Sandi Masori

Catherine (Liliana Talwatte) is mourning her mathematician father Robert (Francis Gercke) who has recently passed after she took care of him through several years of mental illness.  Her sister Claire (Wendy Maples) comes in from New York for the funeral and wants to bring Catherine back with her. [Sandi Masori]

In all of this you’re probably wondering where my Jewish angle is… well I couldn’t find one. I guess the real answer here is that even though it’s a show that’s about a holiday we Jews don’t celebrate, theater is still fun and a good time can be had by all.  [Sandi Masori]

In this version Jewish playwrights Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen have adapted it with hilarious anachronistic references to San Diego and pop culture.  As soon as the show opens they show us what to expect when they reference the stage ghost light and then say that San Diego has too many ghosts, like those at the Hotel Del, The Whaley House, or the Chargers Fan Club.  [Sandi Masori]

It’s been a hard month not only for all of us in the Jewish community, but for the entire San Diego community.  With all of the unrest and strife happening, the audience at Broadway In San Diego’s Mamma Mia was ready to let loose and revel in the joyous ABBA songs that make up the backbone of this whimsical show at the Civic Theatre. [Sandi Masori]

The play is set in 1964 in a small Catholic boys’ school. The opening is a sermon on Doubt by Father Flynn (Dr. AJ Knox). New teacher Sister James (Juliana Scheding) is called to the principal’s office so that she can report on the progress of the new student, Donald, who also happens to be the first Black student in the school. [Sandi Masori]

The acting was superb and I’ll come back to that, but I really have to talk about the sets.  I have never in my life seen such elaborate and I know I said it above, but cinematic sets.  The way that the stage and sets were built, the lighting effects, and the scenes staged to keep most of the action towards the back of the stage, the effect was almost more like watching a movie than a play.  [Sandi Masori]