241 stories by "Milo Shapiro"
A SEASON OF HOPE, REDEMPTION, HUMOR AND HEART STARTS IN SEPT. WITH THREE MUSICALS AND THREE PLAYS Cygnet Theatre has announced a joyful and overdue return to in-person performances starting …
HARLEM IN CORONADO Coronado Playhouse (CPH), a San Diego Tradition for 75 years, presents Djanet Sears' Harlem Duet, streaming on-demand from March 19-April 18, 2021. In what could be a prel…
CATCH THE VIRTUAL WORLD PREMIERE OF MARGIN OF ERROR As with many companies, San Diego's The Roustabouts have had to restructure due to COVID-19. Now, they are presenting productions and read…
SHE LOVES ME…AND WITH GOOD REASON! Ah, love. As hard to find as ever, but so satisfying when it is. But what did the ancients (20th-century people) do to find love before Tinder, eHarmony,…
WHERE WILL THIS RED BIKE TAKE YOU? Red Bike immediately presents a huge challenge to a director. Caridad Svich's script contains no stage directions (and little punctuation, even) and reads …
SIMPLE PLEASURES IN THIS FEAST The Shakers have a song in their hymnal that reads: 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And w…
A HOLIDAY CLASSIC PUT TO SONG: ONE THAT WON'T SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT While it may seem a bit premature to call the 1983 movie A Christmas Story a "classic," the near- universal popularity of the…
ELF-DEPRECATING HUMOR PAYS OFF It's hard to go wrong with this script, as writer a David Sedaris's biting wit, which has made him an NPR favorite for years, delights the cynic in us all. Whi…
TWO WAY STREET INTERSECTS AT TOUCHING PERSONAL DRAMA The Last Five Years shares the joys, trials, and failures of two people, Jamie (Michael Louis Cusimano) and Cathy (Racquel Williams), in …
SHOULD EVERYONE KISS MY AZTEC? IT DEPENDS… For fans of John Leguizamo, the notion of a full-length musical written by him is a thrilling draw. Whether a fan from his numerous edgy one-man …
TRIBUTE TO THE HITS FROM GOLD STAR Gold Star Recording Studio might not be a household name, but the musicians they recorded for certainly are: Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher, and the Beach Boy…
HOUSE IS IN ORDER, BUT IS THAT ENOUGH? There is so much that is right about Ike Holter's clever script of Put Your House in Order. Because of that, it is unfortunate that, in the end, it is …
THERE'S HUMOR TO BE PROUD OF HERE, SO DON'T BE PREJUDICED For those who have read or seen Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, there are many nouns that come to mind such as "classic," "drama,…
YOGA, GIRL! Which of the following defines yoga to you? A series of gentle exercises meant to relax and invigorate the body; A Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline using breath control and…
WELL DONE HAVING FUN ON THE RUN AS A NUN Don't you just hate it when your boyfriend turns out to be a mobster and murders someone right in front of you, forcing you to flee and hide " all wh…
THE VOICE BEHIND THE VOICES Ventre Loqui: To speak from the belly. This is the etymology of the word ventriloquism, an art as old as … well, it depends who you ask. For some, there is no o…
CHAPSCHTICK It's 1944. The war is raging across the English Channel and the Germans could invade at any moment. Britain needs levity to get through these tough days. Miles (Charles Evans, Jr…
THANK GOD IT'S FREAKY FRIDAY On the weekend of her mother's everything-must-be-perfect second wedding, teenager Ellie (Rivers Harris) is in a funk: little brother Fletcher (John Perry Wishch…
TENSION, HUMOR, AND INTRIGUE IN BEGUILING WWII DRAMEDY There would be much better places to live in 1943 than on the German-occupied British island of Guernsey, especially if you are shelter…
LETTERS FROM THE LOVELORN LEAP OFF THE PAGE Dear Sugar, I have a problem. My editor assigned me to review a play that does not follow conventional theater techniques, has only one known char…
A SWEET EMBRACEABLE SHOW In 1930, a musical called Girl Crazy, with a score by George and Ira Gershwin, opened on Broadway to moderate success, running 272 performances. The rarely-revived s…
WHO DOES HE THINK SHE IS? Him…Her…Them…Zir…Hir? In the transgender and non-binary community, the struggle with pronouns almost rivals the struggle with civil rights. Hir, now …
LET THE SPIRIT MOVE YOU TO NORTH COAST REP Is it bigamy if you’re still seeing your first wife while married to your second? Does your answer change if the first wife has been dead for…
EVEN WHEN YOU'RE HAIR CAN'T HOLD UP, THIS MUSICAL CAN To say you like Hairspray really doesn’t cut it. Do you mean the 1988 John Waters film starring Devine and newcomer Ricki Lake? Or…
A FUNNY THING’S HAPPENING AT NORTH COAST REP Only in Ancient Rome! Pseudolus, the wise-cracking slave (Omri Schein), can earn his freedom if he can somehow get the pretty, bubble-heade…
