COLUMBUS CIVIC THEATER

by Paul Batterson - March 24, 2026

What did our critic think of SAMARA JOY at Southern Theatre? When people describe Samara Joy as an “American jazz singer,” they aren’t wrong. But they’re missing the point....

by Paul Batterson - March 23, 2026

Short North Stage is never one to back down from a challenge. At the end of every season, the Columbus theatre group asks its audience what shows it would like to see the following season....

by Paul Batterson - March 18, 2026

There appeared to be a serious breach of theatre etiquette in the March 17 production of THE OUTSIDERS at Ohio Theatre (37 E. State Street in downtown Columbus)....

by Paul Batterson - March 10, 2026

Whether it is Floyd’s Barber Shop in THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, Truvy’s Beauty Salon in STEEL MAGNOLIAS or even the Suburban Salon in EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, hair care is the center of society. Gossip is distributed like shampoo, lies are covered up like hair dye, and life’s tangled knots are cut aw...

by Paul Batterson - February 25, 2026

What did our critic think of THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Ohio Theatre?...

by Paul Batterson - February 23, 2026

In the Columbus Children’s Theatre production of CABARET, nothing is what it appears to be. A line can be repeated but cast a completely different meaning and things that are commonplace in the first act take on a darker symbolic meaning by the second....

by Paul Batterson - February 23, 2026

In the Columbus Children’s Theatre production of CABARET, nothing is what it appears to be. A line can be repeated but cast a completely different meaning and things that are commonplace in the first act take on a darker symbolic meaning by the second....

by Paul Batterson - February 10, 2026

What did our critic think of THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY at Southern Theatre?...

by Paul Batterson - February 06, 2026

Shadowbox’s latest production is more leather than lace, offering a wide variety of power ballads from each generation....

by Paul Batterson - January 29, 2026

Reviewing the revered LES MISERABLES is always a mixed bag. The show, running Jan. 27–Feb. 1 at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State Street, downtown Columbus), is a towering piece of musical theater history. It has a cadre of powerful songs (“Do You Hear The People Sing?,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” a...