Areas We Cover
Categories
Theater
-
Off-Broadway Review: A WALK ON THE MOON (Laura Pels Theatre / New York)
REACHING FOR MORE An engaging journey, once it finds its rhythm. Based on the 1999 film of the same name, the new musical A Walk on the Moon makes its New York premiere at the Laura Pels Theatre with book and additional lyrics by original screenwriter Pamela Gray, music and lyrics by AnnMarie Milazzo, and…
-
Theater Review: THE ZIONISTS: A FAMILY STORM (Barrington Stage Company / Pittsfield, MA)
THE TIES THAT STRAIN A hurricane traps a family already under siege. S. Asher Gelman’s emotionally gripping new play, The Zionists: A Family Storm, now at Barrington Stage Company in Miami New Drama‘s world-premiere production, is full of the best kind of talk—talk that demands to be heard. Ruth (Joanna Glushak) and Mitchell (Adam Grupper),…
-
Theater Review: MAKING PORN (Prism Theatre / Palm Springs)
WORKING STIFFS An unapologetically bawdy comedy that delivers laughs with plenty of cheek Palm Springs’ Prism Theatre has selected Ronnie Larsen’s Making Porn as its second production for its permanent downtown home. Larsen first produced his play in 1995, and Palm Springs was one of the stops before its 500-performance Off-Broadway run, which started in…
-
Theater Review: UNCLE VANYA (AstonRep Productions at The Edge Off-Broadway / Chicago)
OUT OF TUNE WITH CHEKHOV Chekhov’s quiet desperation is drowned out by one very loud performance What would a season of theater be without a Chekhov play? Or five? Following Red Theater’s excellent The Seagull in February, we now have a new iteration of Uncle Vanya from AstonRep Productions, currently on stage at The Edge Off-Broadway…
-
Theater Review: WHAT BECAME OF US (Signature Theatre / Arlington, VA)
THE PLACES WE CARRY A tender portrait of family, memory, and the ties that survive distance and time. What Became of Us, Shayan Lotfi‘s intimate new play at Signature Theatre, explores identity, memory, and belonging through the lives of two siblings grappling with the fallout of immigration. Their struggles and successes—told through memories and present-day…
-
Theater Review: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (National Tour at Nederlander Theatre / Chicago)
STEP RIGHT UP A criminally underrated musical proves there’s more under the big top than spectacle Water for Elephants, based on the novel by Sara Gruen, premiered on Broadway in March 2024 and closed that December after just 300 performances. With a book by Rick Elice, music and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co., and original…
-
Theater Review: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL (Cygnet Theatre / San Diego)
READY, SET, SPONGE! A colorful musical that’s tailor-made for kids and SpongeBob devotees SpongeBob SquarePants debuted on Nickelodeon in 1999 and was a quick success, becoming a must-watch for kids and many college students. The animated series became a multibillion-dollar global hit, yielding spin-offs, movies, and this musical adaptation now on at Cygnet Theatre titled,…
-
Theater Review: DELIRIUM (Arlekin Players Theatre / Boston)
ABSURDLY EVER AFTER A turtle and a snail walk into a war… Igor Golyak, director of Arlekin Players Theatre‘s Delirium, has never seen a production of Eugène Ionesco’s Frenzy for Two (Délire à deux), one of his many challenging plays exploring the meaninglessness left in the wake of World War II—and, he says, few others…
-
Music Preview: ON THE TOWN in Concert (Carnegie Hall / New York City)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK… AGAIN After the success of Oklahoma!, Carnegie Hall launches a five-year celebration of classic American musicals. After the sold-out success of Oklahoma! earlier this year, Carnegie Hall and Orchestra of St. Luke’s are making concert musicals an annual tradition. They’ve announced a new five-year series devoted to classic American musicals, beginning…
-
Theater Review: DIE WALKÜRE (LA Phil / Disney Hall / Los Angeles)
A RING BROKEN OUT OF SHAPE A misguided presentation undermines Wagner’s masterpiece and Gustavo Dudamel’s farewell-season ambitions The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s presentation of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel during the final month of his tenure as Music and Artistic Director, should have been one of the crown jewels of the season. Instead,…
-
Theater Review: HENRY VI: A TRILOGY IN TWO PARTS (NAATCO at The Public Theater / New York)
WAR OF THE ROSES, BLOOMING AGAIN Five hours fly by in this gripping, emotionally rich adaptation. William Shakespeare is generally considered one of the greatest playwrights the world has ever known. His plays demonstrate a depth of insight into human psychology, political maneuvering, affairs of the heart, ruthless violence, and the humanity of various social…
-
Theater Review: THEFT OF FIRE (The Actors Company / Hollywood Fringe Festival)
BURNED BY AMBITION Sometimes the bravest artistic choice is asking for help. In Theft of Fire, Garrett Hildebrandt is presentable, well-spoken, talented, and smart. However, he’s not as talented as he believes himself to be and not smart enough to recognize that. (It’s excusable; he’s young.) Hildebrandt strides the stage at The Actors Company Let…
-
Theater Review: UNTITLED VAMPIRE PLAY (Lookingglass / Chicago)
SUCKING FACE Chemistry, comedy, and a little bloodlust make for an irresistible evening. Is there a quality more indefinable and unpredictable than the chemistry between two people, whether in real life or on stage or screen? It cannot be predicted by mien, talent, or secondary sexual characteristics. It’s either there or it isn’t. And in…
-
Opera Review: LA CENERENTOLA (Wolf Trap Opera / Wolf Trap National Park / Vienna, VA)
A CINDERELLA STORY THAT FITS THE SLIPPER Rossini’s comic gem sparkles in an engaging production filled with youthful talent Wolf Trap Opera opened its 2026 season at The Barns with an engaging and thoroughly entertaining production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Based on the beloved Cinderella story, the opera follows the gentle and mistreated Angelina as…
-
Theater Review: THE DOG LOG (The Style Den / Marina Del Rey)
FROM BARK TO HEART A barking-dog complaint grows into something far more interesting I have been a fan of Richard Lucas since I reviewed his short, humorous, autobiographical novel The Dog Log, which chronicles life next door to two constantly yapping Yorkies and their hoarding, annoying owner as told through the device of a “dog…
-
Theater Review: THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE (Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company / Tenth Avenue Arts Center / San Diego)
SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG SONG Megan Carmitchel delivers a knockout performance in Backyard Renaissance’s latest gem During a recent move, I handed down dozens of DVDs. One I couldn’t part with was 1998’s Little Voice, featuring Brenda Blethyn’s exquisite performance. So, imagine my excitement—and trepidation given my esteem of the film—when I learned…
-
Theater Review: CATCH AS CATCH CAN (Steppenwolf Theatre Company / Chicago)
GETTING CAUGHT UP WHEN THERE’S A CATCH A baffling experiment eventually reveals a powerful emotional core Why? That one-word refrain was what repeatedly popped up in my head through most of the first hour of Mia Chung‘s Catch as Catch Can, the final production of Steppenwolf’s mostly excellent 50th season. The show features three actors—two…
-
Off-Broadway Review: CAMPING (Colt Coeur / HERE Arts Center)
INTENTS LOVE Victoria Lynne Barclay’s impressive debut traces a friendship—and a missed connection—across twenty-five years The world premiere of Camping by Victoria Lynne Barclay offers a genuine surprise: this is her professional debut as a playwright. You’d never guess it after witnessing this two-hander unfold across eight scenes spanning twenty-five years of friendship. The play…
-
Theater Review: IN OLD AGE (Arts Emerson with Front Porch Arts Collective)
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE A “charming bulldozer” meets a wall of resistance Anyone who has had a home renovation knows the way a contractor can take over one’s life. Suddenly, strange men (usually men) clomp around in heavy boots in the early morning, tearing up floors and tearing down walls. There is noise and dust and…
-
Theater Review: CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC (Tour at Studebaker Theatre / Chicago)
TRICKS ARE FOR KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS A large-scale illusion show that never loses its personal touch Most of the magic shows I’ve been to have been small, intimate affairs, with an audience of fifty or less watching one magician perform an array of card tricks and sleights of hand. Champions of Magic, now on…
Search Articles
Please help keep
Stage and Cinema going!
