A COMEDY THAT GOES BUST A clever premise about Southern traditions and family prejudices gets stonewalled by performances that try too hard for laughs Stonewall’s Bust at The Writer’s Ce…
WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A WAY OUT A son gets the boot, his parents get their kicks, and the audience gets a riot In keeping with the expectation at Trap Door Theatre, when one walk…
A GHOST OF A CHANCE TO KEEP YOUR COOL An inventive binaural ghost story gets under your skin—and into your ears—with unsettling intimacy Written and directed by Jamie Armitage in collabo…
FRIDA’S ART COMES TO LIFE Vanessa Severo transforms clothing, movement, and memory into an inventive and deeply affecting portrait of Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits reveal a wo…
A THIRD TIME IS TOO MUCH FOR THIS DON A superb cast cannot disguise the problems in Robert Falls’ revival of Mozart’s opera, whose treatment of sexual violence feels increasingly dated T…
THE ART OF CREATION, THE PAIN OF LONGING Mfoniso Udofia’s inventive new play finds extraordinary theatrical expression in a woman’s struggle with motherhood, grief, and self-forgiveness …
A BLOODY HILARIOUS DRACULA A stellar cast vamps it up and camps it up to breathe life into a horror classic about the undead Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen…
LITTLE WOMEN, GRAND AMBITIONS Literature, ballet, and Los Angeles history come together in an enchanting visit to the world of the March sisters With the publication of Little Women, Louisa …
A FAMILY AFFAIR, WITH LOVE AND RESERVATIONS Ryan J. Haddad’s affectionate tribute to his uncle celebrates the power of theater, though its homespun approach limits its emotional impact Goo…
THE TRUTH HURTS— AND SILENCE KILLS Shattered Globe Theatre’s gripping political thriller confronts the cost of telling the truth in a world determined to suppress it Can you imagine a co…
A CENTURY OF MUSIC, AND ALL THAT JAZZ From ragtime to rock, a talented ensemble celebrates 100 years of American music with inventive arrangements, dazzling dancing, and a few welcome surpri…
A KISS, A SIGH, BUT WHERE’S THE DANCE? Christopher Wheeldon’s Oscar Wilde ballet offers a moving story and striking imagery, but too little of the athletic movement that makes ballet thr…
BLOWN AWAY Jon Fosse’s haunting meditation on life, companionship, and depression becomes an extraordinary theatrical experience in the hands of two remarkable actors In a misty space, two…
A STREETCAR NAMED BRANDO Johnny Galecki’s marvelous Tennessee Williams anchors an enormously entertaining imagined encounter that offers more theatrical fun than insight In the summer of 1…
PETER PAN GOES WRONG GOES VERY, VERY WRONG A two-hour farcical flight to Neverland that you may wish had never taken off San Francisco Playhouse’s current fall offering is Peter Pan Goes W…
A CAPITOL IDEA FOR A PLAY Nina Kissinger finds laughs, humanity, and uncomfortable questions in the people trying to keep government working from behind the scenes At Moxie Theatre, Nina Kis…
DEALING WITH THE HAND THEY WERE GIVEN Suzan-Lori Parks stacks the deck against two brothers whose love, rivalry, and hunger for a better life turn one rigged game into another There are only…
FRANKLY, IT’S A SLAM An outrageous Afro-Latin hip-hop reinvention of Anne Frank goes gleefully where you can’t believe it dares to go Wait, what? Slam Frank, which opened at the Orpheum …
BATTY AS HELL Excellent performances struggle against muddled storytelling and sound problems in this production of the cult musical The entire time I watched Bat Boy: The Musical at Umbrell…
DEAD MAN WALKING—STRAIGHT INTO THE THIRD REICH A corpse, a preposterous plan, and five tireless performers make this British spy caper an enormously funny exercise in controlled chaos Mont…
A RARE BIRD WORTH WAITING FOR Mat Smart’s warm, funny new play finds that what we’re searching for may matter less than what we fail to see along the way You don’t need to know a warbl…
SOMETHING WICKED GOOD THIS WAY COMES The national tour lands in Boston with enough brains, heart, and theatrical magic to remind us why this musical continues to defy gravity It’s appropri…
THE WAR BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND MARY IS ANYTHING BUT CIVIL Cole Escola’s gleefully unhinged historical farce gives Alaska Thunderfuck ample opportunity to make a spectacular fool of the First …
Theater companies rely on promotional trailers to attract audiences, but producing a compelling video isn’t always easy. Professional filming can be expensive, rehearsal footage may be lim…
ALL’S WELL THAT BEDS WELL Keiko Green’s provocative comedy finds plenty of laughs in the tangled relationships of college life, but its questions about consent are harder to resolve Mari…