THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS Kenny Leon finds new layers in Suzan-Lori Parks’s riveting battle between two brothers trapped by history, rivalry, and the roles they perform Topdog/Underdog by Suza…
THE POLITICAL IS PERSONAL Purpose is an exciting and morally complex opening to the Huntington’s 2026-2027 season Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins‘ Purpose is an intriguing family drama…
FLIGHT, FLAIR, AND FIRE Three strikingly different ballets showcase Dance Theatre of Harlem’s range, from classical precision to Caribbean splendor and R&B exuberance Dance Theatre of …
BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP Jocelyn Bioh gives the familiar mean-girl story a funny, painful twist in a terrific Broadway production The “mean girls” trope, that group of popular girls usua…
A DIZZYING ARRAY OF SONGWRITERS AT DIZZY’S A playful look back at a Cole Porter salute sets the stage for Songbook Sundays’ upcoming celebration of Kander and Ebb on October 4 A review o…
What are the essentials of managing a film set? Film production involves more than just cameras, actors, and creative direction. Audiences just see the finished film. What they don’t see i…
WRONG TURN AT MOUNT RUSHMORE Emma Rice sends Hitchcock’s classic thriller spinning into musical-comedy territory, with decidedly mixed results American Conservatory Theater opens its 60th …
A LITTLE SHOP WITH A BIG BITE NCTC’s colorful, high-energy revival feeds on terrific voices, sharp comedy, and one increasingly hungry plant New Conservatory Theatre Center starts its 2026…
AN ARRESTING START TO THE SEASON An intimate staging and several compelling performances give this familiar prison drama new life Desert Theatreworks kicks off its 2026–27 season with The …
WHEN YOU’RE HOPING FOR A HARBOR A stirring in-the-round production finds hope, humor, and humanity in the strangers who became a community Director Kevin P. Hill’s production of Come Fro…
NO COUPLE IS AN ISLAND Joshua Owen’s warm and funny tragicomedy finds two marriages weathering storms of very different kinds A marriage can be its own world, with inside jokes, shared mem…
A BLUE-SKY BALLET WITH A DARK HEART John Neumeier turns a brutal tale of love, violence and redemption into an exquisite and haunting ballet The first thing you notice on stage when you walk…
A LIFE IN THE AIR Shana Carroll’s extraordinary theatrical memoir finds wonder in the moments between falling and flying Well, it’s finally happened; I’ve been rendered speechless. The…
WHEN GENIUS MEETS POWER Brian Cox’s magnificent Bach reminds us that kings disappear while great music endures What happens when artistic genius meets absolute power? The Score, written by…
GRIEF IN MOTION Christina Harris keeps Deborah Brevoort’s meditation on loss moving with remarkable theatrical urgency There is very little stillness in The Women of Lockerbie, and that tu…
WELL ABOVE PAAR FOR THE COURSE David Corlew gives a gripping performance as Oscar Levant in this darkly funny and increasingly tense backstage drama To put it mildly, Oscar Levant, the brill…
WHEN DREAMS GET A SECOND ACT Nearly two decades later, Joey Arias and Basil Twist’s downtown fantasia returns with its imagination, naughtiness, and joyful strangeness intact Back in 2008,…
WISHING FOR MORE Beautiful voices aren’t enough to cast the spell this Sondheim classic demands It seems like there’s always a production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into th…
BEND, SNAP, AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF Berkeley Playhouse gives Elle Woods plenty of energy, heart, and high-octane dancing in a buoyant musical about refusing to be underestimated Berkeley Pla…
THE BLUES MEAN BUSINESS A superb ensemble brings August Wilson’s recording studio to life as music, ambition, and exploitation collide There is something almost intoxicating, and ultimatel…
A LANDMARK CASE GETS THE SITCOM TREATMENT A pivotal civil-rights case deserves sharper comedy and deeper drama than Howard Skora’s overstuffed retelling provides On September 17, 1998, a 9…
LIBERTY, IN ALL ITS CONTRADICTIONS Wynton Marsalis brings jazz and symphonic traditions together in a sweeping portrait of an America still wrestling with the meaning of freedom It was one o…
GUILT IS SOMEONE ELSE’S BUSINESS Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy makes murder a profession, morality a technicality, and laughter increasingly uncomfortable Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen ope…
FIVE MONOLOGUES IN SEARCH OF A PLAY A sharp, funny satire of academia wrestles with difficult questions—and nearly gets derailed by its sexual detours They’re back! After a four-year hia…
I COULD BEGIN AGAIN SEVERAL TIMES WITH THIS WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL A predictable story matters little when the music, performances, and sheer good feeling are this irresistible Sometimes a s…