Growing up in Las Vegas, Baron Vaughn loved comedy. His mother and grandmother raised him through a tumultuous childhood, and his father was out of the picture. Comedians on TV like Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor became Vaughn’s father figures. He wanted to be like them, so he pursued the first opportunity he found to […]
Theater
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REVIEW | ‘A Beautiful Noise’ at RBTL
There is a cruel irony in that Neil Diamond, whose songs have made millions of people feel “so good, so good, so good,” felt so bad about himself for much of his life. Diamond has spoken openly about his persistent depression and loneliness, but even his most ardent fans could be forgiven for being surprised […]
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REVIEW | ‘Furlough’s Paradise’ at Geva Theatre
How would it feel to just be? To fully belong to your body, to be free from the way the world sees and punishes you, to return to a childlike innocence before you knew death, to sit on a couch with someone you’ve loved your entire life and — just be? This is the dream […]
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REVIEW | ‘Wife to James Whelan’ at MuCCC
It would not be surprising if you haven’t heard of Teresa Deevy, a Deaf Irish playwright whose robust career in the 1930s has given way to obscurity. In 2010, the Mint Theater Company in New York City kicked off an initiative to reintroduce Deevy to the public, but her work is still rarely produced. Through […]
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REVIEW | ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ at RBTL
A teenage girl lounges in bed, writing a letter to Make a Wish Foundation punctuated with smiley and frowny faces. She refers to documentation of her short life expectancy, then trails off into a musical “do do do do.” It’s a little moment that catches you off guard – this girl knows she’s going to […]
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REVIEW | ‘Barefoot in the Park’ at Geva Theatre
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 […]
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In his second act, Mark Cuddy bets on Chekhov — and Rochester
Mark Cuddy was known as a hands-on artistic director during his nearly three decades at the helm of Geva Theatre. But he’s been giving new meaning to that reputation as the founder of his latest venture, The Classics Company, which arrived on the local theater scene with authority in January with a striking production of […]
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REVIEW | “WICKED”
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.
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REVIEW | ‘Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune’
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 […]
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REVIEW | ‘The Woman in Black’
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 […]
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REVIEW | ‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ is not dead yet
“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 […]
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REVIEW | ‘End of the Rainbow’ at JCC CenterStage chronicles Judy Garland’s final months
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 […]
