SAN DIEGO THEATER REVIEWS

A worse-for-wear Dr. John walked slowly to the piano with the help of two canes. He was no quicker while leaving the stage at the end of the set. But for over an hour in between, he and his sextet kept up an infectious funky beat, and his voice and piano playing erased half a century of his 76 years...

“Mozart in a party mood,” conductor Michael Francis announced as he introduced the composer's Contra Dances to begin the concert. And the same party mood prevailed throughout much of the evening. The first and third movements of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.1 owe a lot to the most spirited of M...

William Preucil has been the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra's concertmaster since its first performance in 1989. He's also the concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, so you might guess he and his Festival Orchestra cohorts are an impressive collection of musicians. You'd be more right than you ...

The improvement during Jahja Ling's 13-year tenure as conductor and music director has been extraordinary. Friday's performance of the last program before his retirement confirmed that with an exclamation point. In a 2016 interview by Beth Wood, Ling said this about his 2017 concerts, 'I chose piece...

Dogs and cats reign supreme  - and, in fact, are the catalyst for all of the action  - in Christian O'Reilly's warm and intelligent comedy CHAPATTI, the final production in Dezart Performs rather remarkable ninth season in Palm Springs. Dezart Performs, a long time 'best kept secret' in Coachella ...

'Picasso at the Lapin Agile' follows a fictional meetnig between two of the greatest minds of the 20th centurey- Pabloe Picasso and Albert Einstein. From the mind of Steve Martin, this show is playing at the Old Globe through March 12th....

Everyone deserves to see a great production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC in their lifetime. For those who attended the Jack O'Brien production last night at The McCallum, who have never seen one before, they are still waiting. It is a gorgeous, lavish production. The sets and costumes are beyond incredible...

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing two things last night that I had never seen before. A production of Harvey Fierstein's CASA VALENTINA and a sold out, standing room only crowd at The Pearl McManus Theatre. Brava to Dezart Performs on both counts!! CASA VALENTINA is the premiere performance of...

To kick-off its 9th season, DEZART PERFORMS will present Casa Valentina, a thoroughly entertaining Tony Award-nominated "dramedy" written by Harvey Fierstein, the multiple Tony Award-winning actor/playwright and American Theatre Hall of Famer. Fierstein's raucous dramedy, CASA VALENTINA, is a hugely...

MANIFEST DESTINITIS is playing at the San Diego repertory Theatre through October 9th...

The new musical OCTOBER SKY at The Old Globe is inspired by the Universal Pictures film and the book Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. is running through Oct. 23, 2016 at The Old Globe...

THE LION KING comes to the San Diego Civic Theatre through October 2nd....

LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST is a lush and lively romp at The Old Globe, playing through Spetmebr 18th....

CABARET comes to the San Diego Civic Theatre through August 28th, 2016. Come join the Cabaret whileit is still here!...

Cygnet Theatre brings GYPSY to stage through September 4th....

CABARET's Tony Award-winning 1998 Broadway revival co-directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, still stands, arguably, as the show's definitive stage iteration. That same vibrant Roundabout Theatre Company production rightly serves as the basis for the newer 2014 revival that is now in the midst of ...

SENSE AND SENSABILITY brings the charming wit or Asutin to The Old Globe stage thorugh August 14th....

Frozen fans will be ecstatic with the way Disney has re-imagined its much-loved blockbuster film for the stage, now that the doors to FROZEN - LIVE AT THE HYPERION are open on the Hollywood backlot of Disney California Adventure. And with its stunning state-of-the-art visual technology and heart-ope...

The Coachella Valley is quickly becoming a mecca for exceptional theatre. And Dezart Performs' THE OUTGOING TIDE is no exception. Under Michael Shaw's skilled and measured direction the three actors bring tremendous honesty and poignancy to dialogue that could have easily waded into "made for televi...

AGNES OF GOD is challenging theatre at every level. It demands a lot of its audience. It demands its audience be engaged and active at every turn. It is both emotionally and intellectually stimulating and provocative. It is ninety-plus minutes of thought provoking dialogue with minimal action. One m...

You cannot beat the Old Globe Theatre for its audacity in mounting the challenging musical Rain, based on a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. Rain was made into three separate films, a silent in 1928 starring Gloria Swanson, and then in 1932 starring Joan Crawford as Miss Sadie Thompson, and fi...

One of San Diego Opera's most cherished stage luminaries...

RAGTIME at San Diego Musical Theatre brings a revival of a poignant time in US History to life at the Spreckels Theatre through February 21st....

The National Tour of PIPPIN is, hands down, the finest touring production to land at The McCallum Theatre during my tenure in the desert cities. Passionate. Polished. Near Perfection! It is a glorious spectacle of sight, sound and immaculate storytelling that, despite its mesmerizing visual feast of...

The holidays aren't over at Rockwell (nor should they be!) and you have two more chances to catch their current great parody show of the '90s Christmas classic Home Alone. Previous parodies included Scream and Cruel Intentions which brought a flurry of nostalgia for those who grew up in the '90s, bu...