San Diego Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: The La Jolla Music Society Presents the SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA at The Conrad
by Ron Bierman - December 18, 2024

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY PRESENTS THE SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA at The Conrad? The La Jolla Music Society has featured exceptional musicians in many genres over the years. Best known for staging classical concerts, since the opening of its intimate home at the Conrad th...

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY TOLD BY JEFFERSON MAYS at The Old Globe
by ErinMarie Reiter - December 16, 2024

The Old Globe Theatre offers a delightful holiday gift with “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story Told by Jefferson Mays” a solo show that is a masterclass in storytelling.  Playing only through December 22nd, make this show a part of your holiday present before it becomes a regret of your holiday past....

Review: San Diego Symphony Perform Richard Strauss and Shostakovich at The Jacobs Music Center
by Ron Bierman - December 13, 2024

This year’s final subscription concert at the new Jacobs Music Center began with Richard Strauss’s tone poem Don Juan and ended with his equally familiar Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. In between, Inon Barnatan was featured in two 20th Century piano concertos by Dimitri Shostakovich. The usual p...

Review: “YOUR LOCAL THEATER PRESENTS: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, BY CHARLES DICKENS, AGAIN” at La Jolla Playhouse
by ErinMarie Reiter - November 26, 2024

La Jolla Playhouse offers a new perspective on a holiday classic in “Your Local Theater Presents: A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Again,” which plays through December 15th....

Review: MISERY at Backyard Renaissance
by ErinMarie Reiter - November 24, 2024

Backyard Renaissance cuts through the seasonal sweetness with a shiver down your spine with Stephen King’s “Misery” through December 7th....

Review: LITTLE WOMEN: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL & OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD At MOXIE Theatre
by ErinMarie Reiter - November 22, 2024

Moxie Theatre presents two radically different repertory shows with compelling performances reflecting girlhood's myriad experiences, “Little Women: The Broadway Musical” and the dark thriller “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord.” Both are running with the same core cast through December 8th....

Review: ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE at Blindspot Collective
by ErinMarie Reiter - November 21, 2024

Blindspot Collective brings “Another Day in Paradise,”  a new play with music that highlights the lives and challenges of the unhoused community through the true stories of people around San Diego through November 24th. ...

Review: HADESTOWN at Broadway San Diego
by ErinMarie Reiter - November 09, 2024

This weekend through Sunday, November 10th, Broadway San Diego will take you to hell and back with the fantastic touring production of the musical “Hadestown.”...

Review: MIDNIGHT AT THE NEVER GET at Diversionary
by ErinMarie Reiter - November 06, 2024

Midnight at the Never Get is an intimate show that offers a wonderful musical experience and an entertaining and emotional look at how love, social justice, ambition, and some torch songs can create a life—but can they create a happily ever after?...

Review: SAN DIEGO OPERA PRESENTS LA BOHÈME at San Diego Civic Center
by Ron Bierman - November 06, 2024

What did our critic think of SAN DIEGO OPERA PRESENTS LA BOHÈME at San Diego Civic Center? San Diego Opera celebrated the opening of its 60th season with Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème, the same opera the company staged to open its first season. Its magnificent melodies, a touchingly tragic love story...

Review: SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PERFORMS MENDELSSOHN, BRUCH AND TCHAIKOVSKY at the Jacobs Music Center
by Ron Bierman - November 01, 2024

The music that people enjoy the most, whether they are fans of classical or hip hop, is music that evokes emotion. The San Diego Symphony under guest conductor Antonio Méndez took note of that with a concert of proven favorites, Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas Overture, Bruch’s first violin concerto, and Tch...

Review: 'INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP' at North Coast Repertory Theatre
by ErinMarie Reiter - October 31, 2024

Who remembers the 1970s? This question is asked at the start of “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” but no matter the answer, North Coast Repertory Theatre brings them vividly to life in this bittersweet family comedy, which plays through November 17th. ...

Review: THE THANKSGIVING PLAY At New Village Arts
by ErinMarie Reiter - October 14, 2024

What happens when you ask two teachers, a street yogi, and an actress, to create a play teaching about Thanksgiving without offending anyone?  You get a lot of laughs as this overly woke team descends into comedic chaos trying to figure out what to say and who is allowed to say it in “The Thanksgivi...

Review: LOOPED at The Roustabouts Theatre Co
by ErinMarie Reiter - October 14, 2024

Tallulah Bankhead once said, “Say anything about me, darling, as long as it isn’t boring.” The Roustabouts Theatre Company rose to that challenge with “Looped.” It is a delightfully funny play showcasing her humor and heartbreak, with a lead performance that Bankhead herself would agree is captivati...

Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Broadway San Diego
by ErinMarie Reiter - October 10, 2024

'Kimberly Akimbo' brings teenage angst, youthful enthusiasm, and a little bit of ice skating and committing a felony to Broadway San Diego at the Civic Theatre through October 13, 2024. ...

Review: San Diego Symphony Presents A Concert Of Works By Mahler And Larcher
by Ron Bierman - October 10, 2024

What did our critic think of SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PERFORM WORKS BY MAHLER AND LARCHER at the Jacobs Music Center? There were only two pieces on the San Diego Symphony’s program for the second weekend of the new season, the first after the renovation of the Jacobs Music Center. But one of them was Mah...

Review: PRIMARY TRUST at La Jolla Playhouse
by ErinMarie Reiter - October 06, 2024

Primary Trust, now playing at La Jolla Playhouse, is a lovely and meditative play that offers a portrait of the loneliness of living a life safe within self-drawn limits and how wonderful and sometimes painful it can be to open up your world to new experiences. “Primary Trust plays at La Jolla ...

Review: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET at San Diego Musical Theatre
by ErinMarie Reiter - October 01, 2024

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is not just a bloody good time at the theatre but one of the best shows ever from San Diego Musical Theatre.  Playing through October 20th, do not miss this show about love, family, betrayal, and those delicious meat pies....

Review: San Diego Symphony Shines at New Jacobs Music Center Opening
by Ron Bierman - October 02, 2024

What did our critic think of SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY SHINES AT NEW JACOBS MUSIC CENTER OPENING! Shortly after the waterfront’s Rady Shell opened in 2021, I was standing in a short line behind San Diego Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer and complimented her on the Rady’s awesome state-of-the-art sound system. T...

Review: DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at The Old Globe
by ErinMarie Reiter - September 27, 2024

Drac is back just in time for San Diego's spooky season at the Old Globe, in the fast-paced, campy, silly, and sexy spoof “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors.”  Dare I say, it’s a fang-tastic time at the theatre. Read our critic's take. ...

Review: “AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” at The Old Globe
by ErinMarie Reiter - September 26, 2024

The Old Globe doubles down on bringing famous literary detectives to the stage with a comic twist. They follow their recent Sherlock adaption with the famously fastidious Hercule Poirot in “Agatha Christie’s Murder on The Orient Express.” With a stunning set design and a spirited cast, this whodunit...

Review: 'THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST' at Lamb's Players Theatre
by ErinMarie Reiter - September 26, 2024

“The Importance of Being Earnest” is a lighthearted production with a clever and comedic cast that joyfully delights in poking fun at the rules and protocols of Victorian society. “The Importance of Being Earnest” plays at Lamb’s Players Theatre through November 10th....

Review: 'JERSEY BOYS' at CCAE Theatricals
by ErinMarie Reiter - September 24, 2024

“Jersey Boys,” now playing at CCAE Theatricals through October 6th, invites you to New Jersey and asks, “Who loves you?” Judging by the audience, the answer is everyone....

Review: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at North Coast Repertory Theatre
by ErinMarie Reiter - September 22, 2024

“A View From The Bridge,” now playing at North Coast Repertory Theatre through October 13th, brings a classic to the stage anchored by powerful performances....

Review: 'CONSTELLATIONS' at Chalk Circle Collective
by ErinMarie Reiter - September 18, 2024

'Constellations' is touching, smart, funny, and heartbreaking. It is extraordinarily performed with clear, and compelling performances that go straight to the heart. “Constellations” plays through September 29th at Liberty Station....