A strong cast and steady direction bring Shaw's witty meditation on war and love to life.
Josh BaxtTheaterSan Diego,
Love and war have so much in common: passion, struggle, the subtle distinctions between victor and vanquished, even how seriously we take both subjects. In the classic comedy “Arms and the Man,” George Bernard Shaw skewers it all and even ...
The formulaic comic genre gets an uproarious twist with a kilt-wearing Scottish hit man.
Lynne FriedmannTheaterSan Diego,
To the pantheon of iconic stage characters — Hamlet, Willy Loman, Blanche DuBois — I nominate Todd, the Scottish hit man who will slay you in more ways than one in “Unnecessary Farce,” on stage at the North Coast Repertory ...
Broadway vet David Turner assumes the role Michael Urie created and succeeds in creating a frenetic fan boy of La Streisand.
Josh BaxtTheaterSan Diego,
What is it about stuff? We buy it, we love it, the novelty wears off and we buy more. We get a distinct, if fleeting, dopamine rush, but it doesn’t cure what ails us. This quest for material possessions is ...
This enchanting production brings all the magic of the Chinese fable to the stage.
Lynne FriedmannTheaterSan Diego,
Combine an ancient Chinese fable with a MacArthur “genius” director and the result is an enchanting, eye-popping night of theater that seamlessly combines text with compelling performances, sumptuous costumes, live music, a touch of whimsy, and production values the likes ...
Flashback to the 1970s and Neil Simon's still-funny romantic comedy.
Lynne FriedmannTheaterSan Diego,
Two wounded people give love another try in a revival production of Neil Simon’s “Chapter Two” at the North Coast Rep. While the setting and dialog are straight out of the 1970s, surprisingly little feels dated about this touching tale ...
This impressive debut play chronicles the fate of Jewish writers in Stalin's Soviet Union.
Lynne FriedmannTheaterSan Diego,
In an era when every email, tweet, blog and cat video resides for eternity on the Internet, it is hard to fathom any power that could erase every trace of a person’s body of work along with their very existence. ...
This whodunit is more vaudeville tag team with sight gags and slapstick punctuated by music and song.
Lynne FriedmannEtcCA,
“Murder for Two” is a freewheeling, raucous ride not unlike the thrill of a downhill soapbox derby tempered by the sudden realization that your race car really could use a good set of brakes.
A two-person whodunit, there’s murder ...
This musical take-off on 1940s film noir has a toe-tapping score and three nimble actors playing a cast of characters.
Lynne FriedmannTheaterSan Diego,
Welcome to the Red Eye Lounge, where the lights are low, booze bottles near empty and a woman with a past is about to meet a man with no future in the satisfying musical “Gunmetal Blues,” onstage at the North ...
Kudos to the students in this MFA program, who transform a dark tale into a diverting entertainment.
Josh BaxtTheaterSan Diego,
The Globe’s annual MFA production, done in collaboration with the University of San Diego program, is always a fun time, and this year’s production is no exception. “Pericles” is a surreal tale of lost love, rediscovered love, bad luck and ...
An excellent score cannot keep the book and lyrics from sinking this musical in cliché.
Josh BaxtTheaterSan Diego,
Steve Martin once said: “When you’re playing the banjo, everything’s OK.” And that may be what ultimately saves “Bright Star.” Despite some pretty glaring deficiencies, the music is so good you almost don’t care about lyrics, dialogue or plot. This ...
