Memphis Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: THE NOTEBOOK at Orpheum Theatre Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - October 29, 2025

If you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks's novel The Notebook or the 2004 film of the same title (starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, you do not want to miss this production. It is a beautiful love story of endurance and hope even amidst the constant trials....

Review: COME FROM AWAY at Playhouse On The Square
by Kevin Shaw - August 19, 2025

Musicals about historical events are nothing new. From 1776 to EVITA to HAMILTON, such stories can be enlightening and inspirational. They highlight significant historical moments that many may not have known or appreciated....

Review: SOMETHING ROTTEN! at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - August 18, 2025

Over the past decade, the theatrical landscape in Memphis has changed dramatically. While it remains a remarkably vibrant artistic community for its size, the highest-quality talent and productions seem to have abandoned Midtown entirely, setting up shop exclusively in East Memphis....

Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Orpheum Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - June 26, 2025

'I suppose it's like the ticking crocodile, isn't it? Time is chasing after all of us.' One of my favorite quotes from Peter Pan and it fits so well with this particular story. Kimberly Akimbo teaches a unique lesson about time and aging. ...

Review: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - June 10, 2025

From 1918 to the mid-1930s, African American artists in the United States experienced a cultural blossoming known as the Harlem Renaissance-a period in which theatre, music and literature were created by (and often for) Black Americans....

Review: RUMORS at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - May 02, 2025

What did our critic think of RUMORS at Theatre Memphis? RUMORS is about a group of upper-class New Yorkers (politicians, accountants and lawyers) gathering to celebrate Charley and Myra’s 10th wedding anniversary....

Review: CAROLINE, OR CHANGE at Playhouse On The Square
by Kevin Shaw - April 29, 2025

Having never seen the 2003 musical CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, I had a slight panic attack reading the program while waiting for this past Sunday’s matinee to begin at Playhouse on the Square. ...

Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT at Orpheum Theatre Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - April 09, 2025

What did our critic think of SOME LIKE IT HOT at Orpheum Theatre Memphis? Some Like It Hot brings fiery charcters, sultry jazz, powerful belts, and quite a few surprises. ...

Review: INHERIT THE WIND at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - January 24, 2025

During the 2023-2024 school year, more than 10,000 books were banned in public schools across the United States-a nearly 200% increase from the previous year. This was the highest number of book bans in a single school year. What was banned? Books about mental health, suicide, substance abuse, sexua...

Review: PARADE at Playhouse On The Square
by Kevin Shaw - January 21, 2025

Jason Robert Brown, one of America’s most celebrated composers and lyricists of this new millennium, is currently enjoying a resurgence with two of his finest musicals. THE LAST FIVE YEARS, an off-Broadway hit that was later adapted into a film starring Anna Kendrick, is making its return to Broadwa...

Review: PETER PAN at Orpheum Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - November 29, 2024

These are some of the first lyrics that made me fall in love with musical theatre. I have been a fan of Peter Pan as long as I can remember, and was always jumping around my room, trying to fly. When I worked at Walt Disney World, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell were my favorite characters to work with, an...

Review: THE WIZARD OF OZ at Playhouse On The Square
by Kevin Shaw - November 23, 2024

What did our critic think of THE WIZARD OF OZ at Playhouse On The Square running through December 22? ...

Review: MOULIN ROUGE at Orpheum Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - October 30, 2024

Truth. Beauty. Freedom. Love. The Bohemian ideals combined with a spectacular medley of tunes, some incredible choreography, and a love story for the ages. ...

Review: THE SMELL OF THE KILL at Germantown Community Theatre
by Theresa Bertram - October 30, 2024

What did our critic think of THE SMELL OF THE KILL at Germantown Community Theatre?...

Review: THE MOUSETRAP at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - October 17, 2024

When A CHORUS LINE opened on Broadway in 1975, no one could have predicted that it would go on to earn the distinction of being the longest running Broadway show of its time. It ran for almost 15 years and played over 6,000 performances! Since then, five other musicals have gone on to pass that Broa...

Review: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at Orpheum Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - October 09, 2024

Let me start off by saying, never have I left the theatre feeling so confused. That, apparently, is to be expected from 'Girl from the North Country', the latest Orpheum Memphis feature. My companion turned to me and said, 'do you understanding anything that just happened?' And as we walked to our c...

Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Circuit Playhouse
by Kevin Shaw - September 18, 2024

What did our critic think of WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Circuit Playhouse?...

Review: WAITRESS at Playhouse On The Square
by Kevin Shaw - August 27, 2024

Musical theatre is known for showcasing the extraordinary. From GYPSY to MOULIN ROUGE to an ogre named SHREK, the most unusual protagonists imaginable are what are on display. Phantoms, witches, cats and even puppets (AVENUE Q) are what audiences have come to expect. Musicals are built for “transpor...

Review: MAMMA MIA at Orpheum Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - July 24, 2024

Mamma Mia... here we go again! The hit musical has returned to Memphis and is a fantastic ending of the 2023-2024 season. It's a smash hit but what makes it so popular? It might be the iconic tunes, featuring the music of pop sensations ABBA, or the themes of female empowerment, or the bright and fu...

Review: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at Playhouse On The Square
by Kevin Shaw - July 03, 2024

Frank Abagnale, Jr. is a REAL character. And by real, I mean totally fake. According to his 1980 memoir and the 2002 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio (directed by Steven Spielberg), this man claims to have worked as an assistant state attorney general, a Pan Am commercial airline pilot and a hospital...

Review: RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - June 13, 2024

The directing/choreographic team of Jordan Nichols and Travis Bradley are back again to deliver the highest quality show one could ever imagine-professional or not. The sheer man hours that have gone into producing this mammoth production are clear at every turn....

Review: THE HOT WING KING at Circuit Playhouse
by Kevin Shaw - May 16, 2024

A couple of months ago, newly elected Memphis Mayor Paul Young, in partnership with the African American Mayors Association, announced the launch of the Black Mayor’s Coalition on Crime which is an initiative to “harness the collective power of black mayors across the nation to fight crime.”...

Review: YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD at Playhouse On The Square
by Kevin Shaw - May 08, 2024

The recent college campus protests in America seem to have surprised and bewildered a lot of people around the world. Why do privileged students who can afford a college education risk being expelled or jailed over a conflict in Gaza? Graduations are currently being cancelled, people are being arres...

Review: STEEL MAGNOLIAS at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - April 30, 2024

What’s up with all these therapists’ offices masquerading as beauty parlors? Women walk into these places as broken shells of themselves and often walk out feeling on top of the world. Sure, they get their hair and/or nails done, but they get so much more than just that. They’re renewed....

Review: MASTER CLASS at Theatre Memphis
by Kevin Shaw - April 12, 2024

For opera lovers around the world, Maria Callas was a gigantic figure well known for her unusual and daring performances. She was a singer who ruled the classical musical world for a large part of the 20th century and left an indelible mark with her talent and her larger-than-life personality....