ON THE EVE OF ENLIGHTENMENT Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews has had a major theatrical presence on the west coast, the east coast, and at many regional theaters inbetween. He's also ma…
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE In the vernacular of showbiz, the appellation "triple threat" refers to a performer who equally excels at acting, singing and dancing. That Broadway veteran James T. La…
DANCING THROUGH WAR Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center, which has presented world premieres by Alexei Ratmansky for more than a decade " including American Ballet Theatre's Of Love and Rag…
Christiane Noll is captivating, extraordinarily talented and in demand on Broadway, by concert orchestras and for up-close and personal cabaret performances " and she will be at Coachella Va…
BETTER MAKE THAT LATER Christopher Shinn clearly understands the American consciousness. In Now or Later, a 2008 one-act which opened at the Royal Court Theatre with a fresh-faced Eddie Redm…
TRANSPARENT COULD ONE DAY TRANSITION FROM COCOON TO BUTTERFLY A Transparent Musical is based on the Amazon Prime TV series Transparent and written by the TV show's creators " Joe…
BECAUSE IT'S THERE What if Dr. Martin Luther King was a down-to-earth, simple, vulnerable human being like the rest of us? What if human existence could be viewed from another dimension, one…
DAZZLED BY THE STARS UNDER THE STARS The third annual Broadway in the Park, produced by Signature Theater and Wolf Trap, showcased some of the best singing talent of the D.C. area and headli…
AS WE LOVE IT Talk about chemistry! The amazing Genevieve Simon, who wowed us with a riveting performance in the title role of Coriolanus earlier this year, flirts and schemes into our heart…
SUCH STRANGE GOINGS ON Cygnet Theatre's new play Sharon is set in Everett, Washington, 90 minutes from Seattle. The time is 2019. The action is concentrated in the parlor of a dilapidated ap…
HOORAY FOR HOORAY Most songs became standards because they were made famous by popular singers. So it's easy to forget how many of them were introduced on the silver screen. Hooray for Holly…
WHEN KING WAS THE QUEEN OF THE COURT Ask most people what they know about Billy Jean King, other than fact that she played tennis, and there's a good likelihood that you'll hear a story abou…
THESE SIX QUEENS SLAY IT The cast of Six riled up the audience at Segerstrom in this pop concert remix of Tudor history. Catchy earworms, check. Iconic costumes, check. American-Idol-esque b…
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is presenting the world premiere of Monkeys, a 2023 Hollywood Fringe Scholarship winner, written and directed by Bernard Badion. Monkeys is a workplace comedy s…
BROADWAY BABY GLENN ROSENBLUM is a man with an obsession he gladly acknowledges and is eager to share: Broadway and the glorious world of American Musical Theatre. On Thursday, June 15, 2023…
SCHMICAGO! The soundtrack to Season 2 of "SCHMIGADOON!" is now out, and it's fizzy, frothy fun. The musical comedy series, a confluence of stage productions and their film adaptations produc…
"You not only have a right to be an individual. You have a responsibility." " Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor at the North Coast Repertory Theatre is a one-woman drama that condenses the life of E…
SHINING A RAY OF LIGHT ON PUBERTY This past weekend, San Franciscans were treated to a special treat with Ray Of Light Theater's version of Spring Awakening " yet while it was subtitled "In …
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO YOU TO SEE RAINEE BLAKE AS JONI MITCHELL LIVE During the 2018 Music Center concert, Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration Live, Peter Gabriel sent a prescient message to the a…
THIS SOUL NEEDS DOCTORING Soul Doctor is a 2010 musical about Rabbi Shlomo Carlbach, a.k.a. The Singing Rabbi and The Rock and Roll Rabbi, from his childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna to his O…
THIN LOVE We go to the ballet for bodies. Don't we? If the dance audience at The Wallis in Beverly Hills, where I saw Alonzo King LINES Ballet's Deep River yesterday (there is one more perfo…
OOHS AND OZ Just in time for summer and for Pride Month, a new, colorful and fun version of everyone's childhood favorite movie based on L. Frank Baum's books is here in San Francisco. Ameri…
YOU GOTTA LOVE IT Spring is in the air and so is love at 54 Below, where Scott Siegel is presenting Love Song Saturday Night, a monthly show where couples are encouraged to "swoon, raise a g…
NEXT TO NORM Here's a way to spend a Monday evening: Broadway, television, and film actor Norm Lewis is taking his night off from starring in the national tour of A Soldier's Play at the Ahm…
WEST SIDE STORY HAPPILY REMAINS CLASSICAL AND SADLY REMAINS CONTEMPORARY Lyric Opera's 2022-2023 season has been a challenging one, especially for audiences. The season began with the seldom…