Theater

Nostalgia has a strong pull in times of uncertainty. Perhaps that’s why Neil Simon has been especially popular this theatrical season. His comedies seem familiar and fun, especially for theatergoers who witnessed his prolific stage and screenwriting career, which started in the 1960s. A longtime favorite of regional theater, Simon’s works have also recently been […]

The now-Broadway classic, onstage at the West Herr Auditorium Theatre through March 1 as part of RBTL’s 2025-26 season, still soars and delights.

Some plays focus on the larger-than-life: think Shakespeare’s kings, witches and battles. Other plays are mundane and true-to-life: think conversations about farts, radio requests and getting to know your coworkers. “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” is solidly in the second camp. Out of Pocket, Inc. lovingly stages this 1980s romantic comedy at […]

When the first jump scare happened during Geva Theatre’s production of “The Woman in Black” on Tuesday, a woman two seats down grabbed her friend’s arm and yelped. By the fourth jump scare, she said (loudly), “I’m gonna fight him!” The decent-sized crowd that had shuffled in from an icy 10-degree January night to endure […]

“Monty Python’s Spamalot” galloped into the West Herr Auditorium Theatre this week on invisible horses, leaving behind a trail of flatulence, flesh wounds, flying cows and a lot of laughter, proving that this 20-year-old madcap musical of the highest disorder is“not dead yet.” If those references were lost on you, not to worry, not to […]

In Celtic folklore, the end of the rainbow signifies the end of a treasure hunt, a triumphant place where one finds the leprechaun’s pot of gold. Of course, science is always here to dash whimsical lore — because rainbows are simply an optical illusion created by light refracting through raindrops, there is no actual ‘end […]

When Neil Simon’s “Rumors” premiered in 1988 it was unlike anything Simon had ever written. Indeed, it would be unlike anything he would ever write again. The play is Simon’s only farce, which is hard to believe considering his vast body of acclaimed work and that he honed his comedic chops early in his career […]

What would happen if you combined Lisa Frank, a Disney amusement park and a 90s music video? Probably something in the same aesthetic ballpark as the unabashedly over-the-top jukebox musical “& Juliet,” which is turning the West Herr Auditorium Theater into a nostalgic dance party through December 14. Set in a remixed Y2K version of […]

This month marks Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, which means there have been almost two centuries of adaptations of beloved novels that either make her readers upset or make them swoon. The Company Theatre gets it right. Their fresh and faithful theatrical adaptation of her final novel “Persuasion” plays in their new home on 28 Lawn […]

At this point, what more can a review of any production of “Hamilton” say that hasn’t already been said about the beloved hit musical? Since its debut 10 years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking hip-hop-driven homage to America’s previously undersung founding father, Alexander Hamilton, has burst into Broadway’s billion-dollar-club and been showered with the kind of […]