San Diego Theater Reviews
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 …
This should have been a good story. Writer Lynn Nottage went to Reading, Pennsylvania — one of the poorest cities in the country — to talk to people about the effects of de-industrialization on the …
It’s 1944. The war is on. What to do when the American cowboy band doesn’t show up for a live, highly-hyped variety show on BBC radio? You rustle up some stand-ins. But pickins are slim …
Editor: This week marks Jeff Smith’s last as the Reader’s theater critic. Smith is the longest-standing writer at the paper, having started in 1980. Before joining us, he got his Ph.D. in literature and critical …
Did the angel Gabriel flutter down from heaven to save Guernsey islanders from German occupation in 1943? Or did another Gabriel wash ashore, naked, from a shipwreck? He doesn’t know. He has amnesia, and Gabriel …
She’s a published author, working on another novel. She writes at home, cleaning up crayons and de-capping a beer before confronting the computer screen. Phone rings. It’s Steve Almond, editor of The Rumpus. He's resigned …
Danai Gurira plays Michonne, the warrior in The Walking Dead. She co-starred in Black Panther, has won high-buck awards for writing and acting, and has founded or co-founded organizations for supporting women and African dramatic …
When Ray, a Korean-American, said he wanted to be a gourmet chef, his father loathed the idea. Cooking is “women’s work,” he said. It’s low class, uneducated. Ray became a chef anyway, and top-shelf at …