San Diego Theater Reviews
According to Christopher Durang, author of Vanya and Sonia and Masha, and Spike, “My play is not a Chekhov parody. I take Chekhov scenes and characters and put them in a blender.” Although his characters …
Jennifer Chen sees a therapist for the first time. And she comes prepared: a list of her phobias, one of her shortcomings, another with her attributes. She can’t simply explore personal issues. She must be …
Mike Lew’s Tiger Style! at La Jolla Playhouse shows the effects of super-strict parenting on two Chinese-Americans. Jennifer and Albert dove through every academic hoop cum laude but find themselves a few years later without …
Carla Nell, artistic director of InnerMission Productions, directed Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, performed last month. It was her initial attempt at the Bard. I asked her how it feels to climb that mountain for …
One of the year’s better productions must close this Sunday. Even with the play’s disturbing, though fully justified, un-comic ending, the Old Globe’s Love’s Labor’s Lost is a keeper. Two things: 1) People watch the …
A dying tradition. Like the old New England dining rooms, which A. R. Gurney, Jr., also wrote about, the cocktail hour was a special time for East Coast Brahmins at day’s end. They could unwind, …
The Old Globe’s got a charmer on its outdoor stage. Director Kathleen Marshall, scenic designer John Lee Beatty, Peter Golub’s original music, and a uniformly fine cast turn Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost into a Greenbelt …
One of the year’s best shows must end its run this Sunday. Cygnet’s Gypsy is a “must see.” And if you haven’t yet, well... “Sing out, Louise!” begins one of the most famous entrances in …
Today we as a nation face the threat of international and domestic terrorism in ways we have never experienced before. It is against this backdrop — similar to the one faced on Broadway in 1943 …
Moonlight Amphitheatre’s latest effort, Titanic, the Musical, boasts a book by Peter Stone, with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. The script attempts to move expertly between three classes of passengers, officers, and serving staff, …
With their new musical, Doug and Bud can’t see the forest or the trees. They only see a long Broadway run, a sweep of all the awards, eternal fame, the usual... Somehow they’ve arranged a …
What can someone do in times of war when captured and tortured by an enemy? How long before you crack? Or before you experience Stockholm syndrome — trust and affection for your captor? Earlier in …
Miss Ruby, erstwhile burlesque diva and longtime resident of the Hummingbird Hotel, is dying. Instead of friends paying tribute to her coffin, Ruby wants her funeral now, while she can still appreciate them. In Lisa …
Like relationships in general, Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years is about expectations — met and unmet. Jamie’s a successful Jewish writer. Wife Cathy’s a struggling actress. They describe the evolution of their …
Two shows at La Jolla Playhouse must close this Sunday. Taken together, they’re practically a cause and effect of where we are today. Junk: The Golden Age of Debt. It's 1985, and Robert Merkin’s on …
Laura suffers from “Exploding Head Syndrome.” A mere soupçon of stress and — ka-bloooey!