in Tragedy by Abby Tozer Clad in tight yellow pants, Mercutio (light footed, sharp-tongued Ned Derrington) romps through London’s beautiful and flexible Globe Theatre, tantalizing us with youthful exuberance. …

Margo Hall Motivates Modern Freedom Fighters by Abby Tozer March 13, 2020 on the UC, Berkeley campus. The sun is shining, and thousands of students rush to class. Some have just grabbed a Starbucks, others are busy planning their summers abroad. But an air of uncertainty looms. Watching Cal’s “Unstable Connection: A Devised Performance Project,” a…

Director Indira Etwaroo Stages Black Lives in Glass Boxes by Abby Tozer A Brooklyn cityscape overlooks the bright yellow street mural memorializing 159 Black victims of injustice — from Emmett Till to Breonna Taylor. The vast, bright yellow letters proclaim the names of the dead. The name “TAMIR RICE” is boldly painted in front of five glass boxes. Tamir…

Matt Cox Appeals to PotterHeads & New ‘Puffs’ by Abby Tozer Twenty-three years ago, novelist J.K. Rowling created a magical world of witchcraft and wizardry. We all fell in love with the boy with a lightning bolt scar, Harry Potter, who pursued the greater good — across seven beautifully crafted books. …

Bernstein, Sondheim champion youthful self-discovery — Whenever I hear the words “West Side Story,” I recall my Grandpa’s story of proposing to my Grandma at a 1961 packed premiere in downtown San Francisco. Assuming the musical has a Hollywood ending, he pulled out the ring halfway through. …

The lost and confused micro-generation of 1993–1998 By Abby Tozer I am on the weird border between a Millennial and Gen-Z. Born in 1998, I still had Blockbuster as kid, rode the rocky transition from VCR to DVDs, and now navigate an endless sea of streaming services. I got my…

Elizabeth Carter Creates A Female-Centric World by Abby Tozer With a woman in the titular role and three bi-racial daughters vying for the throne, Carter’s “King Lear” progressively challenges Shakespearean norms and intertwines the global pandemic. …

Millennial Notes Fitzhugh & Rivers Fail to Find Meaningful Flow by Abby Tozer Thirty minutes into Act I of Broadbend, Arkansas, a two-part jazz musical on the generational struggles of Black Americans against police brutality, and all we’ve seen so far is two white women argue over a Scrabble tile…