Areas We Cover

Categories hhhh

image - 2025-02-03T092338.004

Theater

  • Theater Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Berkeley Playhouse at Julia Morgan Theater)

    Poster for the rock opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar' showing dates Feb 21 to Mar 30, 2025.
    By Chuck Louden | February 26, 2025
    in ,

    JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR RISES AGAIN. ROCK ON. Rock operas don’t come much more iconic than Jesus Christ Superstar, and Berkeley Playhouse’s electric new production makes it feel as urgent and incendiary as ever. With a timeless score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, this show has been rattling the rafters of theaters since its…

  • Theater Review: AVENUE Q (Wisteria Theatre, North Hollywood)

    Two puppets and two adults posing against a sparkly pink backdrop with 'Avenue Q' text.
    By Tony Frankel | February 25, 2025
    in ,

    FURFECT Peter Pan never grew up. Likewise Alice in Wonderland, the Hardy Boys, Freddy the Pig, Nancy Drew, or Huck Finn. It’s a pity that people do: Why must grown-ups leave behind innocence and imagination after we mistakenly blunder into adulthood? You can take it with you—when it’s Avenue Q. This 2003 musical is, of…

  • Theater Review: JERSEY BOYS (Musical Theatre West)

    Silhouettes of four men with "Jersey Boys" text in bold red on a sunset background.
    By Tony Frankel | February 25, 2025
    in ,

    GET READY TO ENBOY YOURSELF Jersey Boys has been around long enough that you might assume it’s just another jukebox musical, cranking out hits for an easy nostalgia trip. But that’s never been the case. Since its Broadway debut in 2005, the show has stood out by weaving a real, sometimes messy, behind-the-music story into…

  • BEYOND THE STAGE: THE MAGIC OF LIVE PERFORMANCE

    Musician passionately singing and playing guitar on stage in dim lighting.
    By Nia Liat | February 25, 2025
    in ,

    Live performances have captivated audiences for centuries, bringing stories to life in a way that no other medium can. Whether it’s a theater production, a music concert, or a dance performance, the energy and authenticity of live events create an unforgettable experience. For students, engaging with live performances can go beyond mere entertainment—it can be…

  • Theater Review: WE ARE CONTINUOUS (Diversionary Theatre)

    Poster for the play 'We Are Continuous' featuring three silhouetted figures against an orange background.
    By Milo Shapiro | February 24, 2025
    in ,

    CONTINUOUSLY ENTERTAINING What’s most striking about the excellent we are continuous by Harrison David Rivers (The Bandaged Place, This Bitter Earth) is that it doesn’t just break the fourth wall occasionally—it shatters it entirely. The writing style is unlike anything I’ve seen in a multi-actor staging. It’s more akin to three-person storytelling, where the other two characters…

  • Theater Review: IN THE HEIGHTS (Signature Theatre in VA)

    Two people joyfully jumping with a colorful, vibrant background.
    By Barbara Papendorp | February 24, 2025
    in ,

    MORE THAN JUST A REVIVAL, THIS INTIMATE IN THE HEIGHTS IS A JOYFUL TRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY AND DREAMS Before Hamilton changed the face of Broadway, there was In the Heights—Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first revolution. Bursting onto the scene in 2008, it infused hip-hop, salsa, merengue, Broadway, and street-smart storytelling into a genre that never saw it…

  • Theater Review: DESPERATE MEASURES (International City Theatre in Long Beach)

    Poster for the musical 'Desperate Measures' by Peter Kellogg.
    By Michael M. Landman-Karny | February 24, 2025
    in ,

    A SHAKESPEAREAN WESTERN MUSICAL? DON’T WORRY, IT MEASURES UP The wild west sizzles with song and chaos in Desperate Measures, the rootin’-tootin’ Wild West musical shinin’ bright at International City Theatre in Long Beach. Peter Kellogg (book and lyrics) and David Friedman (music) convert a Shakespearean problem play into a hootenanny of moral quandaries, mistaken…

  • Theater Review: THE GROVE (Huntington Theatre Company)

    A woman with short curly hair on a yellow background with 'The Grove' text.
    By Lynne Weiss | February 23, 2025
    in ,

    OUT OF THE WOODS AND INTO THE GROVE The second in Mfoniso Udofia’s ambitious nine-play Ufot Family Cycle, The Grove, directed by Awoye Timpo, picks up the story of the Ufot family over three decades after the first play, Sojourners, introduced us to Abasiama Ufot, a Nigerian woman who comes to the United States to…

  • Theater Review: HEDDA GABLER (Apollinaire Theatre Company)

    Theatre poster for Hedda Gabler by Apollinaire Theatre Company.
    By Lynne Weiss | February 23, 2025
    in ,

    BEAUTIFUL, BORED, AND BENT ON DESTRUCTION For a taut psychological drama fraught with sexual tension, Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler remains unrivaled, and Parker Jennings delivers a mesmerizing performance as the title character—a woman simmering with rage beneath a veneer of poise, trapped in a world that offers her no escape. With astute director Danielle Fauteux…

  • Theater Review: THE BEDWETTER – A NEW MUSICAL (Arena Stage in D.C.)

    A young girl stands nervously with a wet bed and shadow beneath her.
    By Barbara Papendorp | February 21, 2025
    in ,

    URINE LUCK WITH THIS NUMBER ONE MUSICAL Sarah Silverman’s The Bedwetter splashes onto Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater with a gleeful irreverence that belies its emotional depth. Adapted from Silverman’s 2010 memoir, this musical—co-written with Joshua Harmon, with music by the late Adam Schlesinger—turns childhood mortification (incontinence, self-acceptance, and family dysfunction) into comedy gold. Under Anne…

  • Theater Review: OKLAHOMA! (Valley Opera and Performing Arts at El Portal in North Hollywood)

    Signboard for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma musical with dates Feb 15-23.
    By Tony Frankel | February 21, 2025
    in ,

    WHAT A RELIEF: OKLAHOMA! IS OK WITH VOPA The real stars of Oklahoma!, presented for two weekends only by Valley Opera and Performing Arts (VOPA) at the El Portal Theatre, are—no surprise—Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Hammerstein’s 1943 book remains solidly funny and sweet, avoiding the pitfalls of age with its lack of overt sentimentality,…

  • Theater Review: THE ODYSSEY (American Repertory Theater, Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square, Cambridge)

    Illustrated cover of "The Odyssey" featuring three women and a ship.
    By Lynne Weiss | February 21, 2025
    in ,

    A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE ON A FAMILIAR JOURNEY Playwright Kate Hamill takes Homer’s Odyssey and gives it a sharp, contemporary spin, transforming the tale of wily and deceitful Odysseus (Wayne T. Carr) into a meditation on PTSD, accountability, and the shifting tides of power. In this bold reimagining at American Repertory Theater, Odysseus isn’t just a…

  • Theater Review: THE HEART SELLERS (Aurora Theatre)

    Portraits of two women featured in The Heart Sellers event poster.
    By Barry Willis | February 19, 2025
    in ,

    YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART Two young immigrant women find joy and hope in a budding friendship in Lloyd Suh’s The Heart Sellers, at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre through March 9. The show moves to TheatreWorks in Mountain View for a three-week run in April. Adroitly directed by Jennifer Chang, the two-actor 90-minute one-act, an uproarious comedy…

  • Theater Review: CIRCUS QUIXOTE (Lookingglass Theatre)

    Circus Quixote promotional poster with windmill graphics and cast details.
    By Emma S. Rund | February 19, 2025
    in ,

    KNIGHTS AND ACROBATS AN ODD PAIR AT LOOKINGGLASS Circus Quixote—Lookingglass Theatre’s fun spectacle best suited for a family crowd—is an ambitious attempt to merge Miguel de Cervantes’ timeless tale, Don Quijote of La Mancha, with impressive circus artistry. While the production offers tantalizing talents, it ultimately feels like an unfinished work. Michel Rodríguez Cintra The…

  • Theater Review: ANNIE (2024/2025 NationalTour)

    Bold poster for the musical Annie with bright orange sunburst background.
    By Michael M. Landman-Karny | February 19, 2025
    in , ,

    IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE SUN DOESN’T COME OUT, SEE THIS NATIONAL TOUR OF ANNIE If the sun will come out tomorrow, somebody better tell this production. The national tour of Annie, playing at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 23, is a two-and-a-half-hour exercise in endurance, proving that while…

  • Theater Review: LOVE GAME (Last Call Theatre at The Virgil)

    Illustration of two people playing a love game with a heart-shaped box.
    By Shari Barrett | February 19, 2025
    in ,

    MEET MARKET Have you ever gone to a speed dating event where singles meet, spend a few minutes talking to one person, and then move on to the next person, each for a pre-arranged chat session time? For those who have, and especially for those who never tried it, Last Call Theatre is presenting Love…

  • Theater Review: NOISES OFF (Geffen Playhouse)

    Colorful fish arranged around bold text on a pink background.
    By Tony Frankel | February 18, 2025
    in ,

    ONE COULD GO ON AND ON, EVEN THOUGH IT’S A LITTLE OFF Ah, Noises Off, the ever-reliable theatrical farce that’s been delighting us for decades with its impeccable timing, pratfalls, and, of course, an ungodly number of sardines. Presented at L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse in cahoots with Steppenwolf Theatre—where Geffen’s new Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney…

  • Theater Review: FRIDA … A SELF PORTRAIT (Writers Theatre in Glencoe)

    Abstract portrait of Frida Kahlo with vibrant colors and floral elements.
    By Mitchell Oldham | February 17, 2025
    in ,

    Frida … A Self Portrait Enlightens and Beguiles with Impressive Force You’d have to go a long way to find someone with as potent a life force as Frida Kahlo’s. She left this branch of existence just over 70 years ago, in 1954, and still, there’s something about her spirit that continues to enthrall the…

  • Theater Review: FROGGY (Center REP in Walnut Creek)

    Black and white photo of a person smoking, framed with colorful doodles.
    By Barry Willis | February 16, 2025
    in ,

    FANTASTIC FROGGY Jennifer Haley’s audacious graphic novel Froggy comes roaring to life on the Margaret Lesher Theatre’s big stage in Walnut Creek, and it’s one of the freshest theatrical offerings anywhere. Jamella Cross (Froggy) At its core a tale of a young woman who falls for a flaky third-tier actor, Froggy is a dark comedy spoofing…

  • Theater Review: BACON (Rogue Machine at The Matrix)

    A burger with a knife stabbed through it, promoting 'Bacon' by Sophie Swiftbank.
    By Michael M. Landman-Karny | February 15, 2025
    in ,

    BACON SIZZLES If you’re in search of a play that simmers with tension before scorching the stage with raw, emotional fire, English playwright Sophie Swithinbank’s Bacon, currently searing audiences at the tiny Henry Murray Stage upstairs at the Matrix, will leave you thoroughly singed—and perhaps a little brittle. Bacon is less a coming-of-age story and…

[my_pagination]

Search Articles

Please help keep
Stage and Cinema going!