Put a Little Drama in your Life
KPBS AIRDATE: April 14, 2006 Insider talk can sometimes feel exclusionary. If you’re not a member of ‘the club,’ all the in-jokes and jargon can leave you baffled and bewildered. But when insider theater is done well, it makes you feel right at home. And if you’re attentive, you can learn a lot. Right now, on local stages, don’t be afraid to dive right Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: December 08, 2006 Ahhh… the classics. When heroes were admirable men with values and principles…. played by admirable actors like Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. No trace of irony, sarcasm or cynicism. Just good stories and raw emotion. Well, those days are back, on San Diego stages. Ion Theatre is presenting a searing version of “The Grapes of Wrath” and Cygnet Theatre has lovingly re-created “It’s Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: July 1, 1991 When was the last time you saw "Hamlet"? Whatever details you may or may not recall, surely you remember that laughter was not your primary response to the melancholy Dane. But guffaws greet the nattering Norwegian, "Fortinbras," the hero of Lee Blessing's new play, a comic sequel to "Hamlet" currently having its world premiere at the Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: March 11, 1992 There's this doctor, see? And he writes plays. Comedies, he says. But the guy who keeps directing them thinks they're tragedies. He's given to melodrama, histrionics and excessive sound effects. It's enough to drive a playwright to .... Yalta . Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: November 4, 1992 This is as Wilde as it gets -- Oscar Wilde, that is. "The Importance of Being Earnest" has been hailed as a comic masterpiece, a brilliant slice of satire on the upper classes, who richly deserve all the skewering they get -- both today, and in 1895 when the play was written. Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: June 27, 1993 Sometimes, when they make a musical out of another piece of literature, it really sings. The new format expands and enhances the original, gives it new breath and life. "My Fair Lady" springs to mind; the world is richer for Lerner and Loewe's adaptation of Shaw's "Pygmalion." How about what "Guys and 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