San Diego Theater Reviews
“It will take more than a spot of bad weather to silence the human mind.”
A play whose framework is used to explore sexual problems, economic depression, family violence, anti-Semitism, and class prejudice is now the current production at the Scripps Ranch Theatre. William Inge’s 1957 play is probably an …
You don’t just walk into OnStage Playhouse’s theater. You must stop and spread your arms out wide. A prison guard (Twila Burnett) frisks you with a metal detector and points if it makes a noise. …
I’m asking veteran actors to name five dream roles and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations, they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers — even choices that …
Every year the San Diego Performing Arts League honors volunteers from 30 local arts organizations for “the indispensable role they play in the arts community.” These are the behind-the-scenes self-starters, the pitch-inners, often the glue …
“To be or not to be,” asks Hamlet. But to whom is he speaking? Let’s say you’re directing Hamlet’s famous soliloquy. An entire production can hang on another question: Does your actor speak only to …
Outstanding Musical Direction Kris Kukul, Kiss Me Kate, Old Globe Theatre Elan McMahan, The Music Man, Moonlight Stage Productions Elan McMahan, Big Fish, Moonlight Stage Productions Terry O’Donnell, Dogfight, Cygnet Theatre Ian Eisendrath, Come From …
Back in September I remarked that “2015 may be one of the gutsiest years ever in San Diego theater. I can’t remember so many world premieres.” The final three months kept pace. Call it the …
Hershey Felder, dubbed by critics as a “one-man cottage industry,” tackles his latest subject, Irving Berlin, with the same mix of music and lyrical historical storytelling audiences familiar with his representations of George Gershwin and …
It is December 1942. BJ Gibson, a youthful guy with a killer smile and a beautiful voice, is in love with a singer but soon must go off to war. Walton Jones’s 1940s Radio Hour …
Charles Dickens wrote at top speed, in part because of gifts that didn’t seem so at the time. In his youth, he was a court stenographer. He learned the intricate Gurney system of shorthand in …
Delia Knight’s Disappearing Act centers around Alex, a Marine struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. As he encounters the realities of war, each time he returns on leave, he and his loved ones must try to …
Circle Circle dot dot’s “LGBTQ+ On-Campus” was a site-specific examination of queer life at San Diego State University. In collaboration with the university’s Pride Center, this performance was a two-hour rotating installation project inspired by …
How many plays have the rent past due, foreclosure banging down the door, a way of life on the ropes? Hundreds? Thousands? Ah, but how many display the event through countless pairs of eyes, and …
I’m asking veteran actors to name five dream roles and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations, they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers — even choices that …
“This is important,” playwright Annie Baker writes in a note for The Aliens, “at least a third – if not half – of this play is silence. Pauses should be at least three full seconds …