Kevin Mambo's journey to the stage reads like a global prelude to a richly textured career. Born in Zimbabwe, raised in Canada, and educated in Los Angeles at USC, Mambo's trajectory launche…
CHEKHOV WITH TEETH For those who've never bought the notion that Chekhov's The Seagull is simply about broken hearts, director Alexander Molochnikov's take on the play offers a thrilling, su…
Visiting Broadway for the first time is a super exciting moment in any theater fan's life. You're finally in New York, ready to see the biggest shows in the most famous venues, and you're ke…
EXIT, PURSUED BY A PRODUCTION In taking on a production of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, Play On Shakespeare at Skylight Theatre is to be commended. The last of the Bard's plays-"…
FUNNY GIRL, SERIOUS STAKES In the world premiere of The Beverly Hills Hotel Peace Talks, now running at Coachella Valley Repertory, playwright Gregg Ostrin (The Spy Who Went Into Rehab) blen…
A WELL-INTENTIONED LOOK AT MENTAL ILLNESS Dream Big World Theatre, Inc. opened Gail Kriegel's Cracked Open tonight at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row, tackling the complex and often stigmatized s…
GODDESS ISN'T JUST A SHOW, IT'S A CALLING. ANSWER IT. Goddess, which opened at The Public Theater tonight, doesn't just arrive onstage like any musical"but like a warm and joyful jazz riff. …
THROCKMORTON ROCKS THE UNDERWORLD If this world is going to hell, as some claim, there can be no better guides than the characters in this musical written by Anais Mitchell. Director Reba Gi…
A HELLO, DOLLY! FOR OUR TIMES If you'd like to know how it's possible to take a decidedly dated musical written in 1964 (set in 1890) and make it come freshly and fully alive today, go see t…
FORGET THE USUAL " MOXIE IS SERVING A TENDER STORY WITH A SIDE OF TRUTH Not every good story needs to take you around the world in eighty days or off to a magical land with wizards; sometime…
THIS ROLLING STONE JUST OPENED, AND ALREADY IT'S GATHERING MOSS If Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified were a device, it would be the BlackBerry of rock retrospectives. It is an earnest, well-…
THE GOOD AND EVIL IN BOTH WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION The concept sounded so intriguing that I begged to review this experimental theatre piece, White Rabbit, Red Rabb…
LEARNING HOW TO BE IN COMMUNITY Few productions manage to collapse the space between art and community like Learning How to Read by Moonlight. In this world premiere from Gaven D. Trinidad, …
ANY TIME IS A GOOD TIME TO GIVE MY REGARDS TO [THE MAN WHO OWNED] BROADWAY The tribute show is called George & Me. The only singer on the bill is a man named Bill: That's Bill Bartus, bo…
A SURREAL, SKATER-RAP FEVER DREAM I'm not going to lie"I am not the intended audience for Bowl EP. But make no mistake: this is a well-mounted, undeniably audacious performance that resonate…
"You can almost hear what everyone's feeling""an aside delivered to the audience midway through the show"neatly sums up what is most striking about The Light in the Piazza, playing at the Hu…
MAYHEM MIXED WITH MAGIC Novato Theatre Company considered a daunting task of shepherding thirty young actors ages 10 to 13 to stage Matilda the Musical, the Broadway hit by Dennis Kelly…
HARE FORCE ONE With White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour currently at the Fountain Theatre, what you encounter is an interesting and provocative theatrical game,…
HOW SWEET IT IS! From the opening scene of As Bees in Honey Drown, we know that young Evan Wyler (Michael Mazzone) is doomed, but we also know that we are going to be happily amused as he tu…
Charles Strouse, 96, the celebrated and multi-award-winning American film, television, and Broadway musical composer, responsible for such legendary songs as "Put on a Happy Face," "Tomorrow…
AMAZING AND EPIC Palm Springs' queer theatre company, The Bent, is justifiably proud that they are the first non-professional company on the West Coast to be granted the rights to Matthew Lo…
THE WAITING GAME HAS WRINKLES As Bette Davis's sampler cushion said, "Old age ain't no place for sissies." We start to lose our memories. Our bodies start to ache as our strength and enduran…
In recent years, immersive theater has gained a lot of attention for changing the way we experience stories on stage. Unlike traditional stage shows, where you just sit and watch in rows fro…
COMFORTABLE HOMEY FOLK SHARE A SWEET STORY Book and music creators Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin) and Edie Brickell heard a true story from 1902 and became somewhat obsessed with it. …
THIS BIRD AIN'T SO STUPID There is a strange little niche tucked away in the theatre world which, for lack of a better term, could be called "Travesty Theatrics." It's when a classic drama i…