BWW Review: IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER Explores Community, Ritual, and Remembrance
'In the Red and Brown Water' functions on several levels to allow the audience to be emotionally involved in the saga of Oya's search for meaning.
Santa Barbara Theater Reviews
The latest reviews and critic recommendations from Santa Barbara.
BWW Review: PETER AND THE STARCATCHER Reinforces Belief in Magic
'Peter and the Starcatcher' is a fun, well-executed production that shows the joys and trials of the hero's journey inevitable to us all: growing up.
BWW Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and the Importance of Purposeful Triviality
Wilde's play about the triviality of Victorian culture has been produced everywhere, by everyone.
BWW Review: INTIMATE APPAREL Shows a Colorful View of Social Stratification
Both writing and staging of 'Intimate Apparel' illustrate the overlapping layers of class, race, religion, and gender in New York City, 1905.
BWW Review: TALES OF WOO AND WOE, A Graceful, Intelligent interpretation of Shakespeare
Shakespeare's work is a good fit for DramaDogs, a theatre company whose performance style is characterized by precise, representative movement that unites the intellectual, emotional, and physical aspects of their productions.
BWW Review: THE NINA VARIATIONS is 'Theatre for Theatre People'
'The Nina Variations,' while certainly investigative of the various ways people can behave in a relationship, lacked connective tissue.
BWW Review: NIXON'S NIXON - A Humorous and Disturbing Abuse of Power
While Nixon's blustering is made somewhat ridiculous by his impending political impotence, this type of disquieting abuse of power reminds the audience how natural political corruption becomes when those in power are left unchecked.
BWW Reviews: Westmont's NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Westmont's one-act operas are an example of student theatre that takes risks and introduces conversations about the diverse range of possibilities within the sphere of the theatrical arts.
BWW Review: 154 & PARADISE Examines Guilt, Fault, and Consequence
Psychologically sophisticated with entertaining performances, 154 is a puzzle of blame, fault, and consequence.
BWW Review: UNFINISHED BUSINESS is a Reflection on Redemption, Love, and Acceptance
Unfinished Business is a production that aspires to engender love and catharsis by allowing eleventh-hour redemption and understanding between family members.
BWW Review: CAMELOT - The Impossibility of Utopia
Arthur can control men, but he can't control mankind-a natural tendency toward chaos, ambition, and avarice rules humanity beyond his influence.
BWW Review: Christmas in January for Lit Moon's HUMBUG
John Blondell and Lit Moon are frequent perpetuators of the unique reorganization of classic stories; their stylized version of A Christmas Carol, called Humbug, is strident and modern without denying the latent, yet impending gentleness within Scrooge as he realizes his potential to change his life
BWW Review: THE BEST BROTHERS Delivers Style, Comedy, and the Triumph of Catharsis
Ensemble's production of The Best Brothers is entertaining and thought provoking, and maintains a sense of playfulness even in its most moving moments.
BWW Review: UCSB Takes on Eno with MIDDLETOWN
Middletown has undeniable biting humor and an honest eye to the lovely mess we all make of our lives.
BWW Reviews: Under the Northern Lights of ALMOST, MAINE
Almost, Maine presents a simpler, kinder world in which sadness runs deep enough to make an impression, but in which the regret of romance lost or unrequited has the capacity to be mended by the gentle reassembly of a shattered heart.
BWW Reviews: Dos Pueblos Theatre Presents the Wild and Wondrous Circus of ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Sayre's version of Alice in Wonderland takes place in a circus, a setting not so far removed conceptually from Carroll's Wonderland: a place of familiar elements without typical context-not quite reality
BWW Reviews: Nothing Wrong with (or Vital About) THE HEIRESS
When even the director uses the phrase 'old-fashioned' to describe the play, I wonder why a company would choose to produce a show with such a lack of vitality.
BWW Review: Complexity and Extravagance in AMADEUS
Peter Shaffer's Amadeus is a dramatized account of the rivalry between Antonio Salieri, court composer of Vienna, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, musical prodigy and social embarrassment.
BWW Review: BOEING, BOEING Flies it Home for Circle Bar B
'Boeing, Boeing' is an example of the fun that can be had when the aim is entertainment rather than artistic revolution.
BWW Review: DANCE ME TO THE END OF LOVE - Scenes of Beauty and Discovery
DramaDogs's production of Dance Me to the End of Love delivers earnest, emotional realism in concentrated bursts.
BWW Reviews: Lit Moon Successfully Scales the Everest of THE CHERRY ORCHARD
Lit Moon's production is an elegant rendition of The Cherry Orchard, a play that Blondell likened to climbing a directorial mountain.
BWW Reviews: THE TELEPHONE is an Enticing, Operatic Apéritif
Opera Santa Barbara presents The Telephone, a comedic opera in one act for a quick taste of Gian Carlo Menotti's lighter, more humorous work.
BWW Review: ENCHANTED APRIL is Enchanting in July
To those who enjoy wisteria and sunshine, Enchanted April at the Circle Bar B ranch is a welcome reprieve from cynicism; a bucolic, unpretentious theatrical experience.
BWW Review: ORLANDO - Go Where It Takes You
Recognizable, real-world constructs are present in Orlando, but the ties to reality are ambiguous and abandoned without hesitation.
BWW Review: FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS Shows the Evolving Female Role in Society
In some aspects of American culture, weddings are considered amongst the most stressful episodes a person can endure.
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Ojai Playwrights Conference New Works Festival Ojai Playwrights Conference (7/30-8/02) |
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Johnny Tsunami and The Hurricanes at Santa Rosa, CA The California Theatre of Santa Rosa (7/12-7/12) |
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Gutenberg! The Musical! San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (10/09-11/08) |
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SIX (Boleyn Tour) Christopher Cohan Center (5/18-5/19) |
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Alice in Wonderland by International Ballet Stars in Santa Barbara, CA! The Granada Theatre (4/22-4/22) |
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The Father: A Tragic Farce The Father: A Tragic Farce (8/28-9/13) |
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Ragtime Rubicon Theatre Company (10/21-11/08) |
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Jack Johnson Santa Barbara Bowl (10/03-10/03) |
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John & Jen Rubicon Theatre Company (2/10-2/28) |
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Murder For Two Rubicon Theatre Company (5/12-5/30) |