SACRAMENTO THEATER REVIEWS

The classics are my favorite, and Broadway at Music Circus' fresh take on Guys and Dolls is no exception. When it opened on Broadway in 1950, it won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. With three more Broadway revivals, it has cemented itself as a staple of American musicals. It is based on th...

Move over, Sweeney Todd. There's a new serial killer in town by the name of Monty Navarro. Yet, you need not fear if you aren't a D'Ysquith (yes, that's pronounced die-squith). A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horni...

Oklahoma!, Rodgers and Hammerstein's first collaboration, is a cornerstone of American theatre. According to The New York Times, it 'changed the course of the Broadway musical.' Groundbreaking in its day of conception, it continues to resonate with audiences of all ages for its timeless music, stron...

After eight seasons of presenting phonenomal musical revues in its award-winning 'Broadway Under the Stars' performances, the Transcendence Theatre seamlessly transcends into its inaugural full Broadway production of the mega-hit musical, A CHORUS LINE. A...

As parents, we try to instill in our children the idea that it is what's inside a person that counts. Shrek the Musical is certainly an apropos vessel in which to deliver this message when its green, bulbous-nosed, full-of-gas star is a sensitive and clever romantic wrapped up in a gloriously hideou...

According to Genie, 'Agrabah has more glitz and glamour than any other fictional city in the world.' He's not lying. Aladdin is a veritable dreamscape of color, light, and shimmering costumes. The animated movie has been brought to life on the stage by six-time Tony-winning lighting designer Natasha...

Sacramento Theatre Company is ending their 74th season of Love, Loss, & Laughter with an homage to the popular 'disaster' movies of the '70s. Disaster! follows closely along the lines of The Poseidon Adventure, with some Jaws and The Towering Inferno sprinkled in. After enjoying two runs Off-Broadwa...

Percy Jackson has come to life! Our favorite demigod from the best-selling Rick Riordan series hits the stage in Sacramento for his California premiere. The Lightning Thief was nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards during its critically acclaimed New York run, including Outstanding Musical. It comes to ...

David Taylor-Gomes and Kyle Holmes have done it again. After collaborating on their 2017 musical comedy, Boxed Up: The Musical, they have joined forces at Granite Bay High School to present to you another original work. This time, in a shockingly serendipitous twist, Ranked, A New Musical debuted ju...

CATS, the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history, has arrived in Sacramento on its fresh, new national tour. When it first opened on Broadway in 1982, it won 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. Now it features exciting, updated choreograph...

On the heels of Black History Month comes When We Were Colored: A Mother's Story, a play by Sacramento's own Ginger Rutland that is adapted from a memoir that her mother, Eva Rutland, wrote. The memoir was originally titled 'The Trouble With Being a Mama' and was first published in 1964. It highligh...

'Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!' Sir Walter Scott said it best, 170 years before Michael Jacobs' Cheaters was first produced on Broadway in 1978. Cheaters is an amusing look at three couples whose lives intertwine in the most awkward and unbelievable way. EMH Pro...

William Finn and James Lapine's Tony-nominated revival of Falsettos has embarked on its national tour and will be in Sacramento through March 17. It originally premiered on Broadway in 1992 and won Tonys for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. This tour of the revival boasts a cast of ac...

A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, brings to us a night of frivolity and fun peppered with love. A favorite subject of the Bard, this work explores the staying power of true love and the measures that we will take to ensure that it happens. Although it is believed...

Boom! Swish. Crash! The percussive phenomenon that is Stomp has arrived in Sacramento, fittingly, in the arms of a storm. The explosive energy has been riveting audiences since its inception in 1991. Stomp currently has four productions running concurrently: the ongoing show at the Orpheum Theatre i...

Mix Vaudeville, Agatha Christie, and the board game Clue, and you come up with the hilariously clever Murder For Two. Written by award-winning duo Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, this show highlights just two actors who play ALL of the parts-10, to be exact. 90 minutes of zany comedy come to the shoc...

Waitress has finally made its way to Sacramento, bringing with it all the ingredients a pie should have-sugar, spice, fluff and substance-blended perfectly in a feel-good, empowering show. Nominated for 4 Tony Awards, Waitress is groundbreaking for boasting an all-female creative team: music and lyr...

The holiday season is a time when we all reflect upon the past year. The good, the bad, and everything in between comes up for dissection as we are influenced to improve in the new year. No tale conveys this idea more clearly than Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. Sacramento Theatre Compa...

We hear a lot about women tearing each other down-working mom vs. stay-at-home mom, breastfeeding vs. bottle-feeding, the way other women dress or style their hair. Steel Magnolias is a lesson in the opposite-the power of positive female relationships. A celebration of strong women and set in a beau...

In a time of national uncertainty and division, it is refreshing to witness a story of what America means to me-unlimited possibilities for everyone, regardless of race, gender, or creed. It used to be known as a land of refuge and hope, and the rags-to-riches story of Cuban immigrants Gloria and Em...

The world in 1692 and the world today are, unfortunately, not entirely different. Some things have improved, certainly (modern plumbing, anyone?), but as Arthur Miller illustrated in his timeless piece, The Crucible, a witch hunt can happen anytime and anywhere. Miller cleverly used the Salem Witch ...

The Davis Shakespeare Festival is wrapping up its 9th season with the comedy As You Like It. It is one of Shakespeare's audience-pleasers and, interestingly, has the most songs in it of any Shakespeare play. The entire show is infused with pastoral music that has been modernized to a folk rock style...

What do a sadistic dentist, a floral shop owner, a meek plant-lover, and a girl with low self-esteem all have in common? Find out when you see the Music Circus premiere of Little Shop of Horrors at Broadway at Music Circus! Based on the 1966 cult-classic film of the same name, the musical features a...

A glorious two hours to lose yourself and revert to your carefree younger years-that is what Mamma Mia delivers with gusto. It's a sublime soundtrack of the 70's, complete with platform heels and free love. Comprised entirely of songs from the Swedish pop group, ABBA, Mamma Mia transports you from s...

How far would you go to ensure your child's success? That's the question at the center of this classic 1959 show, which was nominated for 8 Tony Awards. It is based on the 1957 memoir of American burlesque star, Gypsy Rose Lee. The musical focuses on Gypsy's overbearing mother, Mama Rose, and the jo...