and, SEEN!

best fight sequence ever (The Outsiders, La Jolla Playhouse)

Based on the Novel by S.E. Hinton and Francis Ford Coppola’s Motion Picture Book by Adam Rapp Music and Lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Justin Levine Choreography by Rick Kuperman & Jeff Kuperman Directed by Danya Taymor The story that defined a generation has been reimagined as a groundbreaking musical. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, the hardened hearts and aching souls of Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and their chosen family of ‘outsiders’ are in a fight for survival and a quest for purpose in a world that may never accept them. A story of the bonds that brothers share and the hopes we all hold on to, this gripping new musical reinvigorates the timeless tale of ‘haves and have-nots’, of protecting what’s yours and fighting for what could be.

contact improv meets poetry night: The Notebooks of Leonardo DaVinci (Old Globe)

SEEN: Feb 14, 2023. Our shortest episode yet! In which we mostly define contact improv and discuss the weather. January 21 – February 26, 2023 Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage Old Globe Theatre Conrad Prebys Theatre Center Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman You know you’re pretty special when painting the Mona Lisa is the least of your accomplishments! Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest thinkers of all time. Now Tony Award winner and MacArthur Genius Grantee Mary Zimmerman (The White Snake, Metamorphoses) shapes a genre-busting play entirely from da Vinci’s own notebooks. A cast of chameleon-like actors takes us on a journey through da Vinci’s mind as he considers everything from math and engineering to philosophy and love. Created by one of the most acclaimed artists working in the American theatre, this unique and breathtaking show that The New York Times called “a fun house of the mind” illuminates what it truly means to be a Renaissance man.

2022 in review

In which we discuss memorable theatrical moments and shows we saw in 2022.

(not) about gender: As You Like It (La Jolla Playhouse with Diversionary Theatre)

November 15 – December 11, 2022 Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre By William Shakespeare Co-Directed by Christopher Ashley and Will Davis Produced in association with Diversionary Theatre The original rom com, wild with love and high on joy In Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy, Rosalind and Orlando meet by chance in court and have an immediate connection. When they are both banished, fate brings them together again in the Forest of Arden. Far from the restrictions of court life, we find ourselves in a vibrant new world, where identities can be fully explored and romance can blossom in multiple forms. Brought to vibrant life by a cast of trans, non-binary and Queer performers, Christopher Ashley and Will Davis’s re-imagined As You Like It is a celebration of the limitless possibilities of love and humanity. This bold and beautiful production inhabits a wonderful, ‘gender-ful’ world – a sensuous place that embraces the full spectrum of gender possibilities. Evoking the heady experience of falling in love, and underscored by heart-thumping live music, there are no boundaries in As You Like It, just endless complexities, infinite love and the joyful expression of true selves. Love is in the air!

saying the inside thoughts out loud: What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (Old Globe)

World premiere By Nathan Englander Directed by Barry Edelstein Pulitzer Prize finalist Nathan Englander and director Barry Edelstein wowed Globe audiences with The Twenty-Seventh Man, and now they team up again for this world premiere of a modern-day comedy of friendship. What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank is Englander’s adaptation of his award-winning short story about two women, inseparable in high school, whose adult lives have taken them to opposite ends of the earth, and to wildly different experiences of culture, religion, and family. When they reunite, their bond is tested by the distance that has grown between them… and also by their husbands, who don’t exactly see eye to eye. Englander’s distinctive voice—hilarious, outrageous, and emotional—gives us a uniquely funny and smart exploration of how we see ourselves and how our friends see us. Contains strong language. This production contains the smoking of herbal cigarettes and strobe effects.

Come Fall in Love (the Old Globe)

Old Globe Theatre Conrad Prebys Theatre Center Directed by Aditya Chopra Book and lyrics by Nell Benjamin Music by Vishal Dadlani and Sheykhar Ravjiani Choreography by Rob Ashford Come Fall in Love – The DDLJ Musical is the story of Simran, a young Indian American woman whose future is set: an arranged marriage back in India to a family friend. But when she convinces her very strict dad that she should spend a summer of freedom and fun in Europe, she falls for the charming Rog, and her careful, logical plans go out the window. Can she be true to both her heritage and her heart? Can carefree American Rog win over her traditional father? Take a whirlwind trip from Boston to Europe to India as cultures collide in the stage musical adaptation of the beloved hit romantic-comedy film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, set to the exuberant beat of all-new songs created for the stage.

Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord (La Jolla Playhouse)

Written and Performed by Kristina Wong Directed by Chay Yew On Day 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kristina Wong began sewing masks out of old bedsheets and bra straps on her Hello Kitty sewing machine. Before long, she was leading the Auntie Sewing Squad, a work-from-home sweatshop of hundreds of volunteers—including children and her own mother—to fix the U.S. public healthcare system while in quarantine. It was a feminist care utopia forming in the midst of crisis. Or was it a mutual aid doomsday cult? With hilarity and boundless generosity, she invites the audience in on her work building community in isolation, while reflecting on what we’d been through and imagining what we wanted to become.

Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (La Jolla Playhouse)

August 30 – September 25, 2022 Mandell Weiss Forum By Andrea Thome Original Music by Sinuhé Padilla Directed by José Zayas Fandangos are vibrant gatherings in which music and dance bring stories of a community to life. For a group of immigrants gathering in a community center on the eve of a city-wide ICE raid, this night’s fandango serves a vital purpose: to resurrect the culture they left behind. Inspired by interviews with immigrants from Latin America – many of whom made a dangerous journey to the United States – Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) is a celebration of the resiliency and camaraderie that can be built as strangers become friends, friends become family, and the music plays on. This “rapturous” and “riveting“ new play is a “sensitive portrait of the in-between: characters balancing the small joys of everyday life with the fear of uncertainty” (The New York Times). Descripción en Español

Should Spoon River Anthology be produced?

Special edition conversation about the merits of producing older shows. Shout out to Shaun and Shannon for inspiring this convo.

Midsummer Night’s Dream (Old Globe)

SEEN: Aug 16, 2022 By William Shakespeare Directed by Patricia McGregor Fall under the spell of Shakespeare’s most joyful and popular comedy. Filled with magic, humor, music, and spectacle, the merriment unfolds in an enchanted forest where fairies play tricks on unsuspecting lovers and bumbling actors are transformed beyond their wildest dreams. With a magic potion that grants love at first sight, anything can, and does, happen!