At the beginning of THE MADRES, when Josefina remarks that she “misses entertaining” and having a “house filled with people” one cannot help but think an unexpected visit from a priest with connections to the government, or a young man she watched grow up arriving in a military uniform accessorized with a fanatic ideology is…
THE WIND AND THE BREEZE
When you think of a play that features rap, you may be expecting a clash of over the top personalities, some witty revisionist history, or at the very least some fireworks. Well, THE WIND AND THE BREEZE now playing at The Cygnet Theatre does offer some fireworks, but it mostly eschews the rest of the…
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS opens bathed in a warm and rosy light, with the mountains in relief in the distance. Not unlike the desert in which this play is set, this beauty comes tinged with danger and sorrow as the details show the materials of the sun and mountains are sharp edged and jagged pieces…
BELLEVILLE at Pasadena Playhouse
If the currency of a healthy relationship is communication then Abby and Zack, the married couples in Amy Herzog’s play BELLEVILLE playing at the Pasadena Playhouse through Sunday, May 13th, will go bankrupt. The play may take place in the heart on Paris, but this show follows as this couple traverse emotions a lot less…
NOISES OFF proves that sometimes the best show is happening backstage
Sometimes, the very best show to watch in a theater is the one that happens when there is no audience around. NOISES OFF, now playing at Coronado’s Lambs Player’s through May 200th, proves this true in the farce that pokes fun while also simultaneously being a loving homage to the art of the theatre. Originally…
THE WANDERERS at The Old Globe
The ties that bind people to each other are bound to fray now and then, but it is up to each person in the relationship, be it friendship or romantic, to keep those threads from breaking. But when the threads get more complicated and new elements are introduced to the picture, instead of a beautiful…
HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES proves love and marriage are always cause for comedy
For a comedy that is almost 50 years old, HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES finds that Alan Ayckbourn’s comedic play about class, marriage, and infidelity still has a lot that resonates now. Playing at the North Coast Repertory Theatre through May 13th, this is a period comedy finds the funny in comic confusion. The marriages…
MEN ON BOATS invites you to go on an adventure
Sometimes, in these modern times it’s easy to forget the danger there was exploring this vast country of ours. In San Diego we cross a desert multiple times a day from the comfort of vehicles, forgetting this used to be a vast and dangerous place. MEN IN BOATS playing at the New Village Arts through…
It’s not always good to be the king
Writing in five acts in blank verse, KING CHARLES III takes an ambitious stab at telling the future fortune of the powerful royal family. While the play takes its historical cues for how to tell this story from Shakespeare, it takes its entertainment cues straight from the British tabloids as it speculates on what the…
AMERICAN MARIACHI
AMERICAN MARIACHI, currently playing at the Old Globe, is a brightly engaging and sentimental play that tugs at your heartstrings. It manages to be both intensely personal and universal as it explores the power of music and memory, family, and circumventing traditional norms through humor and music. Set in the mid 1970’s we find Lucha…
LOVE NEVER DIES full of songs and spectacle
LOVE NEVER DIES is a sequel, and according to the creator, also able to be a standalone piece to its famous predecessor THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Playing at the San Diego Civic Theatre through Sunday, April 1st, this show is much like the Phantom at its core; it’s over dramatic, tortured, longing to be…
THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH at Diversionary is worth an E Ticket ride
THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH is a memoir about the family of playwright Philip Dawkins, as they cope with unexpected tragedy, trying to find happiness, and how the creation and magic of Disneyland mirrored informed his family history moving forward. Following this family’s pursuit of happiness in the Magic Kingdom, is a personal recount of…