111 stories by "Pam Kragen"
Tenor Stephen Costello and baritone Stephen Powell formed an unusual duo in season-closing concert at Balboa Theatre
Comedy pokes fun at the Western commercialization of Eastern spiritual practice
Playwright Young Jean Lee wrote the 2007 play about her lifelong struggle with Christianity
Mission Hills mezzo-soprano resident Guadalupe Paz plays Mercedes the Gypsy in production of Bizet's opera at the San Diego Civic Theatre
San Diego Opera closes its mainstage season this week with a mostly sold-out production of Bizet's tragic love triangle
Scaled-down company, with budget half the size of five years ago, plans three mainstage and three Detour series shows next season
If ever there was a show tailor-made for the Welk Resort Theatre in Escondido, it's "Menopause the Musical." The 90-minute musical revue takes a light and sometimes hilarious look at the "ch…
Besides being one of the most beloved operas in history, Georges Bizet's "Carmen" has another international distinction. It's also widely accepted as one of the best operas for a first-time …
Besides being one of the most beloved operas in history, Georges Bizet's "Carmen" has another international distinction. It's also widely accepted as one of the best operas for a first-time …
In the opening scene of Jake Heggie's chamber opera "Three Decembers," the seemingly pedestrian subject matter, lengthy plot exposition via long-distance phone call and unmelodic recitative …
The national touring production of "Hello, Dolly!" opened a six-day run at the San Diego Civic Theatre on Tuesday, which was the same day its original star, Carol Channing, passed away at ag…
For decades, a 4-foot-tall illuminated crystal Champagne glass stood in the lobby of the Welk Resorts Theatre in Escondido. Today that oversize TV prop from "The Lawrence Welk Show" is gone …
In "Hairspray," idealistic Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad becomes famous for teasing and spraying her hair to gravity-defying heights. That's also a good way to describe San Diego Musical The…
The premise for The Roustabout Theatre Co.'s new comedy "Romeo, Romeo & Juliet" can be told in a nutshell: She loves him, but he loves another him. Yet despite the script's basic love triang…
It's mere coincidence that Stephanie Alison Walker's play "The Madres" premiered Saturday at Moxie Theatre during the era of America's Women's Marches. The playwright actually based her hist…
"Phantom of the Opera" holds the record as Broadway's longest-running musical, but its sequel, "Love Never Dies," has a hard a time living up to its elder sibling. After "Love" bombed in its…
When San Diego Opera opens "Florencia en el Amazonas" on Saturday, the star soprano will be singing the title role for the very first time. But that's no problem for Elaine Alvarez, who was …
Over the past 20 years, San Diego Opera audiences have been treated to the spectacle of Giacomo Puccini's epic fairy tale "Turandot" four times. But until this week, they've essentially seen…
Over the past three years, San Diego Opera's audience has grown accustomed to change as the company downsized, stabilized and refashioned its programming for new audiences. So they may be su…
When she was 4 years old, Angel Joy Blue saw her very first opera: "Turandot." This week, the Southern California soprano will mark another first. She'll make her role debut as Liù in Gia…
"The Full Monty" has deep roots in San Diego. It was born at The Old Globe in 2000, and it was the first musical ever produced by San Diego Musical Theatre in May 2007. On Saturday, SDMT ret…
Back in the 1980s, actor/playwright Eric Bogosian became an off-Broadway darling with his incendiary, multicharacter solo plays that pulsed with near-manic energy, rage and male testosterone…
When "The Pirates of Penzance" made its world premiere in New York in 1879, the musicians in the orchestra pit threatened to strike because Arthur Sullivan's intricate score was far too "ope…
In Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 musical "In the Heights," immigrant and first-generation Americans sing and rap about their hopes and dreams. They're all struggling to make their way in New Yor…
In Mat Smart's black comedy "Kill Local," Sheila's in a dead-end job. Video games and Chipotle takeout are far more compelling than carrying on the family business. But murder doesn't wait, …
