Miles Anderson does amazing things as Shylock in the Old Globe’s Merchant of Venice, but his most understated choice sets the tone of the play. Bassanio wants to wed Portia, “a lady richly left/ And …
July 3, 2013
Prosperina
The Old Globe stages Shakespeare's merry sport, The Merchant of Venice
Company at Cygnet Theatre
July 17, 2013 · Jeff Smith
It's hard to believe that what we take for granted these days was so revolutionary when Company premiered in 1970. The Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical has no plot, songs don't develop character or further the action, and the piece may …
The Old Globe stages Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Like Hamlet’s father’s ghost, they only exist between the footlights and the proscenium.
July 17, 2013
From the Fringe: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are born, part one
July 24, 2013 · Jeff Smith
San Diego's first annual Fringe Festival, by all accounts, was a hit. We saw all kinds of experimental work rarely done around here, and hope next year continues what should become a longstanding tradition. Anyone needing a testimony to the …
A road trip goes Sideways at La Jolla Playhouse
They’re wedded to avoidance behavior, abetted by gallons of vino fino.
July 31, 2013
Raymond raised Cain
In 1927, Ruth Snyder, a woman in Queens, persuaded her lover, Judd Gray, to kill her husband so they could collect the insurance, which had a double indemnity clause for accidental death. Snyder and Gray …
August 5, 2013
In the Heights by the San Diego Repertory Theatre
The Rep has opened its 38th season with a spectacular production of the Tony Award-winning musical. The evening seems to grow with every song. In fact, after a while when one tough act to follow …
August 6, 2013
The Old Globe stages Cain classic Double Indemnity
They got caught, the lover got the chair, and Cain got a darn good story.
August 7, 2013
The Good, the Bad, and the I-5 at La Jolla Playhouse
What do the following have in common: Alan Arkin, Melinda Dillon, Barbara Harris, Peter Boyle, Joan Rivers? Can’t say? Okay here’s a clue. What do they have in common with John Belushi, Bill Murray, Dan …
August 9, 2013
Familiar story, homegrown feel
During his pre-show remarks, artistic director William Virchis joked with the audience, “If you don’t enjoy it, I’ll call Neil Simon to re-write it.” Actually, Teatro Mascara Magica has taken a major, often-hilarious, liberty with …
September 22, 2014
POETiCAL, Not to be Played on the Radio at Ira Aldridge Repertory
For seven years, Calvin Manson, artistic director of the Ira Aldridge Repertory, interviewed people unused to tape recorders and probing questions: the homeless, the bullied, the racially profiled. To enter their world he disguised himself …
August 12, 2013
Raw and Chad Deity: When chaos demands a cameo
Ion Theatre’s current production, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity spoofs and critiques The WWE’s Monday Night Raw, the TV wrestling show with ratings through the roof. As the playwright points out, the WWE shamelessly …
November 7, 2013
Skinless at Moxie Theatre
“You can’t kill mom. We need the money!” Thirty-five years ago, Johnna Adams’ intellectual-horror drama would have had the same fate in academia as the works of Zinnia Wells do in her play Skinless. Not …
November 11, 2013
The 39 Steps at Lamb's Players; Burn This at Different Stages
Except for two tall, A-frame ladders, two small balconies, and a solitary light bulb, the stage for Lamb’s Players is bare. Even the coal-black rear wall is exposed. Take away the balconies and Michael McKeon’s …
August 21, 2013
Objects in Motion at Lamb’s Players Theatre
Okay. The stage will be bare. We’ll need a leather-like club chair: classy but mobile and able to take a pounding, since it’ll roll on and off often. Also, it must have wide and tall …
August 23, 2013
La Jolla Playhouse presents Detained in the Desert
It’s always a relief when license plates with Saguaro cacti exodus east this time of year. Our roads thin out, like arteries purged of cholesterol. But Teatro Mascara Magica’s staging a play all Zonies should …
September 4, 2013
The Warrior’s Duet: Backstory
One of the hottest shows of the recent San Diego Fringe Festival will have an all-too brief return run this weekend. The two-character story, by Charlene Baldridge, and the staging by Circle Circle dot dot’s …
September 5, 2013
Geyser murders, part 3
There was enough evidence to hang Indian Jose Gabriel for the killings of the Geyser family on Otay Mesa in 1892…at least by mob standards.
November 13, 2013
Marry Me a Little at Diversionary: a P(review)
A composer hands a chorus line dancer a box full of musical scores – most of them rejects – and says, “do what you can.” The songs have something to do with love: longing for, …
September 9, 2013
Man With a Load of Mischief at North Coast Rep.
One of the most frustrating parts of my job is watching a top notch cast, backed by a polished trio of musicians, performing on an inventive set – and the material doesn’t come near their …
September 13, 2013