Theatre reviews by Makayla Hoppe
Diversionary Theatre cordially invites you to a dinner party. A mother, son and son-in-law will regale you with stories of childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and every moment in between. That's what "We Are Continuous" feels like--a seat at a familial dinner party. Written by Harrison David Rivers and directed by Kian Kline-Chilton, the play breaks... Continue Reading →
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Hart-Cellars Act. The law abolished the National Origins Formula, which sought to preserve American homogeneity by encouraging immigration from Western Europe. By abolishing the National Origins Formula, the Hart-Cellars Act opened doors and promoted immigration from Eastern and Northern Europe, as well as Asia and other non-Western... Continue Reading →
Horror is a tough genre to crack. It is wildly successful in novels, sometimes successful in film (the Academy doesn't tend to recognize horror all that often), and not very familiar to modern theatre-goers. However, when a story is captivating enough, it'll enthrall any audience, and this is particularly true for Stephen King's "Misery," which... Continue Reading →
“Incident At Our Lady of Perpetual Help” by Katie Forgette, currently playing at North Coast Repertory Theatre, is a self-described memory play. It tells a first-person narrative about a time that has passed in the character's memory. However, the play is also rife with nostalgia bait. The story follows the O’Shea clan, an Irish Catholic... Continue Reading →
Anyone known to resemble Blanche DuBois is going to be quite a character. As the literal inspiration for Ms. DuBois, screen and stage actress Tallulah Bankhead was quite the character indeed. Her colorful life in Hollywood and New York was fueled by drugs, alcohol and tobacco, leading to an admirable "idgaf" attitude that many of... Continue Reading →
Within the world of horror and monsters, vampires have always seemed to reign supreme above the other things that go bump in the night. From novels to film and television, stories of bloodsucking ghouls have scared and seduced audiences for centuries. Horror exists to chill us to the bone, but what would happen if it... Continue Reading →
Disney knows how to package its products for the masses. Based on the 1992 animated film of the same name, “Aladdin” is a faithful stage adaptation with extra theatrical flair. The Broadway tour has colorful sets, costumes and projections that light up every corner of the theater for an energetic evening of spectacle. This stage... Continue Reading →
Theatre that forces us to address life’s challenges can sometimes be the most rewarding. For “Redwood” at La Jolla Playhouse, the story takes us along a woman’s journey to face insurmountable grief. The story directly addresses the loss of a loved one, to the point where the actors sing, “Everybody dies.” It might be counterintuitive... Continue Reading →
A good period piece should transform our modern-day lives into a dreamy world of romance, scandal, drama and wit, even for a moment. The Old Globe’s current production of “The Age of Innocence,” adapted by Karen Zacarías, fails to deliver that dreamy drama. The show is a contemporary look at the 1920 novel of the... Continue Reading →
The skirts are short, and the legs are long. Broadway's national tour of "Chicago" made its stop at San Diego's Civic Theatre and delivered "all that jazz" and more. In a sense, the show is very traditional. There are all the songs we know and love, and the story of Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart... Continue Reading →
To See or Not To See 