ACTOR/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/TEACHER
MICHAELNAVARRA
"Damn impressive."
Anna Pulley
East Bay Express
“Under the inspired direction of Michael Navarra, an exceptionally talented cast and crew delivered a top quality production of thrilling visuals and stunning power... a brilliant production not to be missed.”
-Janet Grant, Tri-City Voice
“Caring and passionate, frightening and desperate - every phase of this Phantom's struggle leaves your heart aching, thanks to director Navarra’s magical eye and showmanship... THIS IS A MUST SEE.”
-Vince Mediaa, Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
*TBA Awards Recommended Production
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
MUSIC BY ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
OHLONE SUMMERFEST
The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.
THE RELUCTANT VAMPIRE
WORLD PREMIERE BY EUGENIE CHAN
Commissioned by Ohlone College. The prestigious Le Pooles of Blood clan have moved to a new town to expand their lucrative family business. On the eve of their daughter Drusilla’s first bite at the Savage 16 Dance, not all is well. Drusilla is angsty, depressed, and having trouble fitting in. She begins a journey of self-discovery, rebels against her family, and finds a friend in the unlikeliest of places.
*WORLD PREMIERE BY EUGENIE CHAN
OHLONE COLLEGE
WENDY & PETER PAN
OHLONE COLLEGE
Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Ella Hickson's version of J.M. Barrie's much-loved story puts the character of Wendy firmly center stage, in an adaptation that is refreshingly modern but never loses the charm of the original.
REGIONAL PREMIERE BY ELLA HICKSON
THE ILLUSION
OHLONE COLLEGE
Freely adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Tony Kushner from Pierre Cornielle’s L’Illusion Comique. In 17th century France, a father seeks a sorcerer to find his long-lost son and is shown enticing visions from his son’s swashbuckling, passionate, and adventurous life. Humor, romance, and suspense are used to delve into the mysteries of life and love.
”Spending the End of the World on OkCupid, seamlessly directed by Michael Navarra and produced and performed by the talented cast and crew of Ohlone College Theatre and Dance Department is a quick-paced, thought provoking, visually hypnotic piece of entertainment."
-Janet Grant, Tri-City Voice
SPENDING THE END OF THE WORLD ON OKCUPID
OHLONE COLLEGE
A modern day prophet predicts the disappearance of half the world’s population and warns those remaining that they are the next to go as soon as the clock strikes midnight. With twelve hours to live, some spend time with their friends, most spend time with their family, others spend the end of the world on OkCupid.
WORLD PREMIERE BY JEFFREY LO
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
OHLONE COLLEGE
Upon admittance to a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients to take on the oppressive head nurse. A stage adaptation of Ken Kesey’s classic novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Dale Wasserman.
“The themes of power and control, courage and individuality, and the fight for dignity in the face of the ever pressing ‘system’ and evils of humanity are enduring subjects that Navarra and his cast bring powerfully to life. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest shows what great theatre is all about and is an experience that shouldn’t be missed.”
-Julie Grabowski, Tri-City Voice
“The Ohlone College Theatre & Dance Department's The Illusion is a wonderful production not to be missed… Michael Navarra artfully weaves his own magic over a play where the audience is constantly left wondering what is real and what is, well, illusion… In the hands of Navarra and his exceptionally strong cast and crew, Ohlone College Theatre & Dance manages to transport us seamlessly between an energetic, colorful Baroque France and a dark, dank cave full of sound and fury.”
-Janet Grant, Tri-City Voice
DOG SEES GOD
OHLONE COLLEGE
Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
*Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Regional Finalist
Loosely based on the "Peanuts" characters grown to high school age, Dog Sees God by Bert V. Royal takes an edgy, honest, and scathingly funny look at the issues that teens deal with today. If you related to Charlie Brown, who never fit in with the crowd, you may see yourself in this production as he struggles to find his identity in the 21st century. It hits hilarious moments, challenging times, and lands as one of the ideal productions especially for high school students to experience.
"Michael Navarra and his creative team deserve extra credit for producing one of the most technically savvy and fully realized productions I have ever seen."
-Derek Martin, Adjudicator, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival
"Gangbusters staging... take no prisoners production."
-Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News
"San Jose Stage presents its post-Broadway regional premiere in a bold, sassy staging with a superb quartet of leads and a fine ensemble."
-Jeanie K. Smith, TalkinBroadway.com
"Although a lot of the scenes overlap due to the condensation of a complicated story, they still work. Many of the numbers require meticulous choreography, not an easy feat on a small stage, but they go off without a hitch."
-Tad Malone, San Jose.com
*4 TBA Award nominations
Based on Bram Stoker's novel. Adapted by Stephen C. Wathen. The ageless Count Dracula abandons his ancient castle in Transylvania and boards a ship for England in search of fresh prey. There he begins anew his campaign of terrible, tortuous desire and bloodlust.
OHLONE COLLEGE
DRACULA
Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning drama by David Auburn tells the story of a young woman struggling to prove the authorship of a landmark mathematical proof discovered among her deceased father’s papers, while also dealing with her father’s legacy of genius and the mental illness that took his life.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera reimagined in 2033, the world is ravaged by war, nuclear destruction, famine, and water shortages, and is controlled by a new world order of corporate states, the Republic of Mercantile Executives (R.O.M.E.), as well as Blackwater private armies. In the struggle for survival, the poor and powerless seek a leader.
Set in San Francisco, this is the story of five friends navigating the tumultuous 21st century dating world in search of “The One”.
Michael directed, produced, and wrote the pilot episode for this series.
FINDING THE ONE
PROOF
*Meritorious Acheivement Award in Direction
-Kennedy Center ACTF
OHLONE COLLEGE
3½ EGOS PRODUCTIONS
OHLONE COLLEGE
"Proof is a strong and sure-footed production... engaging from beginning to end."
-Julie Grabowski, Tri-City Voice
"Scrupulous staging... glitzy but lucid, not falling into the camp arena, as other productions tend to."
-Anna Pulley, East Bay Express
"Raw and intense."
-Jessica Noël Flohr, Tri-City Voice
Professional San Francisco Bay Area premiere of Frank Wildhorn's new musical with a non-traditional score, combining blues, gospel and rockabilly music. At the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie and Clyde went from being two small-town nobodies in West Texas to America's most renowned folk heroes and the Texas law enforcement's worst nightmares.
BONNIE & CLYDE
SAN JOSE STAGE COMPANY
"Director Michael Navarra keeps the action flowing and makes inventive use of the entire space."
-Paul Myrvold, Out & About Magazine
"The audience feels as though they are sitting on stage with the actors, oftentimes with characters popping up among them or coming right up to them in their seats. Dracula purists are likely to be pleased with this adaptation; on-stage action is intense and engaging.”
-Jessica Noël Chapin, Tri-City Voice
“Directed by Michael Navarra, Wendy & Peter Pan, flies by. There is a great energy to the production and the cast is stellar, all of them instantly likeable... It's a theatrical gem that shouldn't be missed... the result is truly magical.”
-David R. Newman, Tri-City Voice
“The Ohlone Theatre & Dance Department always looks to the heights, and the regional premiere of Wendy & Peter Pan is sure to keep them soaring.”
-Julie Grabowski, Tri-City Voice