“Day the Sky Turned Orange” Uses Lively Song, Dance to Signify Healing—at Z Space
Sam Yoshikawa, Alexis-Nichole Pineda, Sleiman Alahmadieh, and Markaila Dyson. Photos by Alexa “LexMex” Treviño
Rea, Harris, Ott Skim Surface of Our Collective Trauma
by Sophia Holland
Lockdown. Zoom classes. Long COVID. Gig work. Proliferating screens. Panic attacks. Recreational pharmaceuticals. And above it all, threatening orange skies over San Francisco.
Presented by SFBATCO and Z Space, the world premiere of “The Day the Sky Turned Orange” attempts a realistic portrait of interdependent social life in pandemic-era San Francisco. On the apocalyptic day of September 9, 2020, intense wildfire smoke covered the City in an ashen orange filter. Since then, we have avoided figuring out what that day means to each of us.
Staged in Z Space’s gorgeous old cannery factory building, the musical unfolds below a painted backdrop of an orange skyline and suspended swatches of cloth that suggest the fog and DANGER. But rather than focus narrowly on that single day, we are treated to broad strokes of disrupted lives during the pandemic.
The actors sing and dance with verve against the background of Sarah Phykitt’s brilliant video projections. The show is a treat for the eyes, full of color and life.
Nina-Sophia Pacheco and Roeen Nooran
The story follows the blossoming romance between a high school teacher, Amari (Nina-Sophia Pacheco) and a therapist/delivery worker, Rayan (Roeen Nooran). The two navigate fresh love in a world full of separation and anxiety.
Amari struggles to support her brother QC (William I. Schmidt), a dancer debilitated by long COVID, while he worries about his sick mom abroad. The musical tries to weave threads of caregiving and looming disaster. Pacheco’s lovely singing voice punctuates her emotions perfectly, making the music the best part of the project.
But the overall earnest tone flattens the characters into archetypes of pandemic experience, rather than complex, struggling individuals. Despite the Zoom classes, social media feeds, the George Floyd murder, and the infamous orange sky—the musical leaves us wanting more believable heroes.
William I. Schmidt
The result: two potential great moments of meaning—QC’s escape to the “End of the World Party” and the enfolding of 2020 symbols into a time capsule—but they lack lift-off. Thanks to choreographer Vince Chan, the dancers bring fiery rocket fuel to the party
QC’s breathless collapse ends the party sequence abruptly, but the staging does little to convey the fulfillment of his desire. Similarly, the final act’s time capsule ritual feels more like a checklist of social ills than a moment of release.
Where the production does succeed is through its performers. Pacheco’s powerful vocal performance breathes life into a character that would otherwise be predictable. The dancers inject the production with liveliness, a sense of play, and much-needed comic relief.
Roeen Nooran
Ultimately, the production is overloaded with stories but lacks complexity and contradiction. Without enough nuance, we are left with an unfulfilled desire to resolve the multiple traumas of our recent past.
At its best, “The Day the Sky Turned Orange” reminds us of why we attempt to process collective trauma through theater.
“The Day the Sky Turned Orange” –written by Julius Ernesto Rea, music & lyrics by Olivia Kuper Harris & David Michael Ott, directed by Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. (SFBATCO), associate directed by Nikki Meñez (Z Space),
music director Matt Fukui Grandy, choreographer Vince Chen, scenic design by Carlos-Antonio Aceves, lighting by Claudio Andres Restrepo Silva, sound by Michael Creason, costumes by Nolan Miranda, dramaturge Aidaa Peerzada, video design by Sarah Phykitt. SFBATCO & Z Space, at Z Space, San Francisco.
Info: sfbatco.org - to October 5, 2025.
Cast: Sleiman Alahmadieh, Audrey Degon, Markaila Dyson, Janelle LaSalle, Roeen Nooran, Nina-Sophia Pacheco, Alexis-Nichole Pineda, Sidney Matthew Román, William I. Schmidt, Phaedra Tillery-Boughton, Sam Yoshikawa, and Rae Yuen.