San Diego Theater Reviews
Artistic Director Barry Edelstein’s welcome letter for the Globe For All’s production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale explains that “The Old Globe’s goal is to make theater matter to more people. We want this play, …
This is a classic tale of boy-meets-girl, boy-marries-girl, boy-cheats-on-and-divorces-girl. Not exactly the best fodder for a musical billed as a love story. So, it might help to bring in a little Aristotle here. In his …
This is a family drama that takes place in one room over the course of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The family — dad, mom, and 11-year-old son — are Iraqi immigrants living in Queens. …
The title, Foxfire, refers to a project started in 1966 by an English teacher in Appalachia who encouraged his students to hone their writing skills by documenting their family histories and Appalachian lore. They christened …
This tragedy starts out looking like a big party. Fair enough. Many big parties end in tragedy. It’s a great party until somebody dies. That’s what I guess director Barry Edelstein is going for with …
One of the most charming scenes in this tri-lingual, one-man show comes when Picasso takes the audience on a tour of his cluttered studio, explaining his dumpster-dive art: his late dog crafted out of a …
“The world is dark, and light is precious,” writes Kate DiCamillo in her novel The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread. Where are …
During this production, Aleque Reid (as Lissette) jumps agilely back and forth along the timeline of her debilitating illness. In one scene, she is a vigorously physical, dynamic, healthy woman; in the next, she is …
As You Like It is perhaps the Bard’s most delightful play and a perennial crowd pleaser. Cousins and best friends Rosalind and Celia are caught in the middle of a feud between their fathers. They …
It defies imagination that two hours listening to two people talking about arms negotiations could be watchable, let alone highly engaging. But playwright Lee Blessing has a keen insight into human nature and a benevolence …
This odd mash-up of Jane Austen, eighties dance numbers, and broad farce works. The script adheres closely to the book’s plot and uses a lot of Austen’s language — a smart choice by playwright Kate …
This should have been a good story. Writer Lynn Nottage went to Reading, Pennsylvania — one of the poorest cities in the country — to talk to people about the effects of de-industrialization on the …
It’s 1944. The war is on. What to do when the American cowboy band doesn’t show up for a live, highly-hyped variety show on BBC radio? You rustle up some stand-ins. But pickins are slim …
Editor: This week marks Jeff Smith’s last as the Reader’s theater critic. Smith is the longest-standing writer at the paper, having started in 1980. Before joining us, he got his Ph.D. in literature and critical …
Did the angel Gabriel flutter down from heaven to save Guernsey islanders from German occupation in 1943? Or did another Gabriel wash ashore, naked, from a shipwreck? He doesn’t know. He has amnesia, and Gabriel …
She’s a published author, working on another novel. She writes at home, cleaning up crayons and de-capping a beer before confronting the computer screen. Phone rings. It’s Steve Almond, editor of The Rumpus. He's resigned …