Luke Evans

The horror of this story is in all of the things that you don’t see, and all of the unspeakable scenarios that may emerge from the unchecked imagination.

Stage Door Theatre's production of Ordinary Days may hit some early stumbles, but the final product rings with enough emotional truth to leave the audience smiling and contemplating the simple beauties in their own lives.

Candrice Jones has penned a deeply personal play, one in which the social pressure to succeed and to rise above one’s circumstances runs counter to the more primal desire to be a part of something larger than oneself.

It was a cool and quiet night on the streets of Los Angeles, the City of Angels abuzz with secret lives, and an anxious shut-in was waiting to tell us a story. This is the lead-in to Noir, the new world premiere musical by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening, American Psycho) and Kyle Jarrow (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical) - and what a story it is.

At times, the show is almost painfully blunt, and I don’t mean that to be an insult. Director David R. Jarrott places the focus squarely where it belongs: the relentless and, at times, grueling search for honesty and authenticity in a post-truth world.

Anyone looking for a light-hearted romp with verve to start off their summer would do well to make their way to Stageworks Theatre to see their delightfully fun production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

At our particularly fraught point in history, this mission of nurturing and developing the artistic passions of our youth seems more important than ever, and the fine staff at Theatre Under the Stars is proving that they are prepared and invested in making this goal a reality.

For a messily scripted white-comfort piece, Jersey Boys sure can make for an effective toe-tapping diversion from the ever-encroaching dread that is life in the 2020s. The breezy performances and energetic vocals on display at Theatre Under the Stars work double time to distract you from the material’s flaws.

As the curtain rises in Houston Grand Opera's production of Romeo and Juliet, Charles Gonoud's 1867 adaptation of the seminal Shakespeare play, the audience is transported into a realm of romance and passion, brought to life by the soaring score and gifted performers. Though devotees of the original play may note that Gonoud trims down elements of the original story to focus in on the two lovers, the story of their star-crossed romance is told with enough power and gravitas that those who invest in the central couple will be wiping away tears by the end.

For those ready to see how a stifled, heterosexual history can blossom forth into the present with new queer wonder, get yourself to the Alley Theatre to see Born with Teeth.

This sentimental value proved to be a benefit for Art Factory’s intimate production, which hits some satisfying notes amid some noticeable stumbles. While I delighted in hearing the songs that I have loved since I was a faux-edgy 16 year old, I daresay that a lesser Sweeney Todd fanatic may have enjoyed this production a smidge less.

Fans of old school science fiction (particularly the thoughtful, novelistic kind that prefigured The Twilight Zone and Star Trek) should find much to enjoy the Classical Theatre Company’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’s famous 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds.

What a gut punch of a play is Branden Jacob-Jenkins’s Gloria, and what a tight and well-paced rendition 4th Wall Theatre Company has offered. The script maintains a remarkable self-awareness that manages to stay ahead of the audience’s assumptions and even subvert them. All of this is tapped into to great effect by director James Black, along with a talented cast of actors. 

This production of The Cake may not be perfect, but what it lacks in thematic depth, it makes up for in confectionary charm and good intentions.

The prevailing theme of ISHIDA Dance’s new work You Could Release Me is love, and the many forms that love takes. You Could Release Me is broken up into four separate dance pieces, each exploring a different aspect of how we relate to each other. The show presents a moving and honest reflection on what it takes to be open, intimate, and vulnerable.