and, SEEN!

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!

Dial M for Murder (The Old Globe)

SEEN: Aug 2, 2022 July 21 – August 28, 2022 Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre Conrad Prebys Theatre Center Globe-commissioned world-premiere adaptation By Frederick Knott Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher Directed by Stafford Arima A new version of the celebrated murder mystery that inspired Hitchcock’s masterpiece! Tony is convinced that his wife Margot has been cheating on him. Now it seems that the affair is over, but in his jealousy Tony spins a web of suspicion and deception that will tighten around them and ensnare them both in danger, recrimination, and murder. The New York Times calls Dial M for Murder “a cat-and-mouse waiting game, with enough twists and sudden hitches to keep the chills and thrills running.” Acclaimed playwright Jeffrey Hatcher (Scotland Road, Wait Until Dark) brings us an edge-of-your-seat, world-premiere adaptation of this modern classic, directed in high style by Globe veteran Stafford Arima (Allegiance, Red Velvet) in our most intimate performance space.

Here There Are Blueberries (La Jolla Playhouse)

July 26 – August 21, 2022 Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre By Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich Conceived and Directed by Moisés Kaufman A Co-Production With Tectonic Theater Project What hidden secrets can a photograph reveal? An album of never before seen World War II-era photographs arrives at the desk of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist Rebecca Erbelding. As Rebecca and her team of historians begin to unravel the shocking story behind the images, the album soon makes headlines around the world. In Germany, a businessman sees the album online and recognizes his own grandfather in the photos. He begins a journey of discovery that will take him into the lives of other Nazi descendants – in a reckoning of his family’s past and his country’s history. Here There Are Blueberries tells the story of these photographs – what they reveal about the Holocaust and our own humanity.

Top Gun: Maverick (not a play!)

This is not a play! It is a movie. That we saw at an AMC theatre (shout out to $5 Tuesdays)

Lempicka (La Jolla Playhouse)

Book, Lyrics & Original Concept by Carson Kreitzer Book & Music by Matt Gould Choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly Directed by Rachel Chavkin Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka is a celebrity icon of modernity, famed both for her stunning portraits of jazz era society and for her unapologetic, daring lifestyle. Fleeing political upheaval in St. Petersburg to the glamour of 1920s Paris, Tamara uses her raw talent and relentless ambition to claw her way from penniless refugee to in-demand portraitist. Her world is upended when she meets Rafaela, a free spirit from the city slums, who introduces Tamara to a new world of decadence and passion. Torn between her new muse and her husband, and fighting to leave her mark on an ever-changing world, Tamara must discover the depths of her own strength to survive.

Steve Martin, Martin Short, LA Phil, Steep Canyon Rangers (Hollywood Bowl)

SEEN: July 2, 2022 Artists Los Angeles Philharmonic Thomas Wilkins, conductor Steve Martin Martin Short Jeff Babko The Steep Canyon Rangers