“In the Heights” is Sunny and Full of Powerful Themes

“In the Heights” is the fourth collaboration between the San Diego Repertory Theatre and the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. While I am a graduate of SCPA and some of the cast from “In the Heights” are from SDSU, where I attend college, I promise that the following review is completely objective.

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Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Worth the Drive to the OC

You’d be foolish to see Chance Theatre’s production of the musical, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson instead of going to summer school to learn U. S. history, even though there’s a lot of history that bleeds into Alex Timbers’ book. But, if your idea of beach reading is plowing through an entertaining and energetic historical novel, then this show is for you…

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Company at Cygnet Goes For The Gags

In general, audiences see Stephen Sondheim shows to be entranced by Mr. Sondheim’s clever lyrics and to hear how he pushes the envelope as he sets those lyrics to music. The books of Mr. Sondheim’s shows, which are always written by others, tend to be considered the weak link when compared to the score. So, it is quite a reversal to see Sean Murray’s production of Company at Cygnet Theatre push the humor of George Furth’s book to the foreground. The result is the funniest Company imaginable, though perhaps made so at the expense of the music…

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A Theatre Holiday, Part 2 – London

The best thing about London theatre is that there is so much of it. There is commercial theatre, clustered in the West End around Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus, there are several institutional theatre companies, most notably the National Theatre, which operates from expansive facilities on the south bank of the Thames, right at the Waterloo Bridge. And, there are theatre companies doing cutting edge work, often in venues that are off the beaten track…

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A Theatre Holiday: Part I – New York and Washington, DC

There’s been general consensus that the New York theatre season has been a middling one. Little of a groundbreaking nature opened on Broadway, though some interesting work appeared off-Broadway. Nevertheless, even a mediocre season on Broadway produces enough of interest to keep one busy over what amounted to a long weekend (shows Friday evening, three on Saturday, and two the following Wednesday)…

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