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“THE OLDEST BOY” – San Diego Repertory Theatre

Views:1533

PAT LAUNER, CENTER STAGE ON KSDS-FM RUN DATES: 11/12/15 - 12/6/15 VENUE: San Diego Repertory Theatre How – and when – does a mother let go? Do most people turn to religion only when it’s convenient? What about if you’re not quite sure which religion you’re following? These are among the many questions posed in Sarah Ruhl’s 2014 spiritual drama, “The Oldest Boy.” Mother, a nameless American woman, baptized as Catholic but trying to follow the Buddhist path, is happily Read More →

“THE (CURIOUS CASE OF THE) WATSON INTELLIGENCE” – Moxie Theatre

Views:1761

PAT LAUNER, CENTER STAGE ON KSDS-FM RUN DATES: 11/8/15 - 12/6/15 VENUE: Moxie Theatre Not so elementary, this Watson. Madeleine George’s comic drama, “The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence,” is a complex, overlapping, time-hopping contemplation of relationship and communication: real vs. fictional and human vs. technological. It’s all about control and submission, holding on and letting go; seeking perfection and learning to accept something less. The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2014. George, whose equally thought-provoking Read More →

“INDECENT” – La Jolla Playhouse

Views:1615

PAT LAUNER, CENTER STAGE ON KSDS-FM RUN DATES: 11/13/15 - 12/10/15 VENUE: La Jolla Playhouse Two beautiful young women kiss in a spring rainfall. It’s a stunning scene in the world premiere, “Indecent,” at the La Jolla Playhouse. It was also a provocative moment in a much earlier play, “The God of Vengeance,” that caused such a furor when it opened on Broadway in 1936 that the cast and producer were arrested on obscenity charges. The history of that 1907 Read More →

“END OF THE RAINBOW” – Intrepid Theatre

Views:1171

PAT LAUNER, CENTER STAGE ON KSDS-FM RUN DATES: 11/1/15 - 11/29/15 VENUE: Intrepid Theatre Every drama or tragedy, ancient or modern, has some lesson, message or moral, a payoff for the audience for suffering along with the character. None of that in “End of the Rainbow,” Peter Quilter’s 2005 play chronicling the last months in the life of Judy Garland, who overdosed at age 47. The setting is Christmas 1968, at the Ritz Hotel in central London, and onstage Read More →

“CHAPATTI” – North Coast Repertory Theatre

Views:1411

PAT LAUNER, CENTER STAGE ON KSDS-FM RUN DATES: 10/21/15 - 11/15/15 VENUE: North Coast Repertory Theatre “Chapatti” is an Irish play with an Indian name – and that’s not the only unusual part of it. Galway-based writer Christian O’Reilly presents two senior citizens – both lonely, unhappy and utterly devoted to their pets. He’s got a dog; she has 19 cats. They meet-cute at the veterinarian’s. From the get-go, you know how it will end. Yet O’Reilly inserts several unpredicted Read More →

“OZ, A NEW AMERICAN MUSICAL FAIRYTALE” – Lamb’s Players Theatre

Views:1399

PAT LAUNER, CENTER STAGE ON KSDS-FM RUN DATES: 10/9/15 - 11/22/15 VENUE: Lamb's Players Theatre It takes courage, brains and heart to try to improve on perfection. “The Wizard of Oz” may not be an exact musical representation of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 classic, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” one of 14 of his Oz books, but it’s a beloved film (and stage show) with a fantastic, memorable, singable score -- by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. Now, along Read More →