All stories by Milo Shapiro on BroadwayStars

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Theater Review: BASKERVILLE (Lambs Players in Coronado) by Milo Shapiro

WHEN SHERLOCK ISN'T A SURE LOCK Arguably Arthur Conan Doyle's most successful Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hounds of the Baskervilles was actually first run as a serial from 1901-1902. It dre…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:19PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Theater Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (San Diego Musical Theatre in Kearny Mesa) by Milo Shapiro

PLANT YOURSELF AT SDMT Let's start with the fact that it's a show about a plant that craves human blood. Oh, and there's this nerdy botanist Seymour who raises him, whom the plant intimidate…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 18, 2022

San Diego Theater Review: ASSASSINS (Wildsong Productions in Ocean Beach) by Milo Shapiro

A MUSICAL ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINS & ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS? WELL, SHOOT! At the very least, you have to give credit for anyone coming up with this bizarre idea: A musical about the …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:57PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 11, 2022

Theater Review: ANNABELLA IN JULY (North Coast Repertory in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

SKI RESORT SKETCH SKILLFULLY SKIPS ALONG AND SKYROCKETS INTO OUR HEARTS Saturday Night Live has been notorious over the years for coming up with some bits that are funny enough to fill an en…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:11PM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 14, 2022

Theater Review: CABARET (Cygnet Theatre Company in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

COME SEE THIS CABARET, MY FRIEND One of the wonderful things about period pieces, including musicals, is that they rarely feel dated because the book writer (Joe Masteroff, in this case) sta…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:24PM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 31, 2022

Theater Review: THE REMARKABLE MISTER HOLMES (North Coast Repertory in Solano Beach) by Milo Shapiro

THIS MUSICAL IS RIGHT AT HOLMES When we think of Sherlock Holmes in the dank, foggy streets of London, investigating death and deception, probably the next thought we have isn't, "This would…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:18PM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 24, 2022

Theater Review: SPRING AWAKENING (Wildsong Productions in Ocean Beach, San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

QUITE THE AWAKENING Watching Spring Awakening in 2008 at the Balboa Theatre and again in 2022 at the OB Playhouse, it is interesting how different the play struck me. Not because of the q…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:16PM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 14, 2022

Theater Review: JEKYLL & HYDE (Wildsong Productions) by Milo Shapiro

WILD ABOUT WILDSONG A relatively new theatre company (and totally new to this reviewer) taking on a musical with a huge cast, intricate costuming, a stage smaller than you find in most eleme…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:14AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 13, 2022

Theater Review: The Outgoing Tide (North Coast Rep in Solana Beach) by Milo Shapiro

A TIDE THAT RISES SLOWLY STILL HAS POWER The description on North Coast Rep's website for this show is quite vague and, having just come home from the program, it's clear why. One of the gre…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:19AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 2, 2022

Theater Review: MOTHER OF THE MAID (Moxie Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

YOU THINK YOUR DAUGHTER WAS A HANDFUL? Joan of Arc is remembered as a hero and a martyr for her active role in France's defense from British invasion in the 15th century. How much the averag…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:15AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 25, 2022

Theater Review: FORBIDDEN BROADWAY'S GREATEST HITS (North Coast Rep in San Diego/Solano Beach) by Milo Shapiro

NOTHING'S FORBIDDEN IN FORBIDDEN BROADWAY Musicals are dazzling, vibrant, larger than life…and accordingly, simply ripe for parody. Creator Gerard Alessandrini saw that opportunity in 1982…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:56AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Theater Review: WATER BY THE SPOONFUL (Cygnet Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

WHEN THE WELL IS DRY, YOU KNOW THE WORTH OF WATER In Sidney Sheldon's hit 1973 novel, The Other Side of Midnight, every other chapter is about either Catherine or Noelle, the two stories of …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:03PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 14, 2022

Theater Review: THE GREAT KHAN (San Diego Repertory) by Milo Shapiro

GREAT KAHNCEPT! Jayden (Jerome Beck) doesn't have it easy. He and his mother Crystal (Brittney M. Caldwell) have recently transplanted themselves in a new town and school district. The move …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:23PM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 12, 2022

Theater Review: LIFE SUCKS (Cygnet in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

LIFE MAY SUCK, BUT THE PLAY SURE DOESN'T For those familiar with Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, it might seem an odd choice to modernize. But Aaron Posner's tight script, combined with Cygnet'…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:02PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 4, 2022

San Diego Theater Review: DESPERATE MEASURES (North Coast Rep in Solano Beach/San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

A SHAKESPEAREAN WESTERN MUSICAL? DON'T WORRY, IT MEASURES UP Love Shakespeare? Great. Hate Shakespeare? No problem. North Coast Rep's Desperate Measures may be based on the Bard's Measure fo…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 31, 2022

Theater Review: HEISENBERG (Scripps Ranch Theatre in Scripps Ranch/San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

THE PHYSICS OF ATTRACTION If this totally non-physicist reviewer understands what he is reading " the Uncertainty Principle launched by renowned physicist Werner Heisenberg, roughly state…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:23PM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 12, 2021

Theater Review: ALWAYS… PATSY CLINE (North Coast Rep) by Milo Shapiro

CRAZY FOR LOVIN' ALWAYS PATSY CLINE Is it a musical? A play with music? A tribute act? A duo cabaret act? Always…Patsy Cline is a little of each, coming together sweetly to be something un…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:09AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 18, 2021

Theater Review: THE MINEOLA TWINS (Moxie in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

DOUBLE TROUBLE IN MINEOLA Paula Vogel, likely best known for her Pulitzer prize-winning How I Learned to Drive, isn't afraid to tackle tough themes. In The Mineola Twins, she does so by dren…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 14, 2021

Theater Review: MOTHER ROAD (San Diego REP) by Milo Shapiro

ROUTE 66 WAS ONE MOTHER OF A ROAD In John Steinbeck's 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, we follow along Route 66 the sad travels of Tom Joad and his family, who flee the desperation of Oklahom…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:46AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 23, 2021

San Diego Theater: CORONADO PLAYHOUSE'S 76TH SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT (2022) by Milo Shapiro

CORONADO PLAYHOUSE'S 2022 SEASON Coronado Playhouse, the oldest arts organization in Coronado, has announced for its 76th Season six fully-staged productions " three of which are San Dieg…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:54PM[SHARE]
Monday, August 9, 2021

Theater Reopening: CYGNET THEATRE (San Diego) 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 …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:13PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Theater: HARLEM DUET (Coronado Playhouse in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

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…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:08AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Theater Review: MARGIN OF ERROR (The Roustabouts) by Milo Shapiro

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…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:49PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Theater Review: SHE LOVES ME (San Diego Musical Theatre at Horton Grand Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

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,…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:38PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Theater Review: RED BIKE (Moxie Theatre Company) by Milo Shapiro

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 …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:57AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 20, 2020

Theater Review: BABETTE'S FEAST (Lamb's Players Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

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…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:52PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 13, 2019

Theater Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY (San Diego Musical Theatre at Horton Grand) by Milo Shapiro

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…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:10AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 6, 2019

Theater Review: THE SANTALAND DIARIES (Diversionary Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

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…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:34PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Theater Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS (Cygnet Theatre Company in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

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 …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:50AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Theater Review: KISS MY AZTEC (La Jolla Playhouse) by Milo Shapiro

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 …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:54PM[SHARE]
Monday, August 19, 2019

Theater Review:  33 1/3 " HOUSE OF DREAMS  (San Diego Repertory Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

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…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:37PM[SHARE]

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