Put a Little Drama in your Life
KPBS AIRDATE: September 7, 1994 There is an astonishing but somewhat understandable need for theater people to massage the classics. It just isn't enough that a play has lasted a century or two or three. It must be refreshed, refurbished, made relevant. Sometimes, these efforts are successful. A fresh perspective can cast new light on an Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: August 31 1994 > MUSIC... . 'SEE ME, FEEL ME') Tommy is back. And he demands to be seen, felt, touched and experienced. The Who' Tommy," written in 1969 and newly reborn at the La Jolla Playhouse two years ago, has been transported back to the place of its birth. San Diego Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: August 24, 1994 1988 must have been a lean theater year in Chicago. That was when Wendy MacLeod's "Apocalyptic Butterflies" was hailed by the Chicago Tribune as one of the ten best productions of the season. You know, they get squirrelly in those cold climates... Maybe in the waning days of winter, around holiday-time, when you're Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: August 17, 1994 Something familiar. Something peculiar. The first two words of the first song of one of the wackiest musical comedies ever written. It's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and its current production sports plenty both familiar and peculiar. Familiar? It's at Starlight Musical Theatre, for Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: August 10, 1994 At first, I thought it was another clubbing by the PC Police; it seemed to be "politically correct" -- calling the Bertolt Brecht classic "The Good Person of Setzuan" instead of the more common "The Good Woman of Setzuan." But actually, it's probably a better translation of the German, if you know what a mensch is. Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: August 3, 1994 It was an evening of perfect counterparts. Dinner at Wolfgang Puck's in South Coast Plaza and "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. A well-matched pair of the over-rated and overblown. You probably aren't interested in my culinary comments, so I'll stick 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