Areas We Cover
Categories
Theater
-
Theater Review: NEVER BETTER (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre)
A NEW MUSICAL THAT JUST MIGHT RIP YOUR HEART OUT Preston Max Allen’s new musical Never Better at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre is an emotionally raw folk-punk musical. It sometimes struggles with forward motion but makes up for that shortcoming with overflowing heart. Ismael Garcia, Travis Shanahan, Emma Samuelson First, I want to celebrate Theo…
-
Theater Review: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (Center Rep)
Arsenic and Old Lace, the classic black comedy about two sweet old sisters poisoning old men lodgers has been told on stage and screen for decades. This includes the original play written by Joseph Kessering in 1941 and a film in 1944 directed by Frank Capra featuring Cary Grant and Raymond Massey. In 1962, there…
-
Theater Review: TICK, TICK … BOOM! (Theatre Palisades)
IT TICKS, IT BOOMS, IT EXPLODES! Theatre Palisades has struck gold with its astoundingly entertaining and moving production of Jonathan Larson‘s Tick, Tick … BOOM! Expanding the cast from three to six, director Lindsay Johnson takes what normally feels like a song cycle and turns it into a full-fledged story, upping the emotional resonance of…
-
Theater Review: LEOPOLDSTADT (Huntington Theatre, Boston)
A TRIUMPHANT SAGA OF A VIENNESE FAMILY The Huntington and director Carey Perloff bring Tom Stoppard‘s beautifully written Leopoldstadt to Boston with engaging performances that make the complex relationships of three generations of an extended family surprisingly easy to follow and appreciate. A cast of over thirty actors, set in four different time periods, portray…
-
Theater Review: 3 FACES OF STEVE: SONDHEIM IN CONCERT (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble)
A MASTER OF MUSICAL THEATER; TWENTY-SEVEN SONGS; THREE GREAT PERFORMERS; ONE TERRIFIC REVUE 3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble is a revue that spans the breadth of Stephen Sondheim’s work. Director Angelina Réaux, the soprano who personally knew and worked with the great composer, joins world-class singers Michael Sokol, baritone,…
-
Theater Review: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach)
A BRIDGE TO GREAT THEATER Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge may be a small play physically, with a single drab set and just five significant characters. But it builds from a sympathetic beginning to a shattering violent conclusion in the spot-on production played to the hilt at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. The…
-
Theater Review: CLARKSTON (Echo Theater Company)
TRYING TO MAKE LIFE BETTER AT ANY COSTCO Head north to the small town of Lewiston, Idaho, and you’ll discover how the town got its name. One of the town’s main attractions is the Lewis and Clark Discovery Center. Located along the banks of the Snake River, the center chronicles the journey of 19th-century explorers…
-
Theater Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (Cygnet Theatre)
DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THE PLOT, AND YOU’LL HAVE A BLAST In 1973, a rock musical called The Rocky Horror Show opened in London and ran until 1980 as other productions of the show blossomed throughout the world. One source estimated that the show was eventually performed in 20 languages for 30 million people. The…
-
Theater Review: THE CHER SHOW (2024-25 National Tour)
I’VE GOT SOME GREAT NEWS TO CHER The Cher Show, a new musical that follows Broadway’s continuous trend of capitalizing on rockstar jukebox bio-musicals like MJ The Musical and Tina The Tina Turner Musical, stopped at Long Beach’s Terrace Theatre as part of its 2024-2025 national tour (the show closed after a year on Broadway…
-
Theater Review: THE AUDIENCE (Drury Lane Theatre)
ENJOYABLE, BUT WHO IS THE AUDIENCE FOR THE AUDIENCE? The Audience at Drury Lane Theatre is a slightly stuffy drama best suited for audience members who are very interested in British politics. I fear that might be a rather niche group. The Audience imagines the life of Queen Elizabeth II through the window of her…
-
Theater Review: A GOOD GUY (Rogue Machine)
NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED Take a look at the highly decorated diorama just before you go upstairs to the Henry Murray Theatre for one of the most exciting world premieres you will ever see. It’s a miniature school room with one open text book about statistics and others involving math problems. Notice the circles….
-
Theater Review: DUEL REALITY (Ahmanson Theatre)
STAR-CROSSED … AND TOSSED Think of The 7 Fingers (Les 7 doigts de la main) as a mini Cirque du Soleil performing onstage instead of in a ring under a Big Tent. This Montreal-based circus troupe and creative collective is making its Music Center debut with a brief two-week run of its current show, Duel…
-
Theater Review: Oh My Heart, Oh My Home (Studio Theatre, DC)
UNIVERSAL, YES, BUT ALSO ESOTERIC Who’s to say what constitutes a monumental event – something as vast as a meteor shower versus the provincial act of trying to go home again? This is the unspoken question posed by British Playwright Casey Jay Andrews in her intimate tale Oh My Heart, Oh My Home currently playing…
-
Theater Review: DRAGON LADY (Geffen Playhouse)
GRANDMA’S A BADASS It’s Grandma Maria Porkalob Sr.’s 60th birthday party, she’s living in her son’s mother-in-law basement and he’s just given her a karaoke machine as her birthday present. She’s about to fire it up to tell granddaughter Sara Porkalob her dramatic life story. Upstairs, her birthday is being both celebrated by most of…
-
Theater Review: AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (The Old Globe)
ALL ABOARD FOR MURDEROUS FUN Agatha Christie fans rejoice! There is a new Christie adventure in a terrific production at The Old Globe, a novel/play hybrid of one of the Dame’s most popular novels, the 1934 best seller Murder on the Orient Express. Opening last night, this imaginative production blends the original novel with comic…
-
Theater Review: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH (A Noise Within)
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL I love how the press notes for A Noise Within‘s stupendous revival of Thornton Wilder‘s The Skin of Our Teeth noted a quote from original director Elia Kazan: “I overheard one couple talking as they left the theater. ‘What’s it all about?’ the man complained to his wife. ‘Why, George,’ she said,…
-
Theater Review: CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Pasadena Playhouse)
PLAYWRIGHT MARTIN CRIMP HAS A NOSE FOR UPDATES Martin Crimp’s Cyrano at the Pasadena Playhouse is nothing short of theatrical alchemy. This bold reimagining of Edmond Rostand’s beloved classic breathes new life into an age-old tale, cleverly intertwining the timeless themes of love, identity, and self-worth with a distinctly modern sensibility. Crimp’s adaptation, first brought…
-
Theater Review: ABSINTHE and SUPERFRICO RESTAURANT (Spiegelworld at Caesars Palace and Chelsea Tower)
ABSINTHE I FELL FOR YOU For a most salacious evening of “adult” delights, head on over to Absinthe at Caesar’s Palace which is surely the #1 Greatest Show in Las Vegas history (it has played to sold-out audiences since 2011). Hosted by the filthy rich and just plain filthy Gazillionaire and his nymphomaniac sidekick Wanda Widdles,…
-
Theater Review: LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL (Ray of Light Theatre at San Francisco’s Victoria Theater)
LET THIS SILLY BLONDE MUSICAL ENTERTAIN YOU Post-pandemic, as the world is seemingly opening up, local theater and the arts have not rebounded. Many venues are suffering or have gone out of business. In every local theater production I have seen in The Bay Area in 2024, as soon as the curtain goes down, cast…
-
Theater Review: THE CIVILITY OF ALBERT CASHIER (Colony Theatre, Burbank)
A MUSICAL THAT’S TOO CIVIL TO RESONATE Union soldier Jeffrey N. Davis (no relation to President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis), is on the hunt for his best friend, Albert Cashier, a fellow soldier in the the 95th Illinois Infantry. Following a skirmish, the brave sharpshooter Cashier stayed behind to place a…
Search Articles
Please help keep
Stage and Cinema going!
