8,501 stories from Backstage
Initially, "Woof, Daddy" seems like it's going to be a laborious attempt at experimental theatre, but hold on. Transversal Theater does have a captivating story it intends to tell -- just no…
Political theatre devotees will appreciate Lane Keller's "Poppies," which is expertly staged by Sherri Eden Barber in a style of gritty realism reminiscent of Caryl Churchill's "Mad Forest."
H.R. Britton's one-man show is not the angry screed suggested by the title; it's a thoughtful examination of how one man's intellectual growth led to personal liberation, even as it put some…
Bring roses to lay at writer-actor Joan Fishman's feet after her beautiful, deeply moving solo performance in "Walking in His Footsteps," her bittersweet love letter to her grandfather, a Hu…
San Francisco's legendary Theatre Rhinoceros' audience-goading Fringe Festival entry bluntly criticizes the political strategies and social brouhaha surrounding the debate about same-sex mar…
In his one-man show about the breakup of his marriage, Antonio Sacre manages to "forget" enough significant info -- including whatever it was he said that he admits prompted the breakup -- t…
"Champ: A Space Opera" is not a rock opera -- it's a rock ballet, an excellent conceptual rock performance with some really great visuals and sounds.
Jennifer Levine's concern with the small, intimate details of life breathes an air of sanctity into the mundane. In her 30-minute puppet piece, "The Miracle on Monroe Street," she creates a …
The ensemble is as weak as playwright-director Jarrod Jabre's juvenile script, which is packed with insipid tangents and excruciatingly unfunny gags. Perhaps a benevolent Luther would absolv…
The reality-TV cast revival of "Grease" is a pale, humorless splicing of the monstrously successful stage and film versions that leaves one waiting impatiently for the next song cue, even wh…
This multimedia dance-theatre piece could devolve into a contrived, pseudo-intellectual mess but for the incredible dexterity of the dancers and their skill in maintaining their characters.
The creators of Angst: The New Teen Musical, nearly all teenagers themselves, are extremely close to their subject matter. But although this immediacy has the potential to create exceptionally hard-hitting satire, it instead ends up reflecting the immaturity of the authors.
In playwright and actor Ken Ferrigni's reality, when 30-something men need to bond and get over traumatic life events, they do a whole lot of blow.
Playwright Ed Valentine's pair of short one-acts attempts to give new meaning to the term Boy Scout camp. But instead of skillfully lampooning scouting as a homophobic bastion of budding hom…
Take pity on Princess Sunshine: She's slept with dozens of casting directors and the biggest break she's had is performing for snotty rich kids at Upper East Side birthday parties. Channelin…
California playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger's play has all the smokiness of a Southern Gothic drama but none of the heat.
In Lucid, writer-producer Jordan Smedberg weaves philosophical and cerebral issues into an engaging production whose success nevertheless stops short of Stoppardian.
Buoyed by actor Lynne Rosenberg's laser wit, Naked in a Fishbowl is a delight.
Kelly Kinsella may earn her living as a dresser for persnickety actors on Broadway, but her one-woman show in the Fringe Festival proves she's got her own comic chops to spare—and how.
Relating one's family history on stage is a tricky business. If not balanced properly, the material can become trifling, maudlin, or simply uninvolving. Bryon Yee avoids such pitfalls in his…
In her one-woman show, the appealingly plain-spoken, rarely emotional Steffi Kammer pays homage to artist Joseph Cornell, creating an autobiographical collage of reminiscences about a childh…
These days, when writers attempt anything abbreviated, there's a simple lesson they're instructed to follow: Give it a twist. Four of the five playwrights of "Summer Shorts: Series B" are ad…
"On Air Off!" is a good idea that's not nearly well enough developed yet.
Roger Westberg's one-man "Hamlet" makes an impressive theatrical giggle.
"Farmer Song the Musical" celebrates the stubborn pluckiness of rural farmers struggling to survive. The mostly wooden performances of the earnest nonprofessional cast capture much of the st…
