SACRAMENTO THEATER REVIEWS

Tennessee Williams' memory play, The Glass Menagerie, was a timely choice for Sacramento Theatre Company to revive this season. In today's political climate fraught with worry, the average American can relate to Tom Wingfield, who is living in a country on the precipice of war and trying to provide...

Based on a children's book and built with a mostly adult audience in mind, Peter and the Starcatcher isn't the sort of show you can put in a defined box. The J.M. Barrie-inspired play utilizes an unusual narrative style dependent on a versatile cast and imaginative staging. And of course, familiarit...

I should probably say that A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is murderously hilarious. But the Tony Award winner isn't quite an over-the-top farce. The show's music might remind you of anything from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, or perhaps even a ...

Don't pack away your favorite Christmas sweater quite yet. You have one more opportunity to celebrate Christmas in full color: The national tour of White Christmas the musical visits Sacramento through this Sunday only. It's a quick-paced production that never quite finds its heart, but you can't de...

Disney musicals generate a lot of hype. The Lion King transformed the art of puppetry. Beauty and the Beast told a tale as old as time. And the upcoming Frozen… well, it's Frozen. But the company's stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame took a slight step to the side, never making...

It's wonderful. It's marvelous. And if Tuesday's immediate standing ovation was any indication, you will more than care for the new Gershwin musical, "Nice Work If You Can Get It," playing through Sunday at Sacramento's Music Circus.  But watch out for that demon rum. You may just end up swinging b...

Music Circus welcomed a "perfectly marvelous" Cabaret Tuesday evening, with sparkling costumes and a glittered stage. After an excited and pulsing opening, the suggestive Kit Kat Girls took a back seat. Subdued direction and lackluster choreography made the famous Kit Kat club more of an afterthough...

Oh the things you can think when you think about Seuss! Imagination runs wild in California Musical Theatre's latest Music Circus production, Seussical the musical, which makes excellent use of the company's mechanized stage and brings classic Dr. Seuss drawings to outstanding scenic, lighting and c...

It only takes a moment to fall in love with the feel-good melodies and delightful characters of "Hello, Dolly!," the musical that gave film and Broadway star Carol Channing her signature role. Matchmaker Dolly Levi can be played a number of ways, which ensures every production remain refreshing and ...

Northern California is home to miles of gorgeous Pacific coastline, over 50 parks with hiking and cycling trails, world-class restaurants, boutique shopping, and of course, majestic vineyards. Sonoma, in particular, offers the rustic charm of down-to-earth locals, farmers, winemakers, tasting rooms...

Snaps for Music Circus! Even with some sound balance and microphone issues opening night, "the "endorphin-happy" score of "Legally Blonde" built a momentum ripe for excitement....

Andrew Burkum's enthusiastic Edward leads a glistening Playhouse Merced production with his determined "Alabama stomp" (the glistening much due to a fantastic lighting design). Robert Hypes' direction and casting anchor the show to bottom of the sea, where, perhaps, a rather big fish awaits....

'Newsies' made the headlines as a flop Disney film back in 1992, but the musical garnered a cult following that led to its 2012 revamp on Broadway. The national tour of that production, now on its final leg, carries the banner to Sacramento this week with its own outstanding effects worthy of above-...

Friday's opening night audience enjoyed the Playhouse Merced production of 'Hairspray' - perhaps a little too much. The promise of community favorite Jim Kocher in drag and of soulful tunes to show off fantastic vocal talents were more than enough to match the audience energy with that of the cast. ...

Since Sacramento last saw "The Little Mermaid," director Glenn Casale has fin(e)-tuned Disney's script and created a near-perfect,  spectacle of a production. The unofficial mini-tour of the show comes to Sacramento courtesy of California Musical Theatre this week only and is already sold out. ...

The fame of the phenomenon-hit film "Frozen" has already landed it Broadway and theme park versions in the works. But there was one venue for which the popular musical was more than meant. Given its lead female's "cool" powers, it was only a matter of time before Elsa, Anna, and all their friends re...

Although other vocals and one or two instances of odd timing could use work, the Merced production stays true to the heart of "Charlie Brown." After all, "Happiness" is so often found in live theatre....

The "magic to do" in Broadway's "Pippin" owes as much to simple storytelling and relatable "players" as to actual magic tricks and acrobatic wonders. A knife-throwing act here, a disappearing act there, the grand circus tent concept that helped the musical win its Tony Award for Best Revival fits f...

One word describes Playhouse Merced's production of 'Mary Poppins,' and it isn't supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Rather, in a version of the Disney classic that refuses to take itself too seriously, the word of the day is fun. Pure fun. Merced has its share of mishaps. Mary does not fly and Bert...

Stockton Civic Theatre journeys fathoms below to the sights and sounds of the sea with Disney's 'The Little Mermaid.' Those sights and sounds had technical issues at Wednesday's preview performance, but given the excellent overall production value and the strong, positive audience reaction, the big ...

Based on the 2003 Will Ferrell film, "Elf" the musical is as "Sparklejollytwinklejingley" as its title character. Santa reads a children's book. Elves tap dance. And it snows inside the Empire State Building. Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin's infectious songs see romantic skaters at Rockefeller Cent...

When Music Circus presented a spectacular production of 'Big River' earlier this summer, it seemed nothing could top it. Four weeks later, 'West Side Story' has come 'cannonballing down through the sky, gleam in its eye, bright as a rose.' Playing through Sunday at California Musical Theatre's Wells...

Glenn Casale's history with "Peter Pan" has been one awfully big adventure that's unlikely to end any time soon. The California Musical Theatre Artistic Director headed the Tony-nominated 1999 Broadway revival, which subsequently saw an A&E television broadcast and multiple tours. The show visited ...

Unconventional theatre that honors conventional, musical theatre classics. F bomb after F bomb that somehow manage to be surprisingly inoffensive. Hilarious joke after joke opposite shocking reality. "Book of Mormon" is full of pairs. It even begins with a very catchy number titled "Two by Two," in ...

Every so often a musical comes along that is just pure fun. In a humorous imitation of the likes of Elvis Presley and his fan girls, "Bye, Bye Birdie" became just such a production, followed by two film versions and earning a place in pop culture with well-known songs like "The Telephone Hour" and "...