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Theater
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Opera Review: FALSTAFF (LA Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion)
THE LAST FOOL A master’s final shrug lands with surprising weight Verdi was seventy-nine when Falstaff premiered at La Scala in 1893. He had not written a comic opera since Un giorno di regno in 1840, a failure so complete it drove him to swear off the form for fifty-three years. And here, in what…
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Theater Review: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (Coronado Playhouse)
NO SNOOZE BUTTON HERE Coronado’s Drowsy Chaperone keeps the laughs coming The Coronado Playhouse is reviving the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone, hoping to repeat the popularity of the show’s success in 2011. Judging by the enthusiasm of my Sunday matinee, no problem. It’s too bad the production only runs for 16 performances. The Drowsy…
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Theater Review: ENGLISH (Wallis Annenberg Center, Beverly Hills)
LOST IN TRANSLATION— AND INTENTION Pulitzer winner that provokes, puzzles, and occasionally frustrates. Is it a scream into a void or a play? English, by Sanaz Toossi, won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It racked up five Tony nominations. Critics nationwide tout it. Yet, in spite of Atlantic and Roundabout’s handsome co-production, now on…
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Theater Review: HELL MOUTH (The Road Theatre Company, North Hollywood)
A HELL OF A MOUTHFUL A play where grief, faith, and ambition collide —and silence carries the weight Jacobson knows that the domestic and the exalted do not occupy different rooms. Hell Mouth, now receiving a luminous production at The Road Theatre Company, opens on a son cleaning his dying father and pivots, in a…
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Theater Review: CABARET (Rancho Mirage Amphitheater in Palm Desert)
A CHILLING NIGHT UNDER THE STARS A high-energy production that refuses to look away from history’s shadows Desert Theatricals’ production of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret, currently running at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater through April 19, is a visceral reminder of why this show remains so vital. Under the desert stars, the Kit Kat Club has…
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Theater Preview: 43RD ELLIOT NORTON AWARDS: NOMINATIONS & CEREMONY (Boston Theater Critics Association, The Huntington)
The Boston Theater Critics Association has announced nominations for the 43rd Annual Elliot Norton Awards, a wide-ranging snapshot of the current theater season in Greater Boston. The ceremony, set for June 1 at the Huntington Theatre, includes more than 130 nominations across acting, directing, design, and production categories, along with several honors for visiting work….
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Off-Broadway Review: MILK AND HONEY (J2 Spotlight Theatre Company at AMT, NYC)
MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IN THE MIDDLE OF ADVENTURES Jerry Herman’s early musical still charms Through the magic of musical theatre, we’re vicariously taking a guided tour through Israel in the early 1960s. On your left, a group of widows seeing the sights and setting their sights on finding—maybe (who knows?)—a husband. On…
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Theater Review: THE NOTEBOOK (North American Tour at San Diego Civic Theatre)
LOVE, LOSS, AND LYRICS An earnest musical adaptation that leans into memory, even when it leans too hard The touring production of The Notebook arrives at the Civic Theatre with a built-in audience and a well-worn story to tell. Based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel and the beloved 2004 film, the musical adaptation leans into…
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Comedy Club Review: GREENPOINT COMEDY CLUB (Brooklyn)
LAUGHS LAND IN GREENPOINT A new venue brings stand-up—and a sense of community—to north Brooklyn Attention north Brooklyn residents! A new comedy club is born in Greenpoint—the first comedy club to come to the neighborhood and appropriately bearing its namesake. Settled at 66 Greenpoint Avenue, steps from a stunning view of the East River, stands…
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Broadway Review: TITANÍQUE (St. James Theatre)
CELINE TAKES THE WHEEL An irreverent Titanic spoof that goes all in on camp and pop spectacle Titaníque, the Titanic parody which premiered in Los Angeles in 2017, opened at The Asylum Theatre in June 2022 and later transferred to the Daryl Roth Theatre, has finally docked on Broadway. And it is irreverent, energetic, and…
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Theater Review: REVENGE OF THE SOY BOY (FRIGID New York City Fringe Festival)
MAY THE FUNNY FORCE BE WITH YOU A solo show that blasts fandom toxicity into hyperspace Plot a course, prime the hyperdrive, and punch it, Chewie! A sci-fi multimedia solo show lands in the 2026 FRIGID New York City Fringe Festival. “Ahsoka Tano is arguably one of the most Millennial Star Wars characters to ever…
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Off-Broadway Review: THE ADDING MACHINE (The New Group at St. Clement’s Theatre)
MAN VS. MACHINE, STILL LOSING Rice’s century-old warning lands with unsettling familiarity In its inaugural production at the newly claimed St. Clement’s Theatre, The New Group launches its next chapter with a revival of The Adding Machine that feels both like a nod to the past and a wary glance toward the future. Written by…
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Theater Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Greater Boston Stage Company)
A GREAT DEBATE A play that asks the audience to think about what the Constitution means to them When she was 15, Heidi Schreck went on tour to compete for college scholarships by delivering a talk called What the Constitution Means to Me to American Legion posts. Her talk was successful enough to pay her…
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Broadway Review: BECKY SHAW (Helen Hayes)
LOVE, LIES, AND LETHAL CHARM Gina Gionfriddo’s comedy of dysfunction refuses easy labels—and lands every blow “Rom-com?” No. “Meet-cute”? Far from it. Sitting through Becky Shaw at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway last night, laughing my head off, I struggled to define the genre of this captivating work by Gina Gionfriddo. And I’m still…
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Theater Review: LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! (Dezart Performs, Palm Springs)
A SUMMER OF MEMORY AND LOSS A moving revival that transforms urgency into reflection without losing its emotional core The lights went down at Dezart Performs’ gorgeous new home on Saturday, and I’ll be honest—my heart was in my throat before a single line was spoken. Having been in the audience for the Broadway premiere…
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Theater Review: WHAT PRICE FREEDOM (Moving Arts Theatre, Los Angeles)
FOUNDING FATHERS, FOUND WANTING A promising historical premise undone by uneven writing What Price Freedom, by Tony Blake, having its world premiere at Moving Arts Theatre, recounts one of the more unusual moments in the course of the American Revolution: when John Adams (destined to be the second president of the United States) and Benjamin…
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Theater Review: WHEN PLAYWRIGHTS KILL (Huntington Theatre, Boston)
TURNING A THEATRICAL LEMON INTO FIZZY LEMONADE Matthew Lombardo spins a true-life theatrical disaster into a relentlessly funny backstage comedy According to Nora Ephron, who turned her husband’s infidelity into a best-seller and screenplay for the novel and the movie Heartburn, “Everything is material.” But she didn’t say it should be hilarious material. If she…
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Broadway Review: DOG DAY AFTERNOON (August Wilson Theatre)
HOLDING UP UNDER PRESSURE A bold stage adaptation that captures much —but not all—of the film’s tension Adapting an iconic film like Dog Day Afternoon for the stage is a challenge. There are still many people who remember Al Pacino yelling “Attica!” to the cheering crowd and his intense phone conversation with his wife. But…
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Theater Review: GOODNIGHT MOON (Chicago Children’s Theatre)
A GREAT, GREEN ROOM YOU’LL NEVER WANT TO LEAVE Chicago Children’s Theatre closes out its 20th anniversary season with a picture(book)-perfect triumph! “I wish I might, I wish I may / go live inside my book / to stay in the great, green room” There have been some remarkably effective immersive sets in Chicago black-box…
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Theater Review: KNIFE TO THE HEART (Desert Ensemble Theatre in Palm Springs)
A FINAL BOW WITH HUMOR AND HEART DET closes its run with a sharp, funny family comedy about tradition and change There is a bittersweet irony in Desert Ensemble Theatre choosing Knife to the Heart for its final bow. For fifteen seasons, DET has been a home for sharp, thoughtful theater in the Coachella Valley,…
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