Areas We Cover
Categories
Theater
-
Off-Broadway Review: MEAT SUIT, OR THE SHITSHOW OF MOTHERHOOD (Second Stage Theater)
AFTER BIRTH Meat Suit is a carnival of motherhood that mistakes provocation for revelation Meat Suit, or the Shitshow of Motherhood, a Second Stage Theater production which opened last night at the Pershing Square Signature Center, dares its audience to linger in a clownish carnival of motherhood while serving up the glaringly obvious. Written and…
-
Theater Review: RICHARD III (A Noise Within)
A GENDER-FLUID RICHARD III ROOTED IN HISTORY AND PERFORMANCE TRADITION A commanding central performance anchors a sharp, theatrically confident staging The Tragedy of Richard the Third, William Shakespeare’s second-longest play after Hamlet, and the fourteenth most produced play in his canon (the first being Midsummers Night’s Dream), has an exceedingly straightforward plot. Richard wants to…
-
Theater Review: CLUE (Second North American Tour at the McCallum Theatre)
A BOARD GAME FAVORITE TURNS INTO A LIVE-ACTION FARCE OF MURDER AND MAYHEM A high-energy whodunit that entertains, even when the pacing wobbles The classic whodunit murder mystery game Clue leapt from the board to the boards last night at McCallum Theatre. The production—directed by Casey Hushion—is a bit of a double-edged dagger. While it…
-
Theater Review: ZABEL IN EXILE (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre)
THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ARMENIAN WRITER ZABEL YESSAYAN BROUGHT TO THE STAGE A reflective memory play balancing biography, imagination, and urgency In keeping with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s commitment to bringing new plays to the stage, Zabel in Exile, by R. N. Sandberg, presents the life of Zabel Yessayan, an Armenian writer and activist born…
-
Theater Review: M. BUTTERFLY (San Francisco Playhouse)
A REAL-LIFE ESPIONAGE SCANDAL BECOMES A MEDITATION ON POWER, IDENTITY, & ILLUSION A gripping, well-acted drama that explores gender, fantasy, and cultural collision M. Butterfly, the 1988 Tony Award–winning play for Best Play, is currently playing at San Francisco Playhouse. It is loosely based on a real-life espionage scandal between a French diplomat and a…
-
Theater Review: THE RECIPE (La Jolla Playhouse)
A WORLD PREMIERE CHARTING JULIA CHILD’S RISE FROM RESTLESSNESS TO CULINARY ICON A biographical play that finds its flavor in a stronger, more compelling second act The La Jolla Playhouse is presenting the world premiere of The Recipe, Claudia Shear’s biographical play about the early life and culinary career of American chef and author Julia…
-
Theater Review: HANDS ON A HARD BODY (Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park)
A WORKING-CLASS ENDURANCE CONTEST TURNS INTO A MUSICAL OF HOPE AND DESPERATION A spirited, heartfelt production that balances humor with grit Victory by attrition is the name of the game in the musical Hands on a Hard Body at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center’s Codding Theatre in Rohnert Par, through March 1. Mark Bradbury, Shannon…
-
Opera Preview: RIVERSIDE LYRIC OPERA (Grand Re-Opening Gala Concert on March 7)
OPERA RETURNS TO RIVERSIDE, AND IT’S BRINGING A 54-PIECE ORCHESTRA The Riverside Lyric Opera’s gala concert on March 7 marks a rare moment for the Inland Empire: a full-scale operatic event with world-class talent, right in its own backyard. Riverside has one of the largest collections of Mission-style architecture in Southern California, a university campus…
-
Theater Review: CHEZ JOEY (Arena Stage)
A CLASSIC MUSICAL REBORN AS A RHYTHM-DRIVEN NIGHTCLUB EXPERIENCE A propulsive, jazz-infused staging that reclaims Pal Joey’s cultural roots At Arena Stage, Chez Joey is less a revival of Pal Joey than a sleek, rhythm-driven reinvention that returns the material to the cultural currents that shaped it. Drawing on John O’Hara’s original stories—first published in…
-
Theater Review: PIPPIN (Revolution Stage Company in Palm Springs)
A PRINCE IN SEARCH OF PURPOSE AND MEANING Revolution’s vibrant, dance-driven production showcases impressive skill and theatrical flair Pippin offers musical theater lovers the complete package: great characters, adventure, a stimulating book by Roger O. Hirson and cheeky, sophisticated songs by Wicked‘s Stephen Schwartz—a score that got more than one kid addicted to its still-in-print…
-
Theater Review: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (Apollinaire Theatre Company)
OBSESSION, HONOR, AND THE COST OF BETRAYAL A riveting staging, driven by a ferocious central performance, fully unleashes Miller’s tragic power In a riveting production from Apollinaire Theatre Company, under the tight direction of David R. Gammons, a masterful Jorge Rubio wrings every ounce of sexual frustration and cultural rage as Eddie in Arthur Miller’s…
-
Theater Review: THE SEAGULL (Red Theater)
A LAKESIDE ESTATE OF ART, AMBITION, & UNREQUITED LOVE A richly acted, visually striking Seagull that finally delivers a fully realized Nina A gorgeous and enormous Arcadian painting of a lake, covering almost the entire back wall, is the first thing you notice as you walk into the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre. This splendid reproduction of…
-
Theater Review: THE GRADUATE (Indio Performing Arts Center, Desert Theatreworks)
A CLASSIC TALE OF SEDUCTION, AWKWARDNESS, AND GROWING UP Desert Theatreworks delivers a lively staging that balances humor with the story’s darker undercurrents Most Americans over 50 no doubt remember Mike Nichols’ film The Graduate, so the chance to see the story live in Indio is an appealing one. Adapted for the stage by Terry…
-
Theater Review: MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT (North American Tour)
HOLY GRAIL, WHOLLY DATED A high-energy tour packed with talent, nostalgic chaos, and humor that doesn’t always land in 2026 Risking impalement by a heavily armored knight, and death by cheeky British puns, I joined a lively crowd at Segerstrom Hall for Monty Python’s Spamalot. Shockingly, I am a virgin—to the musical, that is. The…
-
Theater Preview: MARILYN, MOM & ME (Reading with Morgan Fairchild to Benefit PS Art Museum)
On February 28 and March 1, 2026, Morgan Fairchild will be featured in a staged reading of Marilyn, Mom & Me, Luke Yankee’s new play about his mother, Eileen Heckart, and her intense friendship with Marilyn Monroe during the shooting of the 1956 film, Bus Stop. All proceeds from the event will support ongoing programs…
-
Off-Broadway Review: THE DINOSAURS (Playwrights Horizons)
A RECOVERY GROUP WHERE LITTLE IS REVEALED AND LESS IS RESOLVED Superb performances anchor a script that withholds more than it delivers In the 1980s, film snobs treated TV like it had crashed the gala in sweatpants. In the 1990s, vinyl purists and digital nerds debated as if civilization hinged on compression. Theatre is the…
-
Theater Review: IN THE WAKE (The Bent at Palm Springs Cultural Center)
ELECTION NIGHT NEVER ENDS — AND NEITHER DO THE ARGUMENTS Lisa Kron’s In the Wake revisits post-2000 political disillusionment through a fracturing group of friends While the production of Lisa Kron’s In the Wake by The Bent is stupendous, it is not always an easy play to like—but it is a compelling one to wrestle…
-
Theater Review: SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA (Geffen Playhouse)
THREE SYLVIAS, ZERO THRILLS Beth Hyland’s world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse arrives with the kind of literary bait that makes theater people clasp their reusable water bottles in delight. Sylvia Plath’s ghost returns to her old Boston apartment. A present-day novelist moves in. The novelist unravels as her marriage curdles and her deadline circles…
-
Theater Review: MISS JULIE (Court Theatre, Chicago)
STRINDBERG UNDER SIEGE A misfire in almost every way possible, this visually aggressive production overwhelms the play’s naturalistic power. “Uh oh,” was my first thought when the wall of lights behind the set for Miss Julie started flashing during the obligatory pre-show announcement to turn off phones. That sense of impending doom only grew when…
-
Theater Review: INCITATION TO THE DANCE (Theatre West)
A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE A smart, suggestive script meets a production that can’t quite generate the heat it promises. No, it’s not a typo. With a title guaranteed to make you double-take, Michael Van Duzer’s unabashedly gay new play, Incitation to the Dance, opened last Friday at Theatre West. David Mingrino, Casey Alcoser, Michael…
Search Articles
Please help keep
Stage and Cinema going!
