Put a Little Drama in your Life
KPBS AIRDATE: MAY 12, 2000 Everybody loves a little company…but too much company can wear you down. And so it is with the Stephen Sondheim musical. The groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning "Company" was one of the first concept musicals, a show that revolves around a theme, not a plot, and in this case, one that it circles back on itself innumerable times. If you like happy endings, Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: DECEMBER 1, 2000 It was one of those remarkable moments that only happens in live theater. On opening night of "The Scarlet Pimpernel," 20 minutes into the show, the stage was suddenly bare and the suspension of disbelief was shattered by a voice-of-God booming over the Civic Theatre P.A. system. There would be a delay, we were told, because of "a little accident backstage." The houselights Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: JULY 6, 2001 The movie achieved cult status, and so did the TV show. But I don't think the play will ever join those ranks. "M*A*S*H" lives on in the hearts and minds of many, and if you're missing it (though the 11-year series will probably be in reruns forever), you can catch a 30 year-old, watered-down version of the original book by Dr. Richard Hornberger Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: April 19, 2002 "I am a man's creation; I am the woman every man wants." The quote comes from one play, but it applies to two. In either case, the character speaking would be… a man. In Caryl Churchill's acclaimed 1979 "Cloud Nine" and Jeffrey Hatcher's world premiere "Compleat Female Stage Beauty," it is men who define what it means to be a woman. But then, Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: November 29, 2002 Splashes of light transform the painted backdrop from desert sand to cloudy sky. The only prop is a suspended swing. This is story-telling the way it began: one person, many voices and characters. Pamela Gien is a modern-day griot, a folk historian. She has the stage all to herself, but she crowds it with a cast of 24 colorful Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: July 25, 2003 Sometimes you just have to step out of the box. See something you wouldn't normally try. Take the Fritz Blitz. The 10th annual event features new work by California playwrights. This year's fest is the best in recent memory, and this is the last weekend to catch it… with a full evening's R-rated parody called "Porn Yesterday," by Patricia Milton 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