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Theater Review: TWELFTH NIGHT (Folger Shakespeare Library)
A WORLDPRIDE CELEBRATION OF QUEER IDENTITY, DISCO, AND SHAKESPEAREAN DELIGHT Folger Theatre’s 2025 production of Twelfth Night, directed by Mei Ann Teo, is a visually sumptuous, sonically electric, and emotionally resonant reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy. Framed through the lens of WorldPride and running through June 22, this staging boldly transforms the shipwrecked romances and mistaken…
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Theater Review: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa)
A PEG OF PIRATES, A NUTTY NURSE, AND A BRIG OF BOBBIES ALL IN A PITCH-PERFECT PARODY This beloved operetta by the legendary British duo W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan first launched in 1879 at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City (the only collaboration of the pair to premiere on Broadway, and not…
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Theater Review: PACIFIC OVERTURES (Kunoichi Productions)
STYLIZED, STIRRING, AND SELDOM SEEN Pacific Overtures isn’t your typical Sondheim musical, nor is it often staged—which is precisely why this rare revival by Kunoichi Productions at Brava Theater feels like such a significant event. First premiering on Broadway in 1976, this haunting, intellectually ambitious piece–with a book by John Weidman–examines the Western “opening” of…
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Theater Review: FRANKENSTEIN (Shakespeare Theatre Company in D.C.)
NOT THE MONSTER YOU EXPECT: VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN IS THE VILLAIN Based on Mary Shelley’s iconic novel, a bold retelling of Frankenstein opened last night at STC’s Klein Theater in Washington D.C. It’s not the story you might expect — and in this case, that’s a good thing. This ambitious adaptation by Emily Burns refreshes the…
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Theater Review: ECHO (Cirque du Soleil)
ECHO: A CUBE WITH BIG DREAMS IN A SHOW STILL FINDING ITS SHAPE It opens with a cube. Glowing, two stories tall, and unmistakably the star of the show, this bold architectural gesture doesn’t just set the tone; it declares intent. ECHO arrives with a whiff of manifesto, promising reinvention, disruption, a new kind of…
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Theater Review: DEAL WITH THE DRAGON (Palm Springs Cultural Center)
WHEN THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS (AND IN THE ART WORLD) For a limited engagement, Kevin Rolston brings his darkly whimsical Deal with the Dragon to the Palm Springs Cultural Center, and it’s a thrilling, compelling reminder of how a single performer can conjure an entire world onstage. Written by and starring Rolston, Deal…
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Theater Review: TWO STRANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK) (American Repertory Theater
A CAKEWALK THROUGH NEW YORK The delightfully poignant and gorgeously hilarious West End hit Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan made its North American premiere tonight at American Repertory Theater—and it’s not to be missed. Directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson from the original London production, this full-length two-hander…
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Theater Review: LEAR REDUX: A QUANTUM FANTASIA (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble)
GRINNING FROM LEAR TO LEAR Redux, adjective From the Latin, returning, from reducere to lead back To be brought back or returned, especially in a new way. When it comes to repackaging Shakespeare, nothing’s off-limits. Indian director Vishal Bhardwaj’s noir-flavored trilogy (Maqbool, Omkara, Haidar [or Macbeth, Othello, and Hamlet]) turned the plays into modern crime sagas. for…
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Theater Review: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE (National Tour)
THIS RETROSPECTIVE ON NEIL DIAMOND SPARKLES When one thinks back to the top solo music acts of the 1970s, the biggest names to come to mind are likely Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, and Donna Summer. But one man, with less fanfare perhaps, outsold them all. In fact, he outsold…
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Theater Review: HOUSE OF INDIA (The Old Globe)
CURRY UP TO THE OLD GLOBE FOR A TASTE OF FAMILY SERVED HOT The Old Globe is presenting the world premiere of House of India, a new play by Deepak Kumar. The show unfolds in the Globe’s Sheryl and Harvey White Theater, an intimate space offering a theater-in-the-round experience—an element that’s pivotal to the success…
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Theater Review: WE ARE GATHERED (World Premiere by Tarell Alvin McCraney at Arena Stage)
THREE HOURS IN THE CHURCH OF QUEER LOVE: A COMPLICATED DANCE AT ARENA STAGE Tarell Alvin McCraney (Oscar winner for Moonlight) returns to the stage with We Are Gathered, a lyrical and immersive exploration of love, commitment, and the weight of legacy. Directed by Kent Gash at Arena Stage, attending the play feels like an…
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Theater Review: THE CHINESE LADY (Chance Theater)
Fractured Reflection: The Chinese Lady and the Cost of Being Seen She doesn’t enter. She appears—still as a painting, but alive, watching. In Lloyd Suh’s The Chinese Lady, now haunting the Chance Theater with a whisper that lingers long after curtain, Afong Moy isn’t introduced. She’s arranged. Composed. A presence to be consumed. A figure…
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Theater Review: THE WINTER’S TALE (Play On Shakespeare at Skylight Theatre)
EXIT, PURSUED BY A PRODUCTION In taking on a production of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Play On Shakespeare at Skylight Theatre is to be commended. The last of the Bard’s plays-–Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, portions of Pericles, and The Tempest—present substantial difficulties in staging. But, for my money, The Winter’s Tale sits at the…
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Theater Review: THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL PEACE TALKS (CV Rep)
FUNNY GIRL, SERIOUS STAKES ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ In the world premiere of The Beverly Hills Hotel Peace Talks, now running at Coachella Valley Repertory, playwright Gregg Ostrin (The Spy Who Went Into Rehab) blends political farce, nostalgic Hollywood glamor, and razor-sharp insight into an unexpectedly moving comedy that…
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Theater Review: HADESTOWN (Throckmorton in Mill Valley)
THROCKMORTON ROCKS THE UNDERWORLD If this world is going to hell, as some claim, there can be no better guides than the characters in this musical written by Anais Mitchell. Director Reba Gilbert’s double-cast performances of twenty-six young actors are mesmerizing as they sing and dance and drum out a train route to the underworld….
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Theater Review: HELLO, DOLLY! (Lyric Stage Co. Boston)
A HELLO, DOLLY! FOR OUR TIMES If you’d like to know how it’s possible to take a decidedly dated musical written in 1964 (set in 1890) and make it come freshly and fully alive today, go see the Lyric Stage Company of Boston’s vibrant production of Hello, Dolly!, playing until June 22. Director Maurice Emmanuel…
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Theater Review: THE COUNTER (Moxie Theatre in San Diego)
FORGET THE USUAL – MOXIE IS SERVING A TENDER STORY WITH A SIDE OF TRUTH Not every good story needs to take you around the world in eighty days or off to a magical land with wizards; sometimes, a simple, well-written interaction between regular people whom one might meet at, say, a store, can be…
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Theater Review: ROLLING STONE PRESENTS: AMPLIFIED, THE IMMERSIVE ROCK EXPERIENCE (Chelsea Market)
THIS ROLLING STONE JUST OPENED, AND ALREADY IT’S GATHERING MOSS If Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified were a device, it would be the BlackBerry of rock retrospectives. It is an earnest, well-meaning tribute to music by an iconic magazine but ultimately out of sync with the moment. It’s not immersive, not penetrating, and certainly not capable…
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Theater Review: WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT (Fountain)
THE GOOD AND EVIL IN BOTH WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION The concept sounded so intriguing that I begged to review this experimental theatre piece, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit by Iranian German playwright Nassim Soleimanpour. The hook is that every performance is an “opening night” because every performance features a new actor who…
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Theater Review: LEARNING HOW TO READ BY MOONLIGHT (Chuang Stage & Company One Theatre)
LEARNING HOW TO BE IN COMMUNITY Few productions manage to collapse the space between art and community like Learning How to Read by Moonlight. In this world premiere from Gaven D. Trinidad, directed by Natsu Onoda Power, theater becomes a living, breathing act of solidarity. Between May 16 and June 8, Learning How to Read…
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