Posts by Martin Jones Westlin
Funny ‘Manifest Destinitis’ Needs a Dash Less Moliere
Audience and authorial tastes are changing all the time, and that’s why a Moliere adaptation (amid its originator’s bawdy humor) might not catch up in one fell swoop. Nonetheless, San Diego Repertory Theatre’s ‘Manifest Destinitis’ is a lot of fun as it looks at a core premise of 19th-century American expansionism.
Read MoreRafiki Rules the Serengeti As ‘Lion King’ Loses Some Edge
We come from dust, and that’s about where we’re headed — and Africa’s Serengeti is a classic case in point in Disney’s mount of the iconic ‘The Lion King.’ San Diego first saw the show 11 years ago to wild acclaim, but the overwrought current installment is accompanied by some dust of its own.
Read MoreThe Ways of the Universe Are Too Much for Backyard’s ‘Gutenberg! The Musical!’
Two of the summer’s better performances are up at Diversionary Theatre — but amid some criminally ingratiating material, the actors can do only so much in Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company’s slovenly Gutenberg! The Musical!.
Read MoreFair ‘Shrew’: Can’t Blame Innermission, Nell for Trying
Hard-headed women, Elvis reminds us, have been a thorn in the side of men since the world’s been around. Shakespeare might as well have written the song — in fact, with his ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ he sort of did. Innermission Productions offers a technically deficient but philosophically sound entry to that effect.
Read MoreCarole King’s Life and Times Fuel a ‘Beautiful’ Musical
One of the greatest songwriters this country has ever produced is part phantom. Seen and unseen, Carole King started writing hits for several acts when she was 17 — and the good and bad to her story is mounted for all to see in Broadway San Diego’s excellent “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
Read MoreA Catered Affair Marks New Fortune’s Funny, Dark ‘Troilus and Cressida’
New Fortune Theatre Company won’t rest on its laurels, as it’s announced plans for its next production. Meanwhile, its mixed-bag ‘Troilus and Cressida’ on July 25 not only funded the piece but also made us very glad that the forecast show is in New Fortune’s hands.
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