All stories by Milo Shapiro on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Theater Review: THE COUNTER (Moxie Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

FORGET THE USUAL " MOXIE IS SERVING A TENDER STORY WITH A SIDE OF TRUTH Not every good story needs to take you around the world in eighty days or off to a magical land with wizards; sometime…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:55AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Theater Review: BRIGHT STAR (Lamplighters Community Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

COMFORTABLE HOMEY FOLK SHARE A SWEET STORY Book and music creators Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin) and Edie Brickell heard a true story from 1902 and became somewhat obsessed with it. …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:57AM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Theater Review: HAMILTON (National Tour in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S 1776 Until Hamilton, if you'd asked me if I liked rap music, you'd have gotten a pretty quick, "No." And I still do cringe at the memories of cars driving up my street wit…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:46PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 5, 2025

Theater Review: THE PROM (San Diego Musical Theatre by Milo Shapiro

MUSICAL ROM-COM PROM IS DA BOMB! Oh, the high school prom! Has any event, short of one's wedding perhaps, ever been given more stress-inducing over-attention? Who to bring, what to wear, how…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:28AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Theater Review: PERIL IN THE ALPS (Agatha Christie World Premiere by Steven Dietz at North Coast Rep) by Milo Shapiro

SWEETLY PLAYFUL TREATMENT OF A COMPLICATED PLOT The prolific author Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was the creator of 66 novels, 14 volumes of short stories and 20 plays, ten of which have been…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Theater Review: HILLARY AND CLINTON (OnWord Theatre at the Alma Hotel in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

WHAT'S IN A NAME? A LOT WHEN IT'S "CLINTON" "Feelings are a terrible way to make decisions, Bill." "Yes, but people don't think you have any." Reviewing this show is almost like reviewing tw…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:51AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Theater Review: THE HOT WING KING (Cygnet Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

THESE WINGS ARE FLAMING IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE In our divided nation, there are still a few universals that bring us together. Puppies. Mother's Day. Pizza. And, tagging close behind on the p…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:26AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 31, 2025

Highly Recommended Theater: FIRST DATE (Point Loma Playhouse in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

I had a blind date. I waited two hours on the corner. A girl walked by. I said, "Are you Louise?'" She said, "Are you Rodney?" I said, "Yeah." She said, 'I'm not Louise."     " Rodney …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:58AM[SHARE]

Theater Review: TRUE WEST (Roustabouts Theatre Company at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

TRUE ZEST IN TRUE WEST As my sixtieth year on earth winds down, I'd like to believe those years have seasoned me with a strong degree of wisdom, patience, and finesse. As I said, I'd like to…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:51AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Theater Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (North Coast Rep) by Milo Shapiro

WE, THE THEATRE, IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION Heidi Schreck wrote this mostly-autobiographical play and starred in it when it played on Broadway, where it was Tony-nominated for Bes…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Theater Review: A PERFECT GANESH (Lamplighters Community Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

GANESHA GRANTS GRACE IN A GLORIOUSLY GRITTY JOURNEY The Hindu religion has multiple gods. Ganesha, also called Ganesh, is revered as the god of wisdom, luck, and beginnings. His beloved spir…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:25PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Theater Review: THE DARK HEART OF DOOLEY STEVENS (Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

THIS WILD RIDE SHOULD BE DOOLEY NOTED Francis Gercke"both the playwright and Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company's artistic director"welcomed the audience prior to the matinee. During his g…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:57AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 24, 2025

Theater Review: WE ARE CONTINUOUS (Diversionary Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

CONTINUOUSLY ENTERTAINING What's most striking about the excellent we are continuous by Harrison David Rivers (The Bandaged Place, This Bitter Earth) is that it doesn't just break the …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:53PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 10, 2025

Theater Review: HELLO, DOLLY! (San Diego Musical Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

GOOD GOLLY, MISS DOLLY! Under Randy Slovacek's direction for San Diego Musical Theatre, Hello, Dolly! festoons the theater with a cumulatively enchanting restoration of this infectious delig…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:02PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 2, 2025

Theater Review: OTHER DESERT CITIES (Cygnet Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

NEIL SIMON IN PALM SPRINGS WITH AN AGENDA Jon Robin Baitz' Broadway drama Other Desert Cities "which opens this week at Cygnet Theatre"depicts a crisis of apparent betrayal and imminent expo…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:34PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 31, 2025

Theater Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT (National Tour) by Milo Shapiro

EVERYONE WILL LIKE IT HOT It wouldn't be a valid review to simply write, "I loved it!" a hundred times and ship it off to my editor. However, if you're looking for a bottom line or a simple …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:50AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 25, 2025

Theater Review: WAIT UNTIL DARK (Lamplighters Community Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

IT'S WORTH WAITING UNTIL DARK Playwright Frederick Knott's Wait Until Dark debuted on Broadway in 1966, set in the contemporary world of its time in Greenwich Village. Lamplighters is now…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:47AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 17, 2025

Theater Review: BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL (National Tour at San Diego Civic Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

BACK TO BACK TO THE FUTURE For those of us old enough to remember the summer of '85, when the movie Back to the Future reigned in movie theaters, here's a daunting thought: Marty's 30-year t…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 13, 2025

Theater Review: THE HEART SELLERS (North Coast Rep) by Milo Shapiro

YOU'LL BUY THIS HEART In my ninth-grade English class, Mr. Rozran taught that a short story, versus a novel, should aim to capture a small slice of life, leaving much of what happened before…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:08PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Theater Preview: THE GOLDEN GAYS: THANK YULE FOR BEING A FRIEND (Tour at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

PICTURE IT: MIAMI, 1985, AGAIN, BUT WITH SINGING When Bea Arthur initially gave a firm "No" to participating in the 80s sit-com The Golden Girls, she nearly denied millions of soon-to-be loy…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:58PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 9, 2024

Theater Review: TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Lamplighters Community Theatre in La Mesa/ San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

THESE CREATURES ARE DEFINITELY STIRRING UP HOLIDAY SPIRT AT LAMPLIGHTERS Ken Ludwig's story begins with a homey Uncle Brierly (Christopher T. Miller) wanting to read to us the famous poem th…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:08PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Theater Review: LITTLE WOMEN: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL (Moxie Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

LITTLE WOMEN WITH A BIG PRESENCE Allen Knee took on a daunting task in creating a play from Louise Mae Alcott's hefty 1868"69 two-volume novel, but he also cuts back the narrative for the mu…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:11PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 22, 2024

Theater Review: OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD (Moxie Theatre) by Milo Shapiro

A PLAY THAT RAISES THE ESCOBAR Pablo Escobar was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and corrupt politician who founded and ran the deadly Medellín Cartel. Known as "the king of cocain…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:52AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Theater Review: THE ODD COUPLE (Roustabouts Theatre Company in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

EVERYTHING ODD IS NEW AGAIN Before ABC-TV made 114 episodes of the 1970-1975 sit-com The Odd Couple starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugma), there was the movie starring Jack Lemmon and Walte…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:08PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Theater Review: LOOPED (The Roustabouts Theatre Company at Scripps Ranch Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

TALLULAH'S BACK IN TOWN, DAHLING! "Don't touch my purse!  Touching a woman's purse is like touching her vagina! Except, I can only put so much in my purse." Not quite a lady-like quote fo…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:49PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 10, 2024

Theater Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO (National Tour, San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

WILL YOU STILL NEED ME, WHEN I'M (LOOKING) SIXTY-FOUR? How would you live your life if you knew you were going to die of old age … in your late teens? All teens experience appearance issue…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:05AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 9, 2024

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

THERE'S SOMETHING GOOD IN ROTTEN So you're a somewhat-talented duo of playwrights, living in 1595 England, with actors eager to work with you and a benefactor hiring you to produce a play. W…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:43PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Concert Review: AN ENCHANTED EVENING WITH BARBRA (Sharon Owens at Magnolia Theatre, El Cajon/San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

THE WAY SHE WERE Envisioning a Barbra Streisand concert, one pictures $1000 seats at the Dolby for a show where every word has been discussed, rehearsed, and teleprompted. By contrast, at El…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:51AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Highly Recommended Theater: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (Cygnet Theatre in San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

HOT PATOOTIE, BLESS MY SOUL, I REALLY LOVE THAT ROCKY SHOW The first shock for some readers may be that there was no typo omitting the word "Picture" before "Show" in the title.  Before a…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:52PM[SHARE]

Highly Recommended Theater: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach)) by Milo Shapiro

BRIDGING FAMILY DYNAMICS IN THIS CLASSIC North Coast Rep's next offering, A View from the Bridge, a landmark drama from 1955, takes on new relevance today. Opening tonight, September 11, and…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:50PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 8, 2024

Theater Opening: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Lamb's Players Theatre in Coronado/San Diego) by Milo Shapiro

WILDE-LY FUNNY SCRIPT IN GOOD HANDS Many scripts become dated after 130 years, but thanks to Oscar Wilde's clever wit, The Importance of Being Earnest " which runs at Lamb's Players Theatre …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:05PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off