Thursday Theatre Preview – March 7, 2019
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Theatre contributor Joey Landwehr joined Good Morning San Diego to talk about some of the best plays you could see in San Diego this weekend.
HERSHEY FELDER: BEETHOVEN
San Diego Repertory Theatre
Through March 24
San Diego’s beloved artist, Hershey Felder, returns with his latest smash hit celebrating the world’s greatest composer, BEETHOVEN. Felder’s tour de force performance has illuminated Beethoven and his 5th and 9th symphonies, Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique Sonata, Emperor Concerto, Fur Elise, and more, in a deep and revealing light. Hailed in both its premieres in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles as “Rapturous and exhilarating” BEETHOVEN promises to be his most unforgettable journey yet.
• Felder is a genius at what he does. This is his 7th production paying homage to and putting on the pants of some of the worlds greatest composers including George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Franz Liszt, Irving Berlin, Fryderyk Chopin and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
• Not only is he a performer, but he is also a composer, musician, producer, director; Is there anything this man can’t do. If we ever see him take on ballet superstar Rudolf Nureyev then we will know.
DANCING LESSONS at BROOKS THEATER
Oceanside Theatre Company (co-production with Scripps Ranch Theatre)
March 1 – 17
There are New York minutes and New York strip steaks, but the man and woman in “Dancing Lessons” are New York neighbors — that is, they live in the same building two floors apart and have never exchanged a word or a nod. A heartwarming story laced with humor about a young man with Asperger’s syndrome seeking the instruction of an injured dancer in order to survive an awards dinner. As their relationship unfolds, they’re both caught off-guard by the discoveries that they make about each other and themselves. the play asks us to think about which of these two characters is more impaired, the one hobbled by a heavy medical apparatus or the one hobbled by an inability to respond appropriately to social cues.
• Mark St. Germain has written a new play about connections and the will of the human spirit. The New York Times called it, “Utterly charming.”
• In collaboration with the Autism Society San Diego (ASSD) The Brooks Gallery (in the lobby of The Brooks Theatre) will feature an exhibit of some of their local artist’s work on the themes of dance, being different and hope.
• Downtown Oceanside is a wonderful place to go for a bite to eat before or after the show.
DIANA – THE MUSICAL
La Jolla Playhouse
Now Extended Through April 14
In 1981, an assistant kindergarten teacher married the Prince of Wales and, overnight, became the most famous woman in the world. But behind the fairytale, there was a troubled marriage and a young woman struggling to find her voice. Facing an entrenched monarchy and unprecedented media scrutiny, Princess Diana surprises everyone – including herself – as she grows into a global phenomenon and manages to change the world.
Based on actual events.
• This is a Broadway-Bound, World Premiere
• Christopher Ashley and the writers behind the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis (Joe DiPietro and David Bryan) create this highly anticipated musical, featuring an epic and sweeping contemporary score.
