Jackie Camborde

Come see a joyous show this holiday season! You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown plays now through December 29.

In this crazy world today, sometimes you just need a little reminder to relax and enjoy the moment. This is the message received when seeing Cebollas, the latest offering at Santa Fe Playhouse, running through November 10.  This new work is a one-act road trip comedy, from the writer of La Lluvia (SF Playhouse’s New Play Reading Series) and Prima’s Guide to Funerals (Creede Rep).

You have to hand it to Musical Theatre Southwest – most community theaters play it safe, filling their calendar with Mamma Mia, Shrek and at least one production from the Golden Age of Musicals (Rogers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Lowe, etc.); MTS continues to dip their toes deeper into the repertoire with shows such as Next To Normal and Carrie: The Musical. Playwright Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party falls into this category. See it now through October 19.

This year, which marks 100th burning of Zozobra, the Santa Fe Playhouse takes the melodrama and turns it upside down. There is still commentary on government officials, local attractions and events, but the playwrights are taking ownership of their words, in four short form pieces and several interstitials connecting them.

Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George opened at Santa Fe Playhouse on Saturday and all I can say is wow. The 1984 musical features music and lyrics by Sondheim and book by James Lapin.  Inspired by the French pointillist  painter Georges Seurat’s painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, the plot revolves around George (deftly played by Playhouse regular David Stallings), who immerses himself deeply in painting his masterpiece, and his great-grandson (also named George, also played by Stallings), a conflicted and cynical contemporary artist.

Here we go – another summer of fun, frothy musicals all over northern New Mexico. This week alone you can choose from Kinky Boots, Head Over Heels or this one, Legally Blonde. Tri-M’s latest offering is playing now through June 23 at the Santa Fe High Theater. I know what you’re thinking – do we need ANOTHER musical based on a well-loved movie about a young woman overcoming adversity to win the day? Maybe we do.

Head Over Heels is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics from the catalog of 1980s girl band The Go-Go’s. With a book by Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, the plot is derived from the 16th century play The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney. Head Over Heels opened on Broadway in 2018 and ran for six months. It is currently running through June 16 at Albuquerque Little Theatre in Albuquerque, NM.

“Most theater companies choose their plays. Grottesco’s reveal themselves.” Thus begins the director’s notes for Theater Grottesco’s Two Artists in Prison, now playing at Teatro Paraguas’ Second Stage space. The play, co-directed by Grottesco Founder John Flax and Apollo Garcia Orellana, takes place in a dystopian future where artists are locked away at the hands of an authoritarian regime. The prisoners are forced to tell their captors stories on a daily basis; if they are entertaining, they get to remain, if not, the consequences are dire. Two Artists in Prison runs through June 9th.

Santa Fe Playhouse in coming into its own as the theater company most likely to succeed in Santa Fe. The past two seasons have showcased new talent, new and provocative works and productions that have both wide appeal and thought-provoking messages. Their latest offering, What the Constitution Means to Me, is no exception. Directed with precision by Lynn Godwin, the Playhouse production adds one more hit to their incredible run of the past few years.

Ever wonder what happened when two rivals, in this case, rising star of the theatrical world William Shakespeare and biggest playwright of the age thus far Christopher Marlowe, collaborated on the writing of Henry VI? Marlowe was officially credited as co-author of the three-play cycle in 2016. Born With Teeth, now playing at Santa Playhouse, creates the scenario of the two authors meeting in secret to pen the trilogy. Along the way, flirtation, fights and much wordplay ensues.

Sondheim is everywhere. Since the start of 2024, I have seen two on Broadway (Merrily We Roll Along; Sweeney Todd), one Off-Broadway (Here We Are, the play he was working on when he passed away in 2021) one just last week in Albuquerque (Into the Woods) and last night in Santa Fe, A Little Night Music.

It’s amazing that the current production of Or, a play directed by Zoe Burke at Santa Fe Playhouse, was a second choice to the playwright’s Born With Teeth, playing in repertory right now (review to follow in a few weeks). I have yet to see Born With Teeth, but was thrilled to see Or, this week.

When I heard that MTS was doing Into the Woods, my first thought was “Wow – that’s ……ambitious.” Sondheim is always ambitious, but MTS was able to hit Sweeney Todd out of the park last year, so why did Into the Woods feel like such a giant leap forward for this creative and stalwart community theater?

A great comedic romp awaits you at ALT this weekend and next - don't miss SOMETHING ROTTEN!

Need a break from the holiday crazies? Go see Family Theatre of Santa Fe's production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown this weekend!

Just in time for the holidays, my favorite Christmas musical debuts in Albuquerque. Now, technically it’s not a “Christmas” show, but there’s enough references to holidays, family, cheer and community to make it a holiday show. Musical Theatre Southwest takes on the beloved and iconic show this month; if you miss it, you will most certainly have regrets.

It's the perfect show to take your quirky, offbeat relatives that like dark comedy. Definitely not for the little ones!

Spend a grand night with classics from the Great American Songbook, courtesy of Rodgers & Hammerstein. A Grand Night for Singing runs November 9-12 at St. Francis Auditorium in Santa Fe.

Grab your tickets now for a 90-minute nonstop thriller. How do you review a play like On Clover Road without giving the play away? That is the conundrum faced here. Playwright Steven Dietz, best known for his much-produced version of Dracula, has created a play that is gripping, spine-tingling,  scary, emotional and full of so many plot twists that it’s hard to believe it only has a running time of 90 minutes start to finish.

You have through October 21 to see NEXT TO NORMAL at Musical Theatre Southwest. Get your tickets now!