SANTA BARBARA THEATER REVIEWS

What to expect from JAGGED LITTLE PILL at Center Stage...

The names of the divas—Garland, Piaf, Cline, Holiday, Callas—sparkle like the dangling lights on Solvang’s Theaterfest stage. But PCPA’s production of “Songs for Nobodies” gives equal voice and light to the stories of its titular “nobodies.” The constellation of all these characters ...

Many years ago, a TV commercial imagined how Reese’s peanut butter cups were invented. A handsome man with peanut butter crashes into a beautiful woman with chocolate:  ...

With a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning, “Holmes and Watson” begins. The new PCPA production on Solvang’s outdoor stage offers twisty delights to hardcore Sherlock fans and regular theater goers alike. ...

What did our critic think of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at PCPA: Marian Theater?...

What did our critic think of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at PCPA: Marian Theater?...

The Play That Goes Wrong is a side-splittingly funny production not to be missed. The laughs begin as you enter the theater and last to the final bows. It’s a play that goes wrong by design, of course, and then goes more wrong in service of our amusement as the Cornley Drama Society puts on the mu...

Little Shop of Horrors director/choreographer Keenan Hooks blends camp sensibilities with emotional honesty in his staging of this musical. The theatricality of the puppeteering in this send-up of B-horror flicks like “The Day of the Triffids” or “It Came from Outer Space” and 1960s pop tune...

What did our critic think of THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT at Rubicon Theatre Company?...

What did our critic think of THE THANKSGIVING PLAY at ETC?...

'Nunsense,' now playing at SLO Rep, delivers an evening of heavenly harmonies and gentle comedy to tempt even novice theater-goers. ...

What did our critic think of EMMA at Marian Theater? A confectionary morsel of Regency romance!...

What did our critic think of CINDERELLA at PCPA's Marian Theater?...

A fun, sweet, and multi-layered presentation of this favorite of Stephen Sondheim's musicals. PCPA ventured 'Into the Woods' on Saturday night to open its run of Stephen Sondheim's musical. There's fun to be found in following well-known fairy tale characters such as Little Red Riding Hood (Ekatrina...

There's a lot to like about Ensemble's production of American Son, Christopher Demos-Brown's play about race and privilege in American society. The play feels timely and pertinent, broaching topics that bear weight on the minds of today's human in America: namely those born from the insistent racism...

'The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley' is Jane Austin fanfiction that allows her popular characters life after the end of the novel. By Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, The Wickhams is harmless entertainment that transports the audience back to England of the early 1800s....

The Secret Garden, PCPA's enchanting holiday musical, will delight the whole family with its hopeful, heartfelt story of love, loss, and regeneration....

UCSB students get a physical workout in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, a series of 35 2-minute plays performed in random order based on audience suggestion. It's controlled chaos that ultimately pans out into a sequence of really interesting vignettes that cover the gamut of emotions, offer...

Ripcord is fun piece to launch SBCC’s 75th season, one with a sense of humor that takes a smart look at relatable interpersonal issues....

Ensemble Theatre Company re-opens the doors at the New Vic with the production of 'Tenderly, The Rosemary Clooney Musical.' This play is a concert experience with a live band that weaves songs from Ms. Clooney’s heyday into a birth-to-death narrative of her life....

Don Pasquale, directed by Josh Shaw, is a comic opera that pits the vivacious young Norina (Jana McIntyre) and her lover, Ernesto (Matthew Grills), against Ernesto's blustering, elderly uncle, Don Pasquale (Andrew Potter)....

On Saturday evening, April 10, 2021, Opera Santa Barbara presented Gaetano Donizetti’s comedy Don Pasquale, the season opener for the Concerts in Your Car series at California’s Ventura County Fairgrounds. Following the State’s guidelines, attendees were able to enjoy a live stage performance ...

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, it's time to get your date night plans in order. BroadwayWorld is ready to help with our top recommendations for a theatre night out on the town. It doesn't matter if you're looking to impress your sweetie, meet up with friends, or escape the daily grind...

Director Brian McDonald does a nice job of keeping the actors rotating around the multiple microphones on stage (or having them add and remove costuming items) to distinguish between multiple characters. The staging is dynamic and the sight gags are clever, and the actors give pleasant and efficient...

...