Review: CABARET at Scherr Forum
by Cary Ginell - March 23, 2025
5-Star Theatricals uses low-angle lighting to highlight the decadence of pre-Nazi era Berlin, but the performances are not as bold as previous productions of 'Cabaret' have been. Sean Samuels plays The Emcee as if he were a Chippendale's dancer while Emily Goglia channels Glynis Johns rather than Li...
Review: OLIVER! at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center
by Cary Ginell - October 26, 2023
What did our critic think of OLIVER! at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center? As the earliest Broadway musical ever to feature children playing major roles, Oliver! usually bristles with youthful excitement. But despite being marketed as a family-oriented musical, Oliver! is really inappropriate f...
Review: The San Diego Symphony Opens Summer Season at San Diego's Rady Shell
by Ron Bierman - July 03, 2023
Pacho Flores is a winner of the top prize in the world’s most prestigious trumpet competition, the Maurice André International, and the list of contemporary composers writing for him is impressive and growing. The San Diego Symphony has now performed two of the results. Last season it was Paquito D'...
Review: 5-Star Theatricals' THE ADDAMS FAMILY at Kavli Theatre
by Cary Ginell - October 16, 2022
With TV star Teri Hatcher ('Desperate Housewives,' 'Lois & Clark') leading the way, 5-Star Theatricals' production of 'The Addams Family' is a gag-filled laughfest, with great tunes, a cemetery full of puns, and even a wardrobe malfunction. It's real, and it's spectacular!...