San Diego Theater Reviews
Toward the end of the Nervous Theatre’s production of Jean Genet’s The Maids — which, by the time you read this, will have departed for Seattle after a one-weekend run at the Tenth Avenue Arts …
Permit me a wry grimace as I imagine theatrical legend Alec Guinness’ reaction upon learning that a theater critic’s first memory of him — of any sort of performance, really — came from Star Wars. …
Last week, I mentioned the various ways that A Christmas Carol has been tweaked and updated by San Diego theaters in an effort to keep the story from getting lost in its own comfortable familiarity. …
The holiday season is a fine time for recalling the way that familiarity breeds…well, if not contempt, then comfort. If a thing sticks around long enough, it’s easy to forget the revolutionary, shocking, or even …
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s production of Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band, currently playing at La Jolla Playhouse, opens like a low-budget rock n roll show: black stage, a few colored lights mounted on steel scaffolding, …
Artistic Director Barry Edelstein’s welcome letter for the Globe For All’s production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale explains that “The Old Globe’s goal is to make theater matter to more people. We want this play, …
This is a classic tale of boy-meets-girl, boy-marries-girl, boy-cheats-on-and-divorces-girl. Not exactly the best fodder for a musical billed as a love story. So, it might help to bring in a little Aristotle here. In his …
This is a family drama that takes place in one room over the course of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The family — dad, mom, and 11-year-old son — are Iraqi immigrants living in Queens. …
The title, Foxfire, refers to a project started in 1966 by an English teacher in Appalachia who encouraged his students to hone their writing skills by documenting their family histories and Appalachian lore. They christened …
This tragedy starts out looking like a big party. Fair enough. Many big parties end in tragedy. It’s a great party until somebody dies. That’s what I guess director Barry Edelstein is going for with …
One of the most charming scenes in this tri-lingual, one-man show comes when Picasso takes the audience on a tour of his cluttered studio, explaining his dumpster-dive art: his late dog crafted out of a …
“The world is dark, and light is precious,” writes Kate DiCamillo in her novel The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread. Where are …
During this production, Aleque Reid (as Lissette) jumps agilely back and forth along the timeline of her debilitating illness. In one scene, she is a vigorously physical, dynamic, healthy woman; in the next, she is …
As You Like It is perhaps the Bard’s most delightful play and a perennial crowd pleaser. Cousins and best friends Rosalind and Celia are caught in the middle of a feud between their fathers. They …
It defies imagination that two hours listening to two people talking about arms negotiations could be watchable, let alone highly engaging. But playwright Lee Blessing has a keen insight into human nature and a benevolence …
This odd mash-up of Jane Austen, eighties dance numbers, and broad farce works. The script adheres closely to the book’s plot and uses a lot of Austen’s language — a smart choice by playwright Kate …