Romantic comedies are notorious for generally lacking depth or containing many thought-provoking moments, lest they get in the way of the jokes and romance. In Constellations, on the other hand, audiences are not only entertained but also challenged to consider the continuum of free will versus fate, and our perceptions of time, place and much […]
The Santa Barbara Symphony isn’t the only local arts organization to try something new at the start of 2025. Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre is serving as launch partner for this season’s national tour by The Acting Company, the veteran ensemble co-founded in 1972 by John Houseman with the first graduating class of the Drama Division of […]
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It’s been 20 years since Mean Girls gave us a telling and hilarious glimpse at social cliques in high schools, gave us The Plastics, and made Lindsay Lohan a star. The musical version of the madness, adapted by Tina Fey from her script for the film, was nominated for 12 Tony awards in 2018, including […]
The two theatrical performances that utterly rocked my world and riveted my attention came from UCSB Arts & Lectures dance offerings. Dorrance Dance’s inventive jazz-fueled take on The Nutcracker proved that the old Christmas chestnut can be changed into a charming and cutting-edge work. MOMIX’s Alice showed that the creative mind of artistic director Moses […]
If Monty Python’s Eric Idle could spoof the Legend of King Arthur with the sweet-and-starchy-ground-pork-and-ham product in Spamalot back in 2004, another expat Brit should be able to do the same for the story of the boy who never grew up. Indeed, it was less than two years later that longtime Santa Barbara theater pro […]
The teen theatre company Lights Up! launches its seventh season with an unusual offering during the holiday season: the sci-fi horror romantic comedy/rock musical Little Shop of Horrors. An off-beat work from Howard Ashman and Alan Menken – better known for their Disney musicals The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin – Shop […]
The Lobero Theatre has two holiday concerts in the lineup for this week, including Johnnyswim, the American folk-pop duo of married singer-songwriters Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez, presenting their Johnnyswim Christmas show on December 10. Two days later, it’s the return of “Christmas with The Petersens,” the concert full of Christmas classics delivered the way […]
It’s a tradition, or a cliché, that Jewish families head out to Chinese restaurants for dinner on Christmas Day (at least mine always did). So maybe it’s appropriate to think of I Married a Golem!, a new theatrical work by Kalinka founder Fred Nadis, in terms of ordering off a family dinner menu. As in […]
SBCC Theatre jumps the gun on the holiday season, turning to Tony Award-winning playwright Christopher Durang’s Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge for its student showcase, even before the campus collectively takes a break to talk – er, eat – turkey. A twist on the classic A Christmas Carol, Binge gets all unhinged in a […]
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Santa Barbara’s three major public high schools’ theaters are all buzzing this weekend with their big fall productions. SBHS’s Teenage Wasteland is an original piece of theater created by the Theatre Department’s 19 performers, including three student designers and eight ensemble members who have come up with a combined performance, concert, love story, fashion show […]
The Westmont Theatre Arts Department staged a hilarious version of John Buchan’s The 39 Steps that brought plenty of laughs through an unrelenting barrage of creative set-design gags and physical comedy. Director Mitchell Thomas masterfully squeezes out every laugh while navigating a plot that doesn’t take itself seriously. This was good lighthearted fun at its […]
For the last several years, New Beginnings’ annual fall fundraiser has moved beyond the typical wine-and-dine gala concept to actually put the focus on the longtime nonprofit’s areas of service – via presenting a theatrical event that mirrors themes of issues it works to combat. This year’s offering, The Boys Next Door, examines issues of […]
Out of the Box Theatre Company kicks off its new season with something different a few blocks up from its usual home at Center Stage. Family Album – a song collection by Joe Iconis, composer-lyricist of the Broadway hit Be More Chill and several other musicals – will be performed just once in a concert-style […]
DramaDogs Theater Company is celebrating three decades of presenting compelling and largely offbeat theater with a new production called HERE! This Moment for Women, featuring a series of dramatic short plays and monologues by contemporary playwrights E. M. Lewis and James Still. The pieces highlight women’s grit, resiliency, longing, sorrow and wonder, such that, collectively, […]
