ErinMarie Reiter

Think of it not as a “Best of” but as a Yearbook of some of the San Diego shows that lingered with me long beyond closing in 2025

Interview with 5-time Grinch, Andrew Polec, about slipping back into Grinch-mode, backstage Whoville traditions, audience antics, and the fan mail (and fan art)!

Cygnet Theatre’s “A Magical Holiday: Christmas at The Joan” is precisely what its title promises: a bright, polished, joy-forward holiday revue that knows its job is to lift spirits, sparkle confidently, and send you back into December humming. 

New Village Arts’ production of 'Rent' understands the heart of the piece, even if some of the sharpest edges are softened.

Interview with Erica Marie Weisz about her new one-woman show “Mistletoe Melodies with Erica Marie!” is a brand-new, stripped-down holiday gem—just Erica, a piano, and a sleigh-full of warmth.

Interview with USA Today bestselling author, voice-over artist, actor, and self-identified world-hopper, Kiri Callaghan, on her new book 'The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder.'

Warm, honest, and grounded in powerful acting,  ”Beauty’s Daughter” closed OnWord’s first season with real purpose and promise.

Backyard Renaissance delivers an exquisite reminder: we do not choose when the people we adore begin to fade, but we do get to decide how fiercely we hold them while they do.

“To My Girls” has an excellent cast and direction, and what begins as a sun-drenched escape quickly turns into a messy, deeply funny excavation of chosen family, generational baggage, and the versions of ourselves we perform for the people who know us best.

'Master Class,' running through December 14 in a co-production between The Roustabouts Theatre Company and Scripps Ranch Theatre, revisits Maria Callas in the final chapter of her performing life; when her voice had faded, yet her fervor for her art had not.

Based on the beloved 1988 film but modernized around the edges, “Working Girl” at the La Jolla Playhouse has big expectations and even bigger hair, but never quite hits the mark.

An Interview with Berto Fernández and Giovanny Diaz de Leon, who bring Old Max and Young Max to life ¡Cómo el Grinch robó la Navidad!' a world premiere Spanish language concert adaptation, “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” at The Old Globe.

“The Strangers” is the kind of production that invites discussion; some will love its chaos, others may resist it, but Chalk Circle Collective handles its complexity with ambition and clarity.

Interview with Alex Stompoly from 'Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern' as it makes its West Coast debut at Broadway San Diego, November 18- 23, 2025.

The concert version of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s bittersweet musical at San Diego State University offered a sharp, soulful rewind through friendship, ambition, and the cost of success.

“Arms and the Man”, the classic George Bernard Shaw play, is currently skewering the romantic ideals of going to battle or falling in love with wit at Lamb’s Players Theatre through November 16th.  Under the sharp and playful direction of Deborah Gilmour Smyth, it turns 19th-century notions of heroism and passion delightfully upside down. It’s brisk, bright, very funny, and may have you craving something chocolate before it’s over.

The 1887 Queen Anne Victorian mansion is equal parts Gothic whimsy and jewel-box museum, which sets the perfect stage for“Poe & More Poe”, Write Out Loud’s annual immersion into the master of the macabre.

“& JULIET,” the pop-fueled musical now shaking up Broadway, San Diego is a jukebox joyride for anyone raised on TRL, Glee, and pure glittery empowerment.

Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” is a riotous blend of sibling rivalry, absurdist farce, and Chekhovian melancholy.  A laugh-out-loud farce with real heart, Director Anthony Methvin finds balance in the absurdity while still landing the emotional punches.

If you’re in the mood for a gloriously over-the-top musical with powerhouse vocals, capes, and chaos, then this “Jekyll & Hyde” at SDMT is your moment.