Put a Little Drama in your Life
KPBS AIRDATE: APRIL 7, 2000 It's big. It's bloody. It's operatic. No frothy little musical diversion, "Sweeney Todd" is a grotesquely comic combination of nightmarish folktale, "penny dreadful" and socio-political commentary. The legend of Sweeney Todd has been part of English lore and theater for two centuries. Known as "the demon barber of Fleet Street," Sweeney was Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: MARCH 31, 2000 It's a play within a play within a play within a play within a play…. a dizzying theatrical journey with so many switchbacks and hairpin turns that after awhile, you don't really care where it's going; you just want it to be over. Form triumphs over substance in Steven Dietz's "Private Eyes," a self-congratulatory Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: MARCH 24, 2000 There are angels among us. But we all know that; just check out any novelty, card or collectible store. But no angels are as intelligent, provocative, or seductive as those created by Tony Kushner in his brilliant meditation on the state of the country at the end of the millennium, "Angels in America." Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: MARCH 17, 2000 For many San Diegans, '"Rent" was overdue. Now, it's payback time. The blockbuster musical was a major sellout at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1997, riding on the crest of its wins of the Obie, Tony and Pulitzer Prizes, heralded as the best musical in decades. Now, you can settle the score (and hear it, Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: MARCH 10, 2000 Life was so much simpler 50 years ago. We were wide-eyed and innocent… and so was the theater. Now, two middle-aged classics have returned to San Diego stages, and though they may have a few wrinkles, they're not totally over the hill. You might say the hills are alive in "The Sound of Music," and the laughs Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: MARCH 3, 2000 Feminism strikes back… in two plays that will make you squirm…one with discomfort, one with an uncontrollable desire to bolt from the theater. Kelly Stuart's "Furious Blood" may make you angry at the patronizing, paternalistic ways of the world that haven't changed since the time of the ancient Greeks. But Wendy Wasserstein's "An American Daughter" will make you angry you 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