San Diego Theater Reviews
Aaron Feldman’s so connected that when he sits by the pool and the beer runs out, he whines: “No one has texted me in, like, AN HOUR!” He lives in Brentwood, his father’s a big-time …
Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, their sons Richard I and King John: mighty names, each exuding historical import. Henry II dressed like a commoner and ruled, at one point, from Scotland to the Pyrenees. His …
The Old Globe staged Tracy Lett’s August: Osage County and did a masterful job. Also at the Globe, Adrian Noble turned Shakespeare’s The Tempest into a musical with “wood notes wild.” The La Jolla Playhouse …
Jacob Marley’s isn’t the only Ghost of Christmas Past. Everyone probably has a few. They may not arrive in chains, shaking a bony finger at the void, and whispering “beware.” In fact, they may be …
‘What’s buzz? Tell me what’s a-happening!” “When do we arrive in Jerusalem?” “Will no one stay awake with me?” “Did Mohammed move a mountain, or was that just PR?” “Did you mean to die like …
When a close friend died from AIDS, Tony Kushner dreamed about an angel “crashing through someone’s bedroom ceiling.” It wasn’t an archangel — a Gabriel or a Michael — or a chubby Disney cherub plucking …
During OnStage Playhouse’s intermissions, the houselights come up, but the actors remain in character onstage. As audience members talk among themselves or scan text messages, the characters play cards and do small tasks in whispers. …
Back in the ’60s, Robert Anderson wrote a one-act called I’m Herbert. Depending on how old you are, it could be a comedy or a tragedy. In the play, a man and a woman, senior …
Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793) deserves better than he usually gets. He wrote tragedies, tragicomedies, and comedies — first in Italian, later in French — and helped inject vitality into a flagging commedia dell’arte tradition. Though quite …
The title of Matthew Lopez’s comedy-drama sounds unfinished. Hear Somewhere, and you expect “a place for us” to follow. And why not keep going: “Peace and quiet and oooo-pen air [kick it up!] WAITS for …
In the movie Braveheart, Patrick McGoohan plays silver-bearded, steely-eyed Edward “Longshanks.” A mere aside of his could kill — or a fit of anger, as when he heaves his son’s male lover out a castle …
The San Diego Repertory Theatre has entered its 36th season. It has produced 265 shows. I asked Sam Woodhouse, cofounder, to talk about the ones where the Rep or he, personally, made a leap forward …
In his youth, John Waters watched the Buddy Deane Show, Baltimore’s version of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, on WJZ-TV. For years, both programs had white teenagers only. Deane called his “the Committee.” They were “the …
“George Bernard Shaw” may have been his best fictional creation. The cantankerous genius loved to rant, like a spoiled brat, and turn conventions upside down. He renounced capitalism, organized religion, and social injustice, along with …
You may remember him as Tonex (pronounced “To-nay”). The young mega-talent, who won a Craig Noel Award for Dreamgirls in 2008, changed his name. He’s now B. Slade. His skills have changed a bit, too. …
Since The Tempest opened in 1611, people have wondered where Shakespeare located its strange, enchanted isle. Prospero’s enemies are returning to Naples from a wedding at Tunis. A storm blasts them onto the rocks of …