RICHARD O’BRIEN’S THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
Saturday, October 1st, 2011
How does one review the revival of a camp classic? How does a reviewer deal with that oxymoronic juxtaposition of camp and classic? Can something “so bad it’s good” actually achieve the status of a classic?
(read more)
ENGAGING SHAW
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
If it’s true that the human brain is our largest erogenous zone, then things must have gotten pretty darned erotic between George Bernard Shaw and Charlotte Payne-Townshend, or at least such is the case in Engaging Shaw, John Morogiello’s highly intelligent, highly entertaining, and yes, highly engaging romantic comedy, now getting its West Coast Premiere at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.
(read more)
HAIRSPRAY
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
Like the month of June, Edna and Tracy Turnblad seem to be “bustin’ out all over” these days, their smash Broadway hit musical Hairspray making the rounds of Southern California regional theaters to the delight of subscribers and single-ticket buyers alike. Residents of San Diego-adjacent Vista (and anyone lucky enough to be within driving distance of Moonlight Amphitheatre) are the latest to receive a visit from the full-figured mother-daughter team who first took the world of musical theater by storm in their 2003 Broadway debut.
(read more)
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Monday, August 22nd, 2011
If William Shakespeare has been called an acquired taste, the time has come for this reviewer to confess to having—despite considerable kicking and screaming—acquired a taste for the Bard. No longer can I protest too much, as I have in years past, that (to quote from a 2008 review) “I often get lost in his convoluted plots, whole chunks of dialog whizzing past me or over my head without really sinking in.” Yes, Shakespeare’s plots can still be hard to follow, and yes, there are still passages that even the finest Shakespearean actor cannot render comprehensible to my 21st Century ears, but after having (in the past year alone) raved about productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (two of them!), The Comedy Of Errors, Measure For Measure, The Taming Of The Shrew, and The Merchant Of Venice, I’m actually starting to look forward to “Another Op’ning, Another Show.”
The Old Globe 2011 Shakespeare Festival production of Much Ado About Nothing can now be added to the above list, director Ron Daniels and an extraordinarily talented cast having come together to create a truly magical evening of romance and laughter under the San Diego stars.
(read more)
LIFE OF RILEY
Sunday, May 15th, 2011
Stan Walker. Godot. Maris Crane. Rosaline. The Little Red-Haired Girl. Mrs. Columbo. Bunbury. Mort Guffman.
To the above list of talked-about-but-never-seen characters of stage and screen fame can now be added George Riley, a man whose impending death has all the onstage characters in Alan Ayckbourn’s seventy-fourth full-length play in a tizzy.
(read more)
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
Saturday, May 14th, 2011
When a show gets called “flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years” by none other than the New York Times, then goes on to win both the Tony and the Pulitzer in addition to the Drama Desk, Drama League, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, and Outer Critics Circle awards, there’s nothing StageSceneLA can say to add to the excitement surrounding its arrival at San Diego’s Old Globe. But here goes:
(read more)
DOOLEY
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011NOT RECOMMENDED
Sometimes no matter how much a production has going in its favor, it simply doesn’t work for a reviewer, no matter the quality of the talent onstage. Diversionary Theatre’s World Premiere play Dooley is just such a production.
(read more)
RAFTA, RAFTA…
Sunday, March 27th, 2011
Playwright Ayub Khan-Din takes an insightful comedic look at two British South Asian families in his delightful, cross-cultural comedy Rafta, Rafta… The 2008 Olivier Award winner for Best New Comedy, Rafta, Rafta… now gets its West Coast Premiere in a vibrant, colorful production at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.
(read more)
Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
COPYRIGHT 2025 STEVEN STANLEY :: DESIGN BY