WAR IS FOR CLOWNS Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland join the thrilling ranks of clown-trained performers (Julia Masli is another) reshaping the boundaries of theatrical storytelling. A Letter to…
A MIDSUMMER FOREST MEADOW'S DREAM Audiences have flocked to Shakespeare's open-air productions since the wooden Globe Theatre was built in 1599. Though a tenth of the size of the ill-fated o…
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE FATIGUE One must admire Antony Zioni for his aspirations with Tales of the Ancient East, which, regrettably, makes the failure of this production all the more lamentable. …
If I Sing: Alix Korey on Art, Activism, and Singing Her Truth With decades in cabaret and a résumé that reads like a Broadway hall of fame, Alix Korey is not content to rest on laurels. Kn…
A GAME OF HEARTS PLAYED FACE DOWN There is no question that Ann Noble is one of the most talented actresses gracing the stages of Los Angeles. There are moments in her bitter-sweet, two-pers…
ALL IN ONE AND ONE IN ALL With Except Myself at the Broadwater Black Box, playwright Drew Petriello has achieved a clever, slick, and absolutely entertaining deconstruction of the solo sh…
THE GOOD ANDREW BYRON CREATES A LONG AND WINDING RUSSIAN Andrew Byron frames his one man show The Good Russian within the historical context of 2018, when Sergei Skripal, a Russian expatr…
IÂ DON'TÂ FEELÂ YOUR PAIN Corporate life"or working in an office"has a very specific subculture that goes along with it. Sharing confined spaces with others in a 9-to-5 structure can b…
APPARENTLY, YOU CAN DO A LOT My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) is a joyous, autobiographical solo show from social media sensation Rob Madge, charting their journey as a queer child wi…
NEITHER FOOLS NOR COWARDS Michael Arden is a Renaissance artist. He approaches his work with a humanist curiosity, an intricate yet organic perfectionism, and a keen eye for composition, mov…
The Old Globe Theatre is opening its summer Shakespeare season with the comedy All's Well That Ends Well, one of the Bard's least presented (and least admired) works. Completists who wish to…
RAUNCHY AND RIDDLED Marin Theatre carries a torch for unusual and challenging productions at its Mill Valley location. This past season has seen a collection of shows, each producing a contr…
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO BAGHDAD: COMEDY BUMPS INTO HISTORY TO CREATE A MASTERPIECE We sometimes forget how much the theatrical stage can be a place of true discovery"until we st…
A RADICAL FAIRY TALE FIT FOR A KING The only marketing I saw for Jordan Tannahill's provocative new play Prince Faggot, which opened last night at Playwrights Horizons (a co-production with …
NOT ENOUGH HEAT The Second Coming of Joan of Arc is the best-known work of American playwright, author, and lesbian feminist Carolyn Gage. Loosely based, scholars will tell you, "very loosel…
THE PICNIC COMES BEFORE PINAFORE, LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY. WELL, SHIP HAPPENS. It's best to approach Pacific Opera Project's new production of W. S. Gilbert (libretto) and Arthur Sullivan…
BROADWAY ON A BASEBALL FIELD: TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE HITS IT OUTTA THE PARK Transcendence Theatre Company has opened a triple-hitter "stars under the stars" summer season with their song-and-…
SICKENINGLY FUNNY Noah Diaz's You Will Get Sick, which opened last night at Steppenwolf, is an odd bird of a play. It begins with an irresistible premise: a middle-aged woman, Callan, respon…
LOVE, LOSS, AND THE PULSE OF PARIS San Francisco Opera's most beloved production is back, and it's as heartbreakingly beautiful as ever. La Bohème, Puccini's timeless tale of love, art, and…
SMART SELLS IT Jean Smart is a phenomenal stage actress of great depth and specificity. Not exactly news but since she's possibly best known as the warm-hearted and slightly naïve "Charle…
BROADWAY STARS UNDER THE STARS If you've ever wanted to hear Michael Feinstein conduct an orchestra while a pulchritude of peacocks prance in the background, you're in for one of LA's most d…
SEA WORTHY Wilds of Sea is an undersea adventure that will leave little ones wide-eyed and utterly captivated. But make no mistake"this all-ages puppet spectacle is as enchanting for the gro…
STORYTELLING THAT LAUNCHES A THOUSAND SHIPS There is a moment in Court Theatre's fourth (!) iteration of An Iliad where The Poet holds a flashlight below his chin"I immediately flashed back …
A BEAUTIFUL TAPESTRY OF SONGS AND STORY Reagle Music Theatre kicks off the summer with a vibrant, lovingly crafted staging of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, directed with finesse and fl…
 I always look forward to the shows of Shelley Cooper at the Hollywood Fringe. They are musical biographies of women who made history not only with their presence but with their voices a…