Put a Little Drama in your Life
By Pat Launer 7/08/03 You get geared up for certain plays And so frustrated by delays… That's the scoop, by gum, by heck, With "Hedwig" and "The Burning Deck." But you can get Blitzed, have no fear: The Fritz is back, and Caesar's here. …which Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: July 04, 2003 Timing is everything, onstage or off. So, there's no better moment to celebrate our Independence than to revisit the signing of its Declaration, by seeing the patriotic musical, "1776." This isn't the way Miss Bigbottom taught it to you in junior high. She never told you that Ben Franklin was a dirty old man. Or that John Adams was Read More →
By Pat Launer 7/2/03 You're always judged by the "Company" you keep, By how fast you laugh, how hard you weep, How you dance, how you sing, how you get your "Kicks," How you'd vote now (or in "1776"). How you lose your head, how you keep your wits, How you Read More →
By Pat Launer 6/24/03 A theatrical week of uncommon behavior: A Caribbean 'Tempest,' a Southern savior; A knee-slapping, knuckle-snapping drama-queen nun, A kick-line kicking off summer theater fun; A PR singer and penile sages; Expect the unexpected on San Diego stages. As if Shakespeare hadn't taken enough Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: June 20, 2003 Freud would have a field-day. There's more century-spanning, soul-searing angst in two current productions than even the master could manage. The early 20th century perspective on neurosis emerges in "Fraulein Else" with the early 21st century represented in [sic]. Making its international debut at La Jolla Playhouse (in a co-production with Seattle Rep), "Fraulein Else" is the brainchild of Francesca Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: June 13, 2003 It's a banner time for local theater. Of course, we're all still cheering Jack O'Brien's spectacular win of the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical, the delectable, irresistible "Hairspray," which will be coming to San Diego on tour next summer. And the La Jolla Playhouse, in the same week it opened its new season, broke ground on a Read More →
“San Diego is a hotbed of theater. Every year, I see 200-250 productions. This is fertile ground for new work. In addition to the prodigious local talent, theatermakers from around the country come here to premiere their latest creations. San Diego sends more shows to Broadway than nearly any other city in the U.S.”
-Pat Launer