Regional

ONE COULD GO ON AND ON FOR OFF Half the fun of theater is in the performance; the other half is in the rehearsal. Rehearsal is the time for experimenting, bonding, and watching everything come together. Except when it isn’t. On those occasions, perhaps not so rare, it’s a time of tongue-biting, panic, and blame….

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: A JOYFUL MESSAGE There is an ancient Chinese proverb: “The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher.” In the musical Soul Doctor, the Jewish Orthodoxy apparently aren’t big on such Chinese wisdom. Based on the true story of Shlomo Carlebach, often known as “The Singing…

WOULD SHAKESPEARE BY ANY OTHER PLAYWRIGHT SMELL AS SWEET? If the title  King Charles III  sounds rather Shakespearean, yet you cannot recall a “Charles” among all his Henrys and Richards, there’s a good reason. Mike Bartlett’s homage to the “Bard of Avon,” written just over 400 years later than Richard III, is about a king that Shakespeare…

THREE GREAT MINDS MAKE FOR INTRIGUING THEATER There’s a game where you get to pick three famous people and go to dinner with all of them. In Mark St. Germaine’s   Camping with Henry and Tom, it’s kind of like that game, except it’s based on a true story. And you only get to watch the…

THE LAST WIFE GETS IT RIGHT Historical fiction can be a dicey game, let alone a modernization of historical figures. When the results are as captivating as Kate Hennig’s The Last Wife, be prepared for some stimulating theater while brushing up on your history lessons. When speaking of British History, Katherine Parr may not be…

THE FULL MONTY IS WORTH BARING IN MIND When the main factory in town shuts down and only menial work, far below previous pay grade, can be found, what’s a man supposed to do? For the two central men in The Full Monty, the answer is to create a one-night-only strip show to compete with…

EVIL RIGHT AT HAND What could go wrong when a newly widowed mom leads three teens in a wholesome, Lutheran, extra-curricular church class tasked with creating a Christian puppet show? Thankfully for us, plenty, in this gripping, darkly-comic drama by Robert Askins which premiered off-Broadway in 2011. Trying to fill her empty life with something…

GEORGIA MCBRIDE AIN’T NO DRAG Playwright Matthew Lopez (The Whipping Man) has created a theatrical recipe: Take one part Torch Song Trilogy, mix in some  La Cage aux Folles and, for a fun fish-out-of-water flavor, add in a generous dash of Sister Act. Sprinkle on some mixed nuts and you’re ready to serve up The Legend…

PLUCKY PIRATES, DARLING DAMSELS AND SILLY SHENANIGANS San Diego Opera has come a long way since announcing in 2014 that, despite being the only opera company in the nation’s eighth largest city, it would be shutting down to avoid bankruptcy. Between a groundswell of support on crowdfunding, restructure of the organization, and some changes to…

A HERO’S JOURNEY FROM 1862 SPEAKS VOLUMES FOR OUR TIMES Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 first played in 2014 at NYC’s Public Theater, yet Suzan-Lori Parks’ play presciently anticipated the media focus that racism would receive throughout 2017. With the conversation on race being a headline story this year,…

TOO BIG FOR ITS BRITCHES With his touching screenplay as a basis, Lee Hall adapted the 2000 indie  Billy Elliot for the stage, setting his moving lyrics to Elton John’s music. There’s a lot to like in Billy Elliot the Musical: The tale of a boy overcoming judgment and following a dream ran for over 1,300…