Sacramento Theater Reviews Page 2

Review: JUMP to See this Relevant New Work at B Street Theatre
by Courtney Symes - October 06, 2023

Following in the wake of a play like The Play That Goes Wrong is no easy feat. It would be easy to fall into the shadows and be overlooked, and B Street Theatre’s Executive Director, Lyndsay Burch, took a calculated risk in choosing a drama filled with some loaded content. After seeing the new work,...

Review: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY UNIT AT MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER OF NEW YORK CITY Plays at Big Idea Theatre
by Courtney Symes - September 22, 2023

One thing that stands out about Sacramento is its prolific and varied arts community. There is truly something for everyone and, if you’re eclectically inclined, Big Idea Theatre is the place for you. Their performance selections vary, but each is unique, quirky, and thought-provoking. The current o...

Review: Get on Down to HADESTOWN at Broadway Sacramento
by Courtney Symes - September 21, 2023

The ancient Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice has been retold in many ways. In literature, music, art, and film, their doomed love story is among the most well-known Greek myths. Really, who can resist a Greek tragedy? Its most recent reimagination, in the form of Hadestown, began as a concept albu...

Review: FreeFall Stage Captures the Essence of Austen With PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
by Courtney Symes - September 15, 2023

Austenites can rejoice -- FreeFall Stage, a local community theatre known for its period pieces, has staged a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The 1813 work is a commentary on the trappings of the Regency era social caste wrapped in a beautiful romance novel. It has been adapted ...

Review: CLYDE'S Nourishes Our Souls at Capital Stage
by Courtney Symes - August 30, 2023

Capital Stage begins its 2023/2024 season theme of True Identity with socially relevant and thought-provoking theatre in the form of Lynn Nottage’s Tony Award-nominated play, Clyde’s. This 2022 hit is fresh, funny, and full of questions. Do your past choices define who you are, or can you reinvent y...

Review: RENT Soars at Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - August 23, 2023

A lot can happen in 525,600 minutes. Love is found, dreams are lost, and lives are irrevocably altered. Such is the premise of Jonathan Larson’s rock musical, Rent, which is loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera, La Bohème. Larson wanted to tell the stories of his friends who were afflicted ...

Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Does Everything Right at B Street Theatre
by Courtney Symes - August 16, 2023

You may have heard that back in the 20th century a guy by the name of Edward Murphy famously said, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Pessimistic? Maybe. Accurate? Definitely, as proven in B Street Theatre’s side-splitting rendition of The Play That Goes Wrong. This award-winning comedy wri...

Review: RAGTIME Sets the Standard at Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - August 09, 2023

A question that’s often posed is, “What constitutes good art?” For me, it’s a piece that stretches my knowledge while dispelling assumptions. It’s something that might make me uncomfortable, even if I’m not sure why. It’s a work that evokes such strong emotions that I am left thinking about it for d...

Review: ASSASSINS Hits the Mark at Rise Up Theatre Company
by Courtney Symes - August 09, 2023

Rise Up Theatre Company is moving on to a bigger and better theatre space in Rancho Cordova but, before they do, they are gracing the MACC with a nail-biting production of Assassins. This Sondheim work lives in the shadow of his more popular pieces like Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, but it stands...

Review: THE ADDAMS FAMILY Keeps it Spooky And Ooky At Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - July 26, 2023

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and they need no introduction. Morticia, Gomez, and the gang are here in Sacramento to spice things up in The Addams Family musical. Since opening on Broadway in 2010, it’s become a favorite of audiences nationwide. Based on the cartoons of Charles Addams, The Addam...

Review: THE MUSIC MAN Dazzles the River City at Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - July 12, 2023

What did our critic think of THE MUSIC MAN at Broadway At Music Circus?...

Review: INSERTION Has Staying Power at the B Street Theatre
by Courtney Symes - July 12, 2023

The B Street Theatre has set the gold standard in new comedy development with its world premiere of Insertion by Sarah Groustra. This hilariously bawdy, witty, and satirical homage to the questionable merits of the romance genre was the winner of B Street Theatre’s 2022 New Comedies Festival, and th...

Review: We Can't Take Our Eyes Off of JERSEY BOYS at Sierra Rep
by Courtney Symes - July 05, 2023

Oh, what a night! Jersey Boys, the Tony Award-winning jukebox musical about the rise and fall of The Four Seasons, is rocking the town of Columbia through the summer. It’s a story of the American dream, a rags-to-riches tale that brings four young boys out of Jersey and into the national spotlight. ...

Review: Have a Ball At CINDERELLA At Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - June 28, 2023

Cinderella - it’s a tale as old as time. Oh wait, wrong show. It’s pretty close, though. The story has roots as far back as 200 B.C. in Egypt, but the most well-known version dates to the 17th century, which is the one made famous by Disney in 1950. Broadway at Music Circus is showcasing a new adapt...

Review: PREDICTOR Foretells a Hit at Capital Stage
by Courtney Symes - June 27, 2023

“Who made that?” is the question we didn’t know we needed the answer to. In Jennifer Blackmer’s new play, Predictor, we learn that it’s one of the most important questions in the struggle for female equality. Throughout history, men have taken credit for women’s accomplishments. Things such as wirel...

Review: 3: BLACK GIRL BLUES Enjoys a Limited Run at B Street Theatre
by Courtney Symes - June 24, 2023

What did our critic think of 3: BLACK GIRL BLUES at B Street Theatre?...

BWW Review: Transcendence Theatre Rocks Three Decades of Music with 'The Beat Goes On'
by Christina Mancuso - June 21, 2023

The resilient Transcendence Theatre was not deterred when litigation between the California Park Rangers Association and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) threatened use of their usual performance space at Jack London State Historic Park.  After performing for over a de...

Review: COLLECTIVE RAGE: A PLAY IN 5 BETTIES Collectively Entertains at Big Idea Theatre
by Courtney Symes - June 15, 2023

Pearl clutchers, be warned. There’s a new show in town, and you might want to cover your ears. This isn’t for the easily offended, but it is bawdy, hilarious, and altogether relatable. Jen Silverman’s Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties is a bold look at what it means to be female. Collective awake...

Review: It's One Fine Day to See BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at Broadway At Music Circus
by Courtney Symes - June 14, 2023

It’s officially summer stock season! Kicking off my favorite time of the year is Broadway at Music Circus’ production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Its Broadway premiere in 2014 garnered seven Tony Award nominations, with two wins for Best Leading Actress and Best Sound Design. While I tend...

Review: PRIDE AT THE SOFIA Celebrates Love
by Courtney Symes - June 13, 2023

Over fifty years after the first Pride march in 1970, we can be proud of the strides made in the fight for equity and inclusion. Education and outreach play a large part in shedding antiquated and harmful attitudes, which is what Jacob Gutierrez Montoya spearheaded with his latest creation. His Sacr...

Review: SAVOR AFTER HOURS at JaM Cellars Ballroom is a Sensory Sensation
by Courtney Symes - June 11, 2023

For thousands of years, wine has inspired creativity and evoked emotions. There have been gods dedicated to it and cults born from it. Few have poeticized it better than Lord Byron when he said, “Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, and makes weariness forget his toil.” Now, in ...

Review: THE HOMBRES Explores Masculinity at Capital Stage
by Courtney Symes - May 23, 2023

Theatre has long been a vessel to carry voices wanting to be heard, and a springboard for important conversations that need to be had. Capital Stage is taking this responsibility seriously, with its California premiere of The Hombres. Tony Meneses’ contemporary play examines the toxic masculinity pr...

Review: TEMPODYSSEY is Out of This World at Big Idea Theatre
by Courtney Symes - May 17, 2023

Astrophysics, poultry, and delusional temp employees. The universe conspires to marry odd bedfellows in this bizarre yet fascinating work by Dan Dietz. tempOdyssey is as unique as its title suggests. It’s a study of paradox, exploring themes of freedom vs. entrapment, love vs. apathy, and immortalit...

Review: Chasing the Clouds Away With AVENUE Q at Rise Up Theatre Company
by Courtney Symes - May 14, 2023

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to...Avenue Q? It’s a wondrous place where puppets and humans coexist peacefully and harmoniously. Most of the time. This salacious spoof of Sesame Street opened on Broadway in 2003 and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Twenty years later, its them...

Review: B Street Theatre's BROKE-OLOGY Reminds Us of Our Riches
by Courtney Symes - May 12, 2023

The most shocking thing about getting older is that everyone else is getting older, too. Our parents, who once seemed so strong and commanding, reverse their roles and become the dependents. How do we care for them as they once cared for us? How do we find a balance between duty to them and staying ...