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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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Theater Review: THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA? (Shotgun Players, Berkeley)
A MODERN TRAGEDY IN PLAIN SIGHT Albee’s shocking premise unfolds with the inevitability of Greek drama Playwright Edward Albee remains one of the most incisive chroniclers of American family life, exposing its fractures with wit, precision, and a willingness to disturb. His 1962 masterpiece, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, set the template—an outwardly successful couple…
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Preview: THE MUSIC THAT MAKES ME DANCE: THE SONGS OF JULE STYNE (El Portal Theatre, North Hollywood)
EVERYTHING’S COMING UP JULE Broadway’s golden-age hits return in a world premiere revue that treats them as living drama Jule Styne’s name tends to arrive attached to titles that feel immovable. Gypsy. Funny Girl. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The songs have outlived their original performers, yet they still seem written for bodies onstage, for voices under…
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Preview: KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (Palm Canyon Theatre, Palm Springs)
DESIRE, DANGER, AND A SONG TO SURVIVE Palm Canyon Theatre dives into one of Kander and Ebb’s most intoxicating musical Palm Canyon Theatre brings bold heat to the desert with Kiss of the Spider Woman, the Tony Award-winning musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with a book by Terrence McNally, running April 17–26, 2026….
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Off-Broadway Review: THE PUSHOVER (John Patrick Shanley World Premiere, Chain Theatre)
POWER, CONTROL, AND WHAT LURKS BENEATH Shanley’s psychological thriller simmers with tension, even when it overreaches John Patrick Shanley digs back into power and vulnerability in The Pushover, a world premiere now at the Chain Theatre. Directed by Kirk Gostkowski, the play feels like a ring where everyone is both throwing punches and asking for…
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Theater Review: THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (Chicago Shakespeare Theater)
WHEN SHAKESPEARE NEEDS A LITTLE HELP Physical comedy drives the laughs—sometimes to excess—in Phillip Breen’s energetic production The Merry Wives of Windsor is not one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, and its origins may partly explain why: Falstaff appeared in the Henry plays, and his character became immensely popular. Queen Elizabeth I reportedly commissioned Shakespeare…
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Theater & Concert Preview: MY FAIR LADY IN CONCERT (Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa)
THE RAIN IN SPAIN, UNRESTRAINED At full symphonic scale, My Fair Lady finally sounds the way it was written to be heard George Bernard Shaw got what he deserved. He spent decades refusing to let anyone set Pygmalion to music, having been burned once already by an operetta adaptation of Arms and the Man that…
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Theater Review: MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (Goodman Theatre, Chicago)
THE BLUES THAT BUILT AMERICA— AND THE COST OF SINGING THEM August Wilson’s masterpiece lands with devastating force in a blazing Goodman revival Four black musicians amble into a recording studio in Chicago in 1927. They are met by two nervous white men; one a manager, the other the owner of the studio. Both demand…
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Theater Review: UNCLE VANYA, SCENES FROM COUNTRY LIFE (La MaMa, NYC)
CHEKHOV, REIMAGINED IN BEAUTIFUL CHAOS Dmitry Krymov turns a classic into a surreal theatrical hallucination There are many ways to stage Anton Chekhov. You can do it the traditional way with period furniture, carpets, painted trees, or take a turn toward symbolism, expressionism, even full-on tragicomedy. But Uncle Vanya, Scenes from Country Life at La…
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4 DESIGN TRICKS FOR THEATER COSTUMES
4 Practical Costume Tips for Period Theater Creating stunning period theater costumes relies on four key strategies. These include adapting historical silhouettes with modern materials, designing for back row legibility, prioritizing performer mobility, and using layered garments to communicate character arcs. These deliberate costume choices allow directors and designers to establish immediate psychological portraits and…
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Theater Review: THE OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY (Her Story Theatre at The Den, Chicago)
A GREAT PERFORMANCE IN SEARCH OF A BETTER PLAY Gary Houston towers in a two-hander that never quite lives up to its premise Outside a run-down cottage in rural Connecticut, a white-haired man in his 80s sits in a pleather armchair. The ground is littered with balls of paper. A few feet from the chair…
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Theater Review: LOST IN YONKERS (Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek)
FAMILY, FEAR, AND FINDING A VOICE Neil Simon’s coming-of-age drama blends humor and heartbreak in an intimate, character-driven production Now playing at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Lost in Yonkers is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story set in 1942, during the height of World War II. Brothers Jay (Tristan A….
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Theater Review: CHARLOTTE’S WEB (Wheelock Family Theatre, Boston)
TERRIFIC, RADIANT, AND HUMBLE An age-appropriate exploration of death and the life-saving power of words Based on E. B. White’s beloved children’s book of the same title and adapted by Joseph Robinette, the staged version of Charlotte’s Web offers many points of entry for children. Themes of friendship, death, persistence, problem-solving, and diversity all play…
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Theater Review: THE MONSTERS (Berkeley Rep)
FIGHT CLUB, FAMILY EDITION A raw two-hander where the real battles aren’t in the ring Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents The Monsters, a somewhat autobiographical play written by and starring Ngozi Anyanwu, directed by Tamilla Woodard. Everyone has their own personal demons. While we rarely conquer them altogether, most of us learn to acknowledge them and…
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London Theatre Reviews: THE TEMPEST; SUMMERFOLK; LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (The Globe and National Theatre)
DIRECTORS TAKE CENTER STAGE Bold vision and theatrical daring define a revelatory London season Directorial daring dominates the London stages this spring season, providing some of the most memorable moments in the theatre that I’ve witnessed in years. Of the eight plays I saw in London last week, none were new. Yet, thanks to some…
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