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Theater Review: EXCEPTION TO THE RULE (Studio Theatre, DC)
AN EXCERCISE IN PURPOSEFUL FUTILITY Welcome to the world of underserved K-12 education where punitive actions abound with no end in sight. In Exception to the Rule, playwright Dave Harris (Tambo & Bones) brings us into an existential, self-imposed detention room, where its victims’ enforcer never shows up. It’s an adolescent Waiting for Godot, where…
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Theater Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (SF Playhouse)
FUNNY HOW IT GOES WRONG, BUT IT KEEPS GETTING WRONGER AND WRONGER AND… San Francisco Playhouse launches into its 2025-25 season with the fast-paced comedy The Play That Goes Wrong. This play-within-a-play is an old-fashioned Agatha Christie whodunnit murder mystery. The action (or chaos) has already begun when patrons enter the theater. A stage crew…
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Theater Review: LAUGHS IN SPANISH (SpeakEasy Stage Company at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston)
THE LAUGHS ARE IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH, TOO Playwright Alexis Scheer draws on her Colombian-Jewish upbringing in Miami to create this comic celebration of the city’s Wynwood arts scene and the people who make it happen. Directed by another daughter of Miami, Mariela Lopez-Ponce, who, like Scheer, is now based in Boston (is it the…
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Theater Review: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (San Diego Musical Theatre)
ATTEND THIS TALE: IT’S MURDER Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical filled with gore, brutality, hate, and vengeance. But the show, as composed by the great Stephen Sondheim, became a major Broadway hit after it opened in 1979 and has since been revived on Broadway, in opera houses and throughout…
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Theater Review: DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS (The Old Globe’s Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre)
DRAC-OOH-LA-LA The play Dracula, in its West Coast premiere at the Old Globe is subtitled A Comedy of Terrors. It’s unlikely that viewers will be terrified by the show, but as for “Comedy,” it’s laughs all the way. Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, riding the praise heaped on them for their satire of Dostoevsky’s Crime…
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Theater Review: INHERIT THE WIND (Goodman Theatre)
SCIENCE VS. RELIGION; THE GOODMAN HAS THE PLAY OF THE MOMENT Dubbed “The Trial of the Century,” the inspiration for Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s Inherit the Wind was a milestone in the American legal system: It’s the first time science vs. religion found its way to the public courthouse. The Scopes trial pitted…
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Theater Review: THE TEMPEST (Idle Muse in Chicago)
LET IDLE MUSE’S INDULGENCE SET YOU FREE Idle Muse Theatre Company’s production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest immerses its audience in a dark and stormy night full of magic and mischief. This quirky cast delivers comedy and a complex tapestry of character connections. Joel Thompson, Michael Dalberg and Jennifer Mohr The moment you step into…
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Theater Review: PRIVATE LIVES (A.C.T. in San Francisco)
JAGGED WITH SOPHISTICATION A.C.T. is bringing back a tried and true favorite: Noël Coward’s Private Lives, moving the play’s locale from France to Argentina, specifically Montevideo. An ultimate comedy of manners, this three-act play centers on a long-divorced couple, both of whom are on their honeymoons with their new respective spouses when they are hit…
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Theater Review: JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING (Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in D.C.)
WEAVING TOGETHER THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE JaJa’s African Hair Braiding – beginning a regional tour after Broadway success and Arena Stage’s season starter – is a peek into the immigrant experience in America, served up with laughter and fears of deportation. Written by Ghanaian American Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Whitney White, the play is both…
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Theater Review: URINETOWN (Lyric Stage Boston)
MIND YOUR PEES AND QUEUES Courtney O’Connor’s masterful direction of the unpleasantly titled Urinetown: The Musical brings together numerous wonderful performances along with great music (Dan Rodriguez, music director) and choreography (Christopher Shin) in this Brechtian examination of economic inequality and environmental degradation. With music and lyrics by Mark Hollman and book and lyrics by…
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Theater Review: MEXODUS (Berkeley Repertory Theatre)
STUNNING STORYTELLING Many times when I go to see a show, whether as a critic or just a patron, I’ll come in not knowing in advance what I’m going to see. With a reputable theater company, my expectations are set pretty high. The Berkeley Rep’s outings have never failed to disappoint me, sure, but not…
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Theater Review: FIGHT NIGHT (Ontroerend Goed Theatre Performance Company / North American Tour)
A LIVELY AND TIMELY EXAMINATION OF VOTING BEHAVIOR Fight Night, brought to seven American states by the Belgian performance group Ontroerend Goed (a punning name, roughly translated as “Feel Estate”), combines theater of the absurd with current events to engage and challenge. Directed by Alexander Devriendt, brings five candidates (Aurelie Lannoy, Julia Ghysels, Bastiaan Vandendriessche,…
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Theater Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado)
THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEING THIS IMPORTANCE Is there a funnier comedy in the English language than Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest? Since it opened in London in 1895 the play has astonished audiences with its dazzling wit, charming characters. and clever plot. Lamb’s Players Theatre has taken on the challenge of reviving this…
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Theater Review: JERSEY BOYS (CCAE Theatricals in Escondido)
BOY, OH JERSEY BOY, IS THIS SHOW EVER GREAT In 2004, a new musical called Jersey Boys quietly debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse. It transferred to Broadway the next year, running for 12 years while road productions popped up worldwide. It’s now back for a short run at the California Center for the Arts…
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Theater Review: ONCE (Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura)
SEEING ONCE ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH Ironically, the real-life love affair between collaborators Glen Hansard, an Irish singer-songwriter, and Markéta Irglová, a Czech songwriter, fizzled after John Carney’s 2007 film became a success (well, it’s not called Once for nothing). But the Tony-triumphant 2011 stage musical, now offered in Rubicon Theatre‘s enchanting and bittersweet yet…
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MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MUSEUM OR THEATRE VISIT
Visiting a museum, theatre, or cinema is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in art and culture. These spaces offer us a glimpse into the creative minds of artists, directors, and performers from all over the world. But beyond simply admiring what’s on display, these venues can also be great places to connect with others…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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