THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III at the Old Globe Theatre - Review By Welton Jones

The British monarch was functionally insane; the play is majestic and thrilling

"Working" at the Old Globe Theatre: Refreshed and back on the job! By Welton Jones

What's not to love about "Working"?

"Creditors" at La Jolla Playhouse: When emotional debts come due By Don Braunagel

Doug Wright directs fluidly, keeping the cast in motion to ameliorate the talkiness of the script.

Join the party By Welton Jones

"The 39 Steps," now at the La Jolla Playhouse, is a goof, a merry gambol as light as lint and certain to require less concentration than finding a parking place. Go or don't go, your life wi…

Ghosts never materialize By Welton Jones

If atmosphere was all that a ghost story needed, the Old Globe Theatre might have in "Whisper House" a show of some promise.

Review: "Bonnie & Clyde" at the La Jolla Playhouse By Welton Jones

It's hard not to respect this show and the professionalism it shows. But it's impossible to take it very seriously as anything more than tabloid dabbling. That may be sufficient.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE at the La Jolla Playhouse by Welton Jones

World Premiere of a potential Broadway show

"Sammy" at the Old Globe Theatre: Can't Help Lovin' That Man By Welton Jones

Another Big Musical Hit for La Jolla By Welton Jones

Payback can be brutal By Welton Jones

Despite some really slick production values and a generally tight and perky staging by Francesca Zambello, this is still just another one of those six-finales-in-search-of-a-plot shows.

"Palm Beach" at La Jolla Playhouse
Review by Welton Jones

So, that's why "Palm Beach" is such mindless fun: This soufflé recipe is tried and true. It's also why the show eventually goes a bit flat: Soufflés don't last long. Certainly …

SURF REPORT at La Jolla Playhouse - Review By Welton Jones

Alas, the subjects under examination are simply too ordinary to be of interest. Their's are problems of a sort that predate recorded history: self-pity, frustration at the unobtainable, gene…

THE PRIDE at Diversionary Theatre by Bill Eadie

We're neither pure, nor wise, nor goodWe'll do the best we know. We'll build our house and chop our woodAnd make our garden grow. --from Candide, music by Leonard Bernst...

THIS at North Coast Repertory Theatre by Bill Eadie

For writers, “this” is perhaps the most evil word in the dictionary. Unmodified, “this” is a sign of sloppiness of pen and probably of thought as well. Simply remem…

A MAN, HIS WIFE, AND HIS HAT at Moxie Theatre by Welton Jones

Fables are fun in the theatre, where the sharing of a simple story told with intimate direct address creates a delicious sense of belonging to an ancient race with basic truths that don&rsqu…

Renée Fleming Gala Concert at Civic Theatre by Kenneth Herman

Celebrity sells. And in the world of opera—that glittering art form that gave the term “diva” to the world—celebrity is the coin of the realm. San Diego Opera’s…

HEDDATRON at ion Theatre by Bill Eadie

Elizabeth Meriwether’s Heddatron, making its West Coast premiere through March 31 at ion Theatre, is an uneven and smart-alecky play written by a 29-year-old Yale grad. It sure can be…

PARADE at Cygnet Theatre by Bill Eadie

I’ll start with a bold claim: Cygnet Theatre’s production of Parade is not only its biggest musical production ever, but it’s also its best. The claim is a bold one, becaus…

ANNA CHRISTIE at The Old Globe Theatre by Welton Jones

Eugene O’Neill is the artist who first forced the world to confront the American Theatre. Almost alone in the early 20th Century, he chose the largest themes life could offer and wrest…

A ROOM WITH A VIEW at the Old Globe Theatre by Welton Jones

Musical theatre offers the nuance of music and lyrics in trade for the subtleties of the written word when dealing with a stylish classic like E.M. Forster’s A ROOM WITH A VIEW. Usuall…

BRAVO! BALANCHINE at Spreckels Theatre by Kris Eitland

City Ballet of San Diego has more than a dozen Balanchine works in its repertory, making it the largest presenter of Balanchine works in Southern California. For the program last weeke…

NEXT FALL at Diversionary Theatre by Bill Eadie

If Geoffrey Nauffts’ funny and multi-layered play, Next Fall, were a sermon its text would be taken from 1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; a…

IN THE WAKE at San Diego Repertory Theatre by Welton Jones

In Lisa Kron’s excellent play IN THE WAKE, now being marvelously presented by the San Diego Rep in their Lyceum Space, everybody is eloquent and everybody suffers. This is chewy theat…

VISITING MR. GREEN at North Coast Repertory Theatre by Welton Jones

”Visiting Mr. Green” is a Yiddisher bon-bon, perfect as a recommendation for elderly Jewish relatives interested in a night out. Really, really elderly. Because things have chang…

Eveoke Dance Theatre: REFLECTIONS at Art Produce by Kris Eitland

For those who enjoy sad stories, even a good cry, Eveoke Dance Theatre’s Reflections will be a potent elixir. Resident choreographer Ericka Aisha Moore teams with visual artists …

GUYS AND DOLLS at Lamb's Players Theatre by Welton Jones

GUYS AND DOLLS, one of the mere handful of genuine masterpieces in the American musical theatre, is getting a sturdy, likeable but somewhat bloodless production by the Lamb’s Players. …

COMEDY OF ERRORS at New Village Arts by Bill Eadie

In the New Village Arts’ production of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, all’s well that ends well. Which is to say that Act 2 is stronger than Act 1. In NVA’s (uncredi…

A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE at Cygnet Theatre by Bill Eadie

Martin McDonagh has a shaggy dog to sell. But watch out, because he might be scamming you. Mr. McDonagh built his reputation by writing highly off-beat character studies set in remote parts…

THE RECOMMENDATION at the Old Globe Theatre by Welton Jones

THE RECCOMENDATION is a young man’s play, frantic with jagged urgency over choosing the right next step from the options tumbling past so swiftly. But it is we old men, who understand …

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying at Welk Resort by Bill Eadie

Originally produced in the same era in which the television series, Mad Men, is set, Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, Ho…

DIVIDING THE ESTATE at the Old Globe Theatre by Welton Jones

I thought we might be finally done with those tragic Old-South epics of the Civil War legacy. The dilapidated plantations, once-proud families, the ruined gallantry, the uncomfortable racial…