Sacramento Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: THE RIVER BRIDE at Big Idea Theatre
by Courtney Symes - May 11, 2025

A grown-up’s fairy tale infused with magical realism is the Big Idea Theatre’s newest staging. The River Bride by Marisela Treviño Orta is like Disney meets the Brothers Grimm with a dark twist. Director Julian Rey Ortega tackles this story about love, sacrifice, and consequences....

Review: PARADE at Broadway Sacramento is a Powerful Lesson in History
by Courtney Symes - May 08, 2025

A recent Broadway revival has given a fresh new look to a story that’s worth telling. Parade first opened on Broadway in 1998 to positive reviews, but ran for only a few months despite winning Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Its 2023 revival lasted a bit longer, playi...

Review: NOSOTROS LA GENTE (WE THE PEOPLE) Celebrates Family at B St. Theatre
by Courtney Symes - May 04, 2025

The B Street Theatre and Jerry Montoya have done it again. Another masterful blend of emotion and humor hits the stage with Montoya’s original story based on true events. Nosotros La Gente (We the People) is just as enthralling as Montoya’s previous works, which is no small feat. My first introducti...

Review: THE HELLO GIRLS at Women's Theatre Collective
by Courtney Symes - April 30, 2025

Women’s Theatre Collective is dedicated to bringing the voices of women to the community through partnerships and sincere storytelling. Its latest offering is focused on women’s fight for equality, this time through the lens of some of the first female veterans. In The Hello Girls, written by Peter ...

Review: Go, Go, Go to JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - April 15, 2025

Perfection, thy name is Joseph. And Narrator. And Pharoah. And Jacob. And Potiphar. And director Glenn Casale’s explosive production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Broadway at Music Circus. This musical marvel is an early collaboration of super-duo Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webbe...

Review: AMELIA EARHART Flies At FreeFall Stage
by Courtney Symes - April 11, 2025

One of America’s most interesting characters, Amelia Earhart, still captivates the world eighty-eight years after her disappearance. As a pioneer in aviation, she was not only the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic, she was also a successful author and proponent of commercial air tra...

Review: EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL HAPPENS AT NIGHT Makes Its World Premiere at Capital Stage
by Courtney Symes - April 03, 2025

Capital Stage, now in its 20th season, is synonymous with quality, thought-provoking theatre that highlights contemporary themes. Its world premiere of Ted Malawer’s Everything Beautiful Happens at Night surpasses even those expectations. Malawer, who is an award-winning author, playwright, and scre...

Review: Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre's CRUCIBLE and HOWL Highlight Modern Issues
by Courtney Symes - March 25, 2025

The Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre (SCDT) is again taking their talent to the international stage under the artistic direction of Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya. Their adaptation of the Arthur Miller classic The Crucible, titled Crucible, premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland last s...

Review: Let's Hear it for FOOTLOOSE at Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - March 23, 2025

Kick off your Sunday shoes and don’t miss the upbeat, energetic, 80s pop phenomenon that is Footloose at Broadway at Music Circus. The musical is based on the 1984 movie of the same name that got a generation of teens on their feet and dancing. After some changes were made to make it more suitable f...

Review: TITUS ANDRONICUS at Big Idea Theatre
by Courtney Symes - March 21, 2025

Titus Andronicus, which is believed to be Shakespeare’s first tragedy, is arguably his most disturbing. It’s a laundry list of trigger warnings: rape, murder, dismemberment, hostage negotiations, and cannibalism, to name a few. It’s also deliciously deranged and a horror fan’s delight in Big Idea Th...

Review: JEEVES & WOOSTER IN PERFECT NONSENSE is A Perfect Ten at B St. Theatre
by Courtney Symes - March 14, 2025

Mix some classic British humor with physical comedy and unflappable actors, and you’ve got a recipe for a night of laughs. The B St. Theatre’s version of Robert and David Goodale’s Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense is just that: perfectly nonsensical fun. This 2014 Olivier Award-winner is based o...

Review: TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL at Broadway Sacramento
by Courtney Symes - March 06, 2025

Explosively energetic, just like the woman herself, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is a celebration of life, determination, and indomitable human spirit. Its 2019 Broadway premiere garnered twelve Tony Award nominations, including a win for Best Leading Actress. Now on its second National Tour, it’s ...

Review: MEAN GIRLS at Broadway Sacramento
by Courtney Symes - February 21, 2025

It’s so fetch! The national tour of Mean Girls has stopped at Broadway Sacramento, bringing with it a whirlwind of artsy teen angst and bright pink attitude. It is based on the 2004 hit film by the same name and premiered on Broadway in 2018. It was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, including Best M...

Review: MARIE CURIE AND THE SISTERHOOD OF SCIENCE Premieres at B St. Theatre
by Courtney Symes - February 20, 2025

After decades in the business of children’s entertainment, the B St. Theatre continues to be at the forefront of thought-provoking, educational, and inspiring theatre for young minds. The first show of the year in their Family Series has already been seen by hundreds of students, and is being offere...

Review: ENGLISH Makes its Sacramento Premiere at Capital Stage
by Courtney Symes - February 15, 2025

A new year means fresh new shows, and Capital Stage is starting off strong with Pulitzer Prize-winning play English by Sanaz Toossi. Toossi, a first generation Iranian-American, focuses on stories of immigrants and the complexities of women’s experiences within that framework....

Review: DOUBT: A PARABLE at Winters Theatre Company
by Courtney Symes - February 08, 2025

A hidden gem in the heart of agricultural land, Winters Theatre Company is easy to miss. It is housed in the historic Winters Opera House, sandwiched between the highly recommended Putah Creek Café and a lovely tasting room. It retains a charming aura of the past while highlighting shows with very c...

Review: I'LL EAT YOU LAST: A CHAT WITH SUE MENGERS is a Must-See at Diamond Stage Company
by Courtney Symes - January 31, 2025

Sometimes you’re lucky enough to see something and know that it’s special. I had that experience last summer when I saw, Oh, Mary! on Broadway. I had it again last weekend when I attended the second week of Diamond Stage Company’s inaugural production of I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers. I...

Review: MURDER ON THE NILE at the Ooley Theatre
by Courtney Symes - January 31, 2025

Fans of the Queen of Crime are in for a treat. Murder on the Nile, Agatha Christie’s play based on her novel Death on the Nile, is playing at the Ooley Theatre. Director Tana Colburn is heading this community theatre adaptation of the suspenseful classic that features accomplished local actors....

Review: THE WHITE CHIP Makes Its West Coast Premiere at B St. Theatre
by Courtney Symes - January 27, 2025

The B St. Theatre’s reputation for producing excellent theatre continues in the new year with The White Chip. Sean Daniels’s autobiographical piece about art and alcoholism is sharp, funny, and some of the best writing I’ve seen. It’s an unflinchingly raw look at the horrifying devastation wrought b...

Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO Kicks Off the New Year at Broadway Sacramento
by Courtney Symes - January 01, 2025

Broadway Sacramento is kicking off the new year with a bang with the much-anticipated, multi-Tony Award-winning phenomenon, Kimberly Akimbo. David Lindsay-Abaire’s book and lyrics, based on his 2001 play, are accompanied by Jeanine Tesori’s beautiful score in this hilariously dazzling take on love a...

Review: GEORGIANA AND KITTY: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY Makes its Anticipated Return to Capital Stage
by Courtney Symes - December 21, 2024

Jane Austen and Christmas go hand-in-hand, like ornaments and trees or Santa and Rudolph. Luckily for us, Capital Stage has brought back one of my favorite Austen-inspired works, Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley. It is the third in a trilogy of plays by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon ...

Review: EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE at Valkyrie Theatre Company
by Courtney Symes - December 15, 2024

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie…and for good reason. The Valkyrie Theatre Company is putting on this inspirational show based on real-life British drag queen, Jamie Campbell. Its feel-good, energetic score by Dan Gillespie Sells and book by Tom MacRae tell the coming-of-age story of Jamie New, whose...

Review: ELF Brings Christmas Cheer to Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - December 09, 2024

It’s a miracle on H Street! Finally, the magic of Broadway at Music Circus can be experienced outside of the summer months. In its first show since expanding its season to go almost year-round, the Music Circus team is offering a dazzling display of holiday splendor with a family favorite, Elf....

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE ROCK & ROLL PANTO at City Theatre
by Courtney Symes - December 05, 2024

Another week, another version of A Christmas Carol! Is this one ever tons of fun, though. A Christmas Carol: the Rock & Roll Panto, written by Christine Nicholson and Luther Hanson, plays at City Theatre at Sacramento City College in the Art Court Theatre. It features silly antics, a ghost in drag, ...

Review: 'TIS THE SEASON: FOLKTALES & FABLES Spreads Holiday Cheer at B St. Theatre
by Courtney Symes - December 02, 2024

The B St. Theatre is solidifying its reputation of excellent holiday entertainment with its newest Family Series offering, ‘Tis the Season: Folktales & Fables. Like previous years, this show consists of vignettes, written by multiple playwrights, that feature different traditions throughout the worl...