Put a Little Drama in your Life
KPBS AIRDATE: February 5, 1997 “Hot ‘n’ Throbbing” starts out true to its name. A sultry voice. A sensuous situation. It’s a wild ride that rapidly takes a decidedly downhill turn. It goes from surreal to hyperreal, from darkly funny to deeply disturbing. Paula Vogel’s piece takes place on multiple levels -- Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: January 29, 1997 It’s an age-old attraction: men for pretty women and women for dangerous men. That’s at the center of “Picnic,” the 1953 winner of the Pulitzer Prize. But playwright William Inge took the situation even further, adding desperate spinsters, disappointed mothers, intelligent but not-so pretty daughters. All these women living in a sleepy Read More →
THEATRE REVIEW: “ THE SEAGULL ” at the North Coast Repertory Theatre KPBS AIRDATE: January 22, 1997 The first of Anton Chekhov’s ‘big four’ plays, “The Seagull” was a failure when it was first produced 100 years ago. In fact, it was practically hissed off the stage. The Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: JANUARY 15, 1997 When “The Wiz,” an all-black rock musical about The Wizard of Oz, opened on Broadway in 1975, it took on an enormous challenge: walking in the shadow of the beloved screen musical of 1939. A different, but equally enormous challenge confronted the Umoja Theatre Company. “The Wiz” is a huge and elaborate undertaking, especially for a small, Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: December 18, 1996 The classic story was only four pages long, and there was only one gift in the title. But the musical version lasts about 90 intermissionless minutes and is called, “The Gifts of the Magi.” Maybe it gains some plurality from the tripartite nature of the piece -- encompassing the classic O. Henry tale of love, mutual Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: December 11, 1996 Well, the holidays are officially upon us. You can hear it in shopping malls, taste it in restaurants... and see it onstage. The San Diego Repertory Theatre rolls out its 21st presentation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” But it had some tough acts to follow: its own impeccable 1995 production, and the Read More →
“San Diego is a hotbed of theater. Every year, I see 200-250 productions. This is fertile ground for new work. In addition to the prodigious local talent, theatermakers from around the country come here to premiere their latest creations. San Diego sends more shows to Broadway than nearly any other city in the U.S.”
-Pat Launer