Twelfth Night or What You Will

The selection of Frozen as the summer musical served multiple masters. Thematically, it fit within Encore’s 2025-2026 season’s theme of “Finding Yourself,” as the story of Queen Elsa discovering how to better control her powers also serves as a metaphor for self-love, self-acceptance, and self-esteem. Frozen also, let’s be honest, has always been a crowd-pleaser. It has a near universal appeal for various attendees who’d be interested in seeing a production at Dr. Phillips Center. Musical Theatre Acolytes. Disney Adults. Families looking for kid-friendly entertainment.

It is a rare feat when a production can strip away the distance of history and force an audience to hold its collective breath, yet Drew Anthony Creative’s return season of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at the Heath Ledger Theatre does precisely that. Anchored by Chloë-Jean Vincent’s extraordinary performance, the production masterfully balances the dread of the Holocaust with a beautiful celebration of what it is to be human.

What did our critic think of MALTA FESTIVAL at Poznań?

John Wuchte and his Kick Boom Theater ensemble of five actors and two onstage musicians (Wuchte on percussion and Sarah Green on guitar) continue their exploration of live percussion scoring the actors’ movement, gestures and stylized dialogue during Anatomy of a Back at the Electric Lodge in Venice during the Daredevil Arts Festival, taking musical theater and dance to an exciting new level.

What did our critic think of B*TCH EAT DOG at District Fringe?

Musical Theatre West's brand new presentation of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT marks the fifth time the 74-season-old institution is revisiting this ubiquitous musical, this time starring hunky Broadway alum and America's Got Talent standout Brian Justin Crum. For all intents and purposes, their result is certainly a genuinely entertaining one, propelled mostly by its musically-gifted lead performers, but also its entire ensemble, all of whom act, sing, and move as if they're all having a sassy, gay ol' time. But their smile-inducing antics do require some leeway.

SARAH URIARTE BERRY sparkles. You can't take your eyes off her.

In 'Dances to American Music' at the Joyce Theatre, Morris pays tribute to regional American music.

What did our critic think of APPEARING THIS EVENING at Ottawa Little Theatre?

What happens when a musical you’ve seen time and time again suddenly feels brand new?

Choreographer Richard J. Hinds is thrilling Muny audiences with his unique take on the dance sequences in Disney’s Newsies. Hinds' choreography is exciting and dynamic dance that builds to a rousing crescendo. He uses traditional barrel jumps, fouetté turns, leaps, tap, and tumbling, accented with modern dance and hip hop moves that increase in intensity until reaching a thrilling climax in the finale. It’s masterful terpsichorean storytelling that enhances Denis Jones directorial vision to build tension and give the audience a real emotional payoff. Jones and Hinds collaboration make this not just a good production of Disney’s Newsies, but a great production of Newsies.

You will leave with many questions about how we deal with our past and how we can move forward socially while personally constrained.

Paramount has posted a best-moments compilation from Season 3 of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, gathering standout scenes from the Enterprise crew across the season now streaming on Paramount+.

Will Ganss covered the cultural ripple effect of Christopher Nolan's THE ODYSSEY film during GMA Pop News, noting the movie is inspiring viewers to read Homer's ancient Greek epic.

MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy gallops into Atlanta’s Fox Theatre July 21st–26th. I caught up with Delaney Benson to talk about life on the road, and the family legacy that helped shape her own theatrical journey.

What better way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday than to see the musical, 1776?  Running through August 1st, this show spotlights the main obstacles and issues leading to America’s independence.  Perhaps the biggest lesson that the audience will come away with is that political bickering, backstabbing, and controversy is nothing new.  It’s naturally embedded in our national DNA.

Las Vegas lounge diva Trudy Carmichael made her NYC cabaret debut with the premiere of her explosive musical tell-all. Catch the final performance of TRUDY CARMICHAEL: JUST WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? at 4 pm on Sunday July 19.

Thanks to a serious discussion wrought by the end, the play avoids being a mere entertainment. The characters are not merely competing, ruthlessly but wittily too, for whatever prizes journalism may have to offer, but are visibly debasing their souls to win those prizes, and with their souls, part of what made the American soul. It may be entertaining to watch, but it’s uncomfortable entertainment, more jeremiad than amusement.

Refugee Rhapsody, by Yussef El Guindi, is kind of funny. You may consider that an odd trait for a play about violence, racism, immigration and the dangerous effects of celebrity culture, but it happens to be true. In our media environment we are frequently confronted by enormities that leave us very undecided about how to react, and in such an environment, Refugee Rhapsody, about several different kinds of enormities, just slides in and makes its sardonic wit at home.

Staged by the MA Classical and Contemporary Text students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Marc Silberschatz’s adaptation of The Tragedie of Macbeth is certainly ambitious. The cast is clearly brimming with talent and commitment, packing the production with conceptual promise... even if it occasionally gets overwhelmed by its high energy.

The day opens with a ghost romance backstage at a Taiwanese opera at 2:30 PM, then Gianna Jun's star-making MY SASSY GIRL in 4K at 6:15 PM, Herman Yau's award-winning WE'RE NOTHING AT ALL at 8:45 PM, and ICHI THE KILLER at 9:15 PM.

Morgan Wallen announced the upcoming release of new song 'Been By Now,' which received its live debut at a sold-out M&T Bank Stadium show in Baltimore. Five dates remain on his Still The Problem Tour.

An evening in Prescott Park fits perfectly like the glass slipper in 'Cinderella.'

What did our critic, Peter Nason, think of Jobsite Theater's Rocking Production of GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT?

Theatre Nohgaku, co-produced with Theatre of Yugen and Kunoichi Productions, will present the world premiere of IN A MEMORY PALACE at Z Space in San Francisco, weaving live music, masked performance, and video to explore themes of displacement and memory.