CALIFORNIA STAGE

by Courtney Symes - May 17, 2026

Great Scott! Our 1985 memories have zoomed into town on the back of the much-anticipated tour of Back to the Future: The Musical. Based on the hit motion picture, the bones are the same: small-town dreamer Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time by his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown, whe...

by Courtney Symes - May 12, 2026

Old Hollywood continues to captivate us, and few shows evoke the magic like Sunset Blvd. It transports audiences back to a forgotten time filled with silent films, sweeping glamour, and gilded opulence. In Women’s Theatre Collective’s (WTC) latest production, co-directors Alison Gilbreath and Je...

by Courtney Symes - May 08, 2026

Forty years celebrating the iconic B St. Theatre continues with Franklinland, an engaging exploration of power, legacy, and the bonds between father and son. Lloyd Suh’s play about the complexities of Benjamin Franklin has an emotional core that centers on the volatile relationship between the fou...

by Courtney Symes - May 08, 2026

Lincoln Theatre Company continues its successful season with a staple: Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs. This production is an impressive reminder of how powerful local theatre can be when every piece comes together, and this company always delivers. Director Yolla Ryder has ensured that this s...

by Courtney Symes - May 03, 2026

Big Idea Theatre continues its exciting 2026 season with a classic -- Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 work, Hedda Gabler. The show remains an unsettling study of human psychology, and director Sasha Kostyrko offers a look into what happens when naivete meets cunning, and societal expectations don’t go as an...

by Courtney Symes - April 29, 2026

Audiences can never get enough of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, as evidenced by its continuing popularity since its 1957 premiere. It’s always a feel-good choice, and Dixon Community Theater leans fully into the show’s warmth, humor, and heartfelt message of kindness. From the opening ...

by Courtney Symes - April 21, 2026

The Gospel of Matthew is alive and well on stage at Folsom Lake College, as Falcon’s Eye Theatre presents Godspell. In 1971, composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and writer John-Michael Tebelak introduced their show that reimagines the Gospel through a series of parables, songs, and storytelling. Th...

by Courtney Symes - April 12, 2026

It’s time to “Jam” at Broadway Sacramento, with the four-time Tony Award winning MJ the Musical. With a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage and choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, this National tour is a high-energy visual spectacle that checks all the boxes for pure, unadulterated en...

by Courtney Symes - April 08, 2026

In its latest celebration of women, Women’s Theatre Collective (WTC) is staging Brian Friel’s hauntingly beautiful memory play, Dancing at Lughnasa. Set in Ballybeg, Ireland, in 1936, it follows a summer in the lives of the five Mundy sisters as told by the narrator, Michael....

by Courtney Symes - April 06, 2026

True to its dedication to introducing quality, thought-provoking theatre, Capital Stage is now boasting the Pulitzer-Prize winning James Ijames play, Fat Ham. Under Anthony D’Juan’s direction, the characters seem like a family: messy, familiar, and with all the complications shared history bring...