Theatre, Film & Broadcast

North Coast Rep’s ‘Pippin:’ An Enchanting Journey of Self-Discovery

By Eva Trieger   SOLANA BEACH, California — I’ve been a subscriber and reviewer of North Coast Repertory Theatre for the past 25 years, and as they close out their 41st season, this intimate venue proves that like a fine wine or a rare gem such as obsidian, moonstone or sapphire imbued with magic, it […]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Rocking, Cheering, and Emoting with TINA

If you go by the Civic Theater around 9:30 pm on the next four nights, you may notice people coming out with big smiles on their faces, a beat in their step and a song on their lips.  Such is the end of the emotional journey audience members were taken on at the Broadway San Diego performance of TINA.  The rockumentary tells of the life and rise to fame of the legendary Tina Turner, who sadly passed just last May.  [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Comic-Con 2023 Panels Indicate Bleak Entertainment Future

With writers and actors on strike and prohibited by SAG/AFTRA and WGA from promoting upcoming productions, this year’s Comic-Con was without many  people who normally would have participated on panels.  What was left at times seemed slapdash and makeshift, leaving most attendees wanting more, a harbinger of the content-cold year that the strikes will mean for fans around the world. [Shor M. Masori]

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Jewish Celebrities, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Should You See ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ at PowPac? It’s No Mystery

By Eva Trieger POWAY, California — Thank you PowPac Theatre for bringing us Witness for the Prosecution, the edgy murder mystery penned in 1925 by Dame Agatha Christie. While I am not quite certain the author would recognize her play with PowPac’s treatment and influence, I do think she would have loved the performance I

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Hereville’ Is Getting Thereville

The story begins as they prepare for Shabbat. But the story is not about Shabbat, or heavier themes that we may expect from “Jewish” shows, it’s about a blended family learning to overcome their respective grief and come together as a family.  It’s about motherly love between a daughter and a stepdaughter and feelings of familial betrayals. [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

SIX, a Musical about Henry VIII’s Wives, Electrifies

Electric! That is the first word that comes to my mind when I think about the SIX, the Broadway in San Diego show currently playing at the Civic Theatre. It’s the shortest Broadway musical I have ever seen, being only one act and clocking in at about an hour and twenty minutes, but every single one of those minutes is jam-packed with energy and earworm-worthy tunes. [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Documentary Challenges America’s Wildfire Strategy

Jack Cohen, a retired U.S. Forest Service fire research scientist who lives in Missoula, Montana, passionately contends that for centuries the United States has dealt with wildfires all wrong. Instead of spending billions of dollars to put the fires out wherever they may occur, efforts should be prioritized to make homes and other structures as invulnerable as possible to flying embers, he insists. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

A High-Stakes Love Triangle in the Warsaw Ghetto

When the actors were backstage, they were enmeshed in a real-life love triangle featuring the competition of Edmund (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) and Patryk (Mark Ryder) for the affection of Stefcia (Clara Rugaard).  Patryk’s on-stage wife Ada (Valentina Belle) was left out of the backstage action. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish Fiction, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Annotated ‘Merchant’ Both Confuses and Edifies

I want to precede this review by saying that I think avantgarde theatre that is designed to make you think is an important creative expression and we need art that starts conversations. Now having said that, I have to admit that it left me scratching my head wondering if I were smart enough to be in the audience.  [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Hallmark Channel Highlights Jewish Customs in ‘The Wedding Contract’

The Hallmark Channel premiered on Saturday night, June 17, The Wedding Contract, a movie about a Jewish wedding that might have given viewers some wrong ideas about ketubahs. Adam (Jake Epstein) and Rebecca (Becca Tobin) joke about putting this or that into their ketubah, but they, like most Jewish couples, sign a traditional, off-the-shelf document. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast