THE BACCHAE WEAR BRIDAL You remember the Bacchae " don't you ? "Â those wild women of Thebes in Euripides's ancient drama who, transformed by Dionysus, terrorized Pentheus's kingdom with …
WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A BOOK Where do playwrights get their inspiration? Brava to Lauren Gunderson, who took hers from actual historical events and created a believable backstory wit…
GOES FROM A Y2K POP TO GEN ZZZZZZZZ There was a buzz of anticipation in the air as the house lights blacked out at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater"an audible fandom of excitement. Had cl…
Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival Announces 2025 Winners "Never be afraid to sit a while and think." The words of playwright Lorraine Hansberry remind us of the quiet power of reflecti…
Teenage Wasteland: David Dean Bottrell Brings His New Solo Show to Revolution Stage Company An award-winning actor and writer dives into the awkward, hilarious, and heartfelt moments of adol…
From May 21 " June 1, 2025, Coachella Valley Repertory will present the world premiere of The Beverly Hills Hotel Peace Talks, written by Gregg Ostrin and directed by Randy Brenner. The play…
Wilde at Heart: The Quiet Theatrics of A Man of No Importance Some musicals don't announce themselves. They drift in quietly, settle beside you, and before you know it, you're sitting there,…
JOHN PROCTOR GETS CANCELLED In an honors English classroom at a county high school in northeast Georgia, seven juniors are cracking open Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Mr. Smith (Gabriel Eber…
NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S 1776 Until Hamilton, if you'd asked me if I liked rap music, you'd have gotten a pretty quick, "No." And I still do cringe at the memories of cars driving up my street wit…
HARNICK…HEARTFELT & HEARTWARMING Sheldon Harnick, who passed away in 2023 at age 99, is alphabetically in good company among the great Broadway writers. His name comes after E.Y. "Yip"…
A HILARIOUS DRIVE DOWN MEMORY LANE Of course I love a big musical with choruses singing and dancing, but on reflection, several of my favorite shows have intimate casts such as Nunsense, The…
The "J2" in the name J2 Spotlight Theater Company of Manhattan doesn't refer to descriptions that start with the letter "J," like "joyful" and "joke-filled," but it might as well, because th…
ANOTHER WORTHY WAY TO WONDER AT THE WORLD On rare occasions even the most seasoned reviewers are confounded by the inadequacy of language to describe a production so beautiful and transcende…
SOME DARE CALL IT TREASON Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold can hardly be called founders of the United States. In fact, while both acted as military leaders in the American War for Independen…
Don't look for anything very heartbreaking or groundbreaking in the familiar musical ground surveyed by the generally joyful Judy Whitmore. When she toasts love, it's with a glass she sees a…
MATH APPEAL The Monday Night Musicals series at the intimate Magnet Theater offers a vibrant platform for new work that blends comedic storytelling with musical innovation. Stripped down to …
FLESHING IT OUT OF THE PARK The Monday Night Musicals series at the intimate Magnet Theater is serving up a theatrical amusement for those who like their bluegrass pickin' with a side of pos…
Coming to Hollywood Fringe: A Fatherhood Story You Didn't Know You Needed Fatherhood isn't always what you expect " and Best. Dad. NEVER. proves that's exactly where the magic happens. Haig …
MEMORY LOOPS AND ECHOES IN GARDNER'S THE STAIRCASE Rain doesn't fall in The Staircase. It lingers, heavy and waiting. Like a secret no one asked to hear. Like a mother halfway between a lull…
TO KNOW HYMN IS TO LOVE HYMN It's not unusual to hear creatives, especially Black creatives, quote Toni Morrison when talking about what inspires them to write, paint or compose. "If there's…
A STRIKINGLY RESPECTFUL TAKE WORTHY FOR A MUSEUM The Antaeus Theatre Company first began offering audiences superbly mounted productions over a quarter of a century ago, and for their contin…
SURVIVAL, STRUGGLE AND SMALL JOYS Young girls coming of age always makes for a good story usually filled with life-changing moments and lessons to be learned. In Lynn Nottage's Crumbs from t…
UNCONVENTIONAL SPIN, DARING THEATER, CAUTIOUSLY RECOMMENDED There are sequels and there are sequels. Few can be considered as aspirational or as pioneering as Taylor Mac's Gary, a continuati…
WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARDS (AGAIN) The line between fan fiction and canon can be a blurry one. In a world where Twilight fan fiction inspired the best-selling book of the last decade and a…
THIS IS HOW GLORY FEELS Here's an especially poignant and powerful musical about a real episode from the past that finally gains the word "Broadway" to its history exactly 100 years after th…