By David John Chávez
@davidjchavez.bsky.social
Brown drama guy. Bay Area theater critic/reporter @SJ Mercury News, SF Chronicle, KQED, American Theatre Mag + others. Chair - American Theatre Critics/Journalists Assn. (22-25), 2X Pulitzer Drama Juror (22-23) GO SJ Sharks! IG: @davidjchavez #hellatheatre
Pinned
Fun one on tap tonight. Seated at Palo Alto Players for "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. #hellatheatre
September 19, 2026 at 4:01 AM
Fun one on tap tonight. Seated at Palo Alto Players for "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. #hellatheatre
The staccato dialogue can sometimes feel inorganic, but when this play cooks, it really cooks (pun fully intended!) My review of "The Cook" by Eduardo Machado at Berkeley Rep for @kqedarts.bsky.social #hellatheatre www.kqed.org/arts/1399379...
In ‘The Cook’ at Berkeley Rep, Revolution Is in the Air — and the Kitchen | KQED
Eduardo Machado’s spellbinding play of political drama and family scandal spans four decades in Cuba.
www.kqed.org
September 18, 2026 at 2:49 AM
The staccato dialogue can sometimes feel inorganic, but when this play cooks, it really cooks (pun fully intended!) My review of "The Cook" by Eduardo Machado at Berkeley Rep for @kqedarts.bsky.social #hellatheatre www.kqed.org/arts/1399379...
As a theater reporter, I get hyped for season announcements. Similarly, back in my drama teaching days, nothing funner than announcing the shows for the school year. Great vibes are off the charts in the fall, and knowing what shows you and the kids will be doing puts the energy at a new level.
Theatre educators: What helps you shift from summer mode back into teacher mode?
And what’s one thing you’re hoping to try, change, or prioritize in your classroom this year?
And what’s one thing you’re hoping to try, change, or prioritize in your classroom this year?
September 15, 2026 at 8:15 PM
As a theater reporter, I get hyped for season announcements. Similarly, back in my drama teaching days, nothing funner than announcing the shows for the school year. Great vibes are off the charts in the fall, and knowing what shows you and the kids will be doing puts the energy at a new level.
Opening night at Berkeley Rep, on the job for @kqedarts.bsky.social #hellatheatre
September 10, 2026 at 3:00 AM
Opening night at Berkeley Rep, on the job for @kqedarts.bsky.social #hellatheatre
Hairspray at SF Playhouse! #hellatheatre
September 5, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Hairspray at SF Playhouse! #hellatheatre
Rrady to go live. @kqedforum.bsky.social @kqedarts.bsky.social
September 4, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Rrady to go live. @kqedforum.bsky.social @kqedarts.bsky.social
I'll be an in-studio guest on @kqedforum.bsky.social at 9 am on Friday, 9/4 to chat about these shows. 88.5 on your FM dial, come through and give us a listen! #hellatheatre
'Oh, Mary!,' the riotous, side-splitting play by Cole Escola, will be led by drag superstar Alaska during its San Francisco run. Plus, shows from Oakland Theater Project, SFBATCO and more ⬇️
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993037/best-plays-musicals-fall-2026-sf-berkeley-oakland-mill-valley-san-jose
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993037/best-plays-musicals-fall-2026-sf-berkeley-oakland-mill-valley-san-jose
10 of the Best Plays and Musicals to See This Fall in the Bay Area | KQED
Including shows about a lost jazz neighborhood, a women’s revolution and Abraham Lincoln’s wife run amok.
www.kqed.org
September 3, 2026 at 11:49 PM
I'll be an in-studio guest on @kqedforum.bsky.social at 9 am on Friday, 9/4 to chat about these shows. 88.5 on your FM dial, come through and give us a listen! #hellatheatre
ROI at SF Playhouse. New space I have not been to, Creativity Theater. #hellatheatre #SanFrancisco
September 2, 2026 at 2:00 AM
ROI at SF Playhouse. New space I have not been to, Creativity Theater. #hellatheatre #SanFrancisco
Great time at the Oasis tonight, some big laughs at #Disastrous from D'Arcy Drollinger. 11 more performances.
August 22, 2026 at 4:50 AM
Great time at the Oasis tonight, some big laughs at #Disastrous from D'Arcy Drollinger. 11 more performances.
Attended the Luis Valdez documentary screening last night at San Jose Stage. What a beautiful piece of filmmaking. So nice to see maestro Luis receive all the flowers he deserves.
August 9, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Attended the Luis Valdez documentary screening last night at San Jose Stage. What a beautiful piece of filmmaking. So nice to see maestro Luis receive all the flowers he deserves.
It's clear he is a legend but I've only truly appreciated his greatness in the past few years as an exiled Oakland A's fan. Remember his very specific windup as a pitcher. Sorry to see him go but what a career.
This is one of the worst years I can remember for Giants fans. Woof.
🤖 SFGiants
Statement from Giants Broadcaster Mike Krukow
Statement from Giants Broadcaster Mike Krukow
August 6, 2026 at 7:38 PM
It's clear he is a legend but I've only truly appreciated his greatness in the past few years as an exiled Oakland A's fan. Remember his very specific windup as a pitcher. Sorry to see him go but what a career.
Stopped at @southcoastrep.bsky.social on the way home so the teen Percy Jackson lover can catch a show. Always nice to be back.
August 3, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Stopped at @southcoastrep.bsky.social on the way home so the teen Percy Jackson lover can catch a show. Always nice to be back.
First time at a Bay FC game, great vibes, great soccer, need some more grade A chances on goal.
July 30, 2026 at 3:18 AM
First time at a Bay FC game, great vibes, great soccer, need some more grade A chances on goal.
Fell very hard for this charmer of a show, with a great local production in Downtown #SanJose. My review of City Lights production of #RidetheCyclone for the @mercurynews.com, show runs through 8/23, do not miss it! (gift link) #hellatheatre www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/28/r...
Review: Take a spin on City Lights’ wonderfully weird ‘Ride the Cyclone’
Dark musical comedy centers on youthful victims of a carnival ride gone tragically wrong.
www.mercurynews.com
July 29, 2026 at 4:55 AM
Fell very hard for this charmer of a show, with a great local production in Downtown #SanJose. My review of City Lights production of #RidetheCyclone for the @mercurynews.com, show runs through 8/23, do not miss it! (gift link) #hellatheatre www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/28/r...
Reposted by By David John Chávez
My boyfriend was over the moon about the album and her
July 20, 2026 at 12:21 AM
My boyfriend was over the moon about the album and her
Reposted by By David John Chávez
I put this album in the same category as Aretha Franklin's "Amazing Grace" — a fantastic collection of deeply personal songs by a singer at the top of her powers, not thinking about chart success and doing exactly the music she wants to do.
July 20, 2026 at 12:26 AM
I put this album in the same category as Aretha Franklin's "Amazing Grace" — a fantastic collection of deeply personal songs by a singer at the top of her powers, not thinking about chart success and doing exactly the music she wants to do.
Thank goodness I stick to unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. If I forget my ID, it's not required for that.
Scalise: "Anybody that gets on an airplane has to show a picture ID to vote. Nowadays, if you want to go to Olive Garden and get unlimited pasta, you gotta show a picture ID. This isn't complicated stuff."
July 21, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Thank goodness I stick to unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. If I forget my ID, it's not required for that.
Opening night in #SanJose, seated for #RidetheCyclone at City Lights.
July 19, 2026 at 3:05 AM
Opening night in #SanJose, seated for #RidetheCyclone at City Lights.
I cannot begin to express what this album did for Mexicans at the time. To her her sing these songs still brings me goosebumps. Every relative I had, including my parents, had multiple copies in LP and cassette form, including blank cassettes to record the album for others.
“Canciones” is one of her best. But even after all the money Linda made for her label, they hated the idea of a Spanish-language album. “You owe me this,” she said.
“Canciones” was for years “the biggest-selling non-English language album in US history, going double platinum and earning a Grammy” ✨
“Canciones” was for years “the biggest-selling non-English language album in US history, going double platinum and earning a Grammy” ✨
July 17, 2026 at 7:59 AM
I cannot begin to express what this album did for Mexicans at the time. To her her sing these songs still brings me goosebumps. Every relative I had, including my parents, had multiple copies in LP and cassette form, including blank cassettes to record the album for others.
World premiere at TheatreWorks! On the job for the @mercurynews.com #hellatheatre
July 12, 2026 at 2:40 AM
World premiere at TheatreWorks! On the job for the @mercurynews.com #hellatheatre
"A walking skunk cabbage." 💯 All of this.
Donald Trump just can't help but spread his stench around, can he? He's like a walking skunk cabbage. It wasn't so much the US soccer team lost because if him, it's that most people no longer cared if they won after he inserted himself in the game.
July 7, 2026 at 4:58 PM
"A walking skunk cabbage." 💯 All of this.
Chicago. Is this even a question?
But, in all fairness, folks might never had a Kasper's (Casper's) at its Bay Area peak. The stuff in which legends are made.
But, in all fairness, folks might never had a Kasper's (Casper's) at its Bay Area peak. The stuff in which legends are made.
Which iconic American hot dog is the best? We called legendary chef José Andrés to help decide. Watch Andrés and Wirecutter’s hot dog testers crown the nation’s greatest glizzy: nyti.ms/44djOGT
July 7, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Chicago. Is this even a question?
But, in all fairness, folks might never had a Kasper's (Casper's) at its Bay Area peak. The stuff in which legends are made.
But, in all fairness, folks might never had a Kasper's (Casper's) at its Bay Area peak. The stuff in which legends are made.
🤣🤣🤣
The US can still win the World Cup if Donald Trump has the courage
July 7, 2026 at 4:15 AM
🤣🤣🤣
For the @mercurynews.com, I spoke w/ playwright Geetha Reddy and actor/Cupertino native Kapil Talwalkar about the world premiere "The Employee Dharma Handbook" at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Inspired by the Cisco caste case of 2020, the comedy begins on 7/8 in Palo Alto #hellatheatre (gift article)
Cupertino native cast in world premiere of play about caste system
Kapil Talwalkar is featured in ‘The Employee Dharma Handbook’ at TheatreWorks.
www.mercurynews.com
June 30, 2026 at 4:22 PM
For the @mercurynews.com, I spoke w/ playwright Geetha Reddy and actor/Cupertino native Kapil Talwalkar about the world premiere "The Employee Dharma Handbook" at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Inspired by the Cisco caste case of 2020, the comedy begins on 7/8 in Palo Alto #hellatheatre (gift article)
The most bummer part of the evening - being reminded of the arts companies we've lost in San Jose, including Tabard Theatre, 3Below, Northside Theatre Company and Ballet San Jose. Ouch. The Tabard space has long been one of my favorites in the area.
Fun night in #SanJose, 30th anniversary of Monday Night Live for #SanJoseStage.
June 30, 2026 at 4:18 PM
The most bummer part of the evening - being reminded of the arts companies we've lost in San Jose, including Tabard Theatre, 3Below, Northside Theatre Company and Ballet San Jose. Ouch. The Tabard space has long been one of my favorites in the area.