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“LOVE’S LABORS LOST” at The Old Globe

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Aired on KSDS-FM on 9/2/16 RUN DATES: 7/14/16 - 9/18/16 VENUE: The Old Globe “Words, words, words,” as Hamlet would say. But “Love’s Labor’s Lost” came earlier, and it’s punch-drunk on language. Every character is besotted with his or her own wit, affinity or verbosity. Shakespeare was sending up the writing styles of his time. It makes for a clever linguistic exercise. On the outdoor Festival Stage, The Old Globe has mounted a splendid production, gorgeously designed to resemble Read More →

“CHESS” at the Barn Stage Company in Temecula

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Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 9/10/16 RUN DATES: 9/1/16 - 9/4/16 VENUE: Barn Stage Company at the Old Town Temecula Community Theatre I’d heard about the Barn Stage Company, and I knew its artistic director, J. Scott Lapp. For a year or more, I’d been invited to come up and check out what they were doing. Finally, last weekend, the time was right. I went to see the concert version of “Chess.” And I was blown away. This was a Read More →

“GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!” at Backyard Renaissance

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Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 8/26/16 RUN DATES: 8/4/16 - 9/4/16 VENUE: Backyard Renaissance at Diversionary Theatre If we can have a blockbuster musical about Alexander Hamilton – or Sweeney Todd, for that matter – why not about Johannes Gutenberg? Because, back in the ‘90s, Anthony King and Scott Brown, the creators of “Gutenberg! The Musical!” thought it was “the most intentionally terrible subject” they could conjure for a musical. Not only because it’s about the invention of the printing Read More →

“AIRLINE HIGHWAY” at ion theatre

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Aired on KSDS-FM on 8/19/16 RUN DATES: 8/10/16 - 9/3/16 VENUE: ion theatre (at The 10th Avenue Theatre) “You gotta just soak it all in,” the hooker says to the visiting 16 year-old. That’s good advice for the audience, too. “Airline Highway,” by Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa D’Amour, is an intense experience. The 2014 drama is set in the parking lot of the decaying Hummingbird Motel, on the straight-arrow road outside the never-ending bacchanal that is New Orleans. We spend Read More →

“GYPSY” at Cygnet Theatre

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Aired on KSDS-FM on 8/26/16 RUN DATES: 7/14/16 - 9/4/16 VENUE: Cygnet Theatre There are stage mothers and Tiger Moms, helicopter mommies and non-maternalistic narcissists. And then there’s Mama Rose, who out-smothers ‘em all. “Gypsy” is a brilliant musical, with a legendary creative team: book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It nominally tells of the evolution and rise of world-renowned ecdysiast (that’s a highfalutin’ term for stripper, as she informs us) Gypsy Rose Read More →

“GYPSY” Revisited at Cygnet Theatre

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Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 8/29/16 RUN DATES: 7/14/16 - 9/4/16 VENUE: Cygnet Theatre Opening nights are a double-edged sword. Critics are invited, and their early reviews help to spread the word about new productions. But the flip side of that free advertising (“ink is ink,” whether positive or negative) is the fact that shows are rarely 100% ready at the opening. Even after an intense rehearsal period, every show – and its cast – needs some time to Read More →