Milo Shapiro

THIS MUSICAL IS RIGHT AT HOLMES When we think of Sherlock Holmes in the dank, foggy streets of London, investigating death and deception, probably the next thought we have isn’t, “This would really work as a musical comedy.” Fortunately director/playwright David Ellenstein and lyricist/co-playwright Omri Schein don’t think like us; they saw the funny in…

QUITE THE AWAKENING Watching Spring Awakening in 2008 at the Balboa Theatre  and again in 2022 at the OB Playhouse, it is interesting how different the play struck me. Not because of the quality of either production, but because of how different our world is in the fourteen years from  a just-elected Barack Obama nation to a…

WILD ABOUT WILDSONG A relatively new theatre company (and totally new to this reviewer) taking on a musical with a huge cast, intricate costuming, a stage smaller than you find in most elementary schools, and, most significantly, a book with musicality about as complex as Les Miserable. Sigh. Suck it up, put on a smile,…

A TIDE THAT RISES SLOWLY STILL HAS POWER The description on North Coast Rep’s website for this show is quite vague and, having just come home from the program, it’s clear why. One of the great challenges in reviewing a show is revealing just enough to interest the reader, but not so much as to…

YOU THINK YOUR DAUGHTER WAS A HANDFUL? Joan of Arc is remembered as a hero and a martyr for her active role in France’s defense from British invasion in the 15th century. How much the average theatergoer knows of her will vary, but likely, across the board, few of us have ever given thought to…

NOTHING’S FORBIDDEN IN FORBIDDEN BROADWAY Musicals are dazzling, vibrant, larger than life:and accordingly, simply ripe for parody. Creator Gerard Alessandrini saw that opportunity in 1982 and created a successful format for an affectionate teasing of the musical industry that has led to many Forbidden Broadway sequels, as new shows to lampoon continue opening. The series…

WHEN THE WELL IS DRY, YOU KNOW THE WORTH OF WATER In Sidney Sheldon’s hit 1973 novel, The Other Side of Midnight, every other chapter is about either Catherine or Noelle, the two stories of which don’t intertwine   until their paths merge late in the book. Act I of Quiara Alegrí­a Hudes‘s Pulitzer-winning Water by…

GREAT KAHNCEPT! Jayden (Jerome Beck) doesn’t have it easy. He and his mother Crystal (Brittney M. Caldwell) have recently transplanted themselves in a new town and school district. The move was to protect Jayden from boys whom he prevented from sexually assaulting Ant (Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew), a girl in his class. Starting over at sixteen…

CATCH THIS, IF YOU CAN! Take the incredible life story of con-man Frank Abagnale, Jr., give it to Steven Spielberg to make a mulit-award winning film (Oscar nomination for best actor for Christopher Walken), and then give it to Terrence McNally to create the book for the musical? How could that not yield four Tony…