Without Walls 'WOW' Festival | La Jolla Playhouse
Since its inception in 2013, La Jolla Playhouse's Without Walls "WOW" Festival has become one of the biggest don't-miss theater events in town. It's an immersive, interactive program, spotlighting a bunch of new works of theater that push boundaries of traditional performance and think outside the box — or the stage. This year, the programming will take over UC San Diego, and includes intriguing site-specific works, immersive, participatory theater, dance and more. Some events have set time schedules and require reservations, others are designated as drop-in.
Worth checking out: 15 minutes inside Do Ho Suh's strange and unsettling "Fallen Star" house sculpture atop a building; Blindspot Collective's "iykyk" in the Che Café; Ash Eliza Smith and Robert Twomey's "Fish Phone Booth Playtest" in collaboration with the Birch Aquarium; Animal Cracker Conspiracy's "Spectrum: Society of Wonder" giant puppets; TuYo Theatre's "Pásale Pásale" and Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri's incredible work of dance and storytelling, "The Running Show."
Details: WOW Festival. April 4-7. UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla. Free.
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 | Cygnet Theatre
Electropop meets classic Russian literature in Cygnet Theatre's production of "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812." Writing credits for the book, lyrics and music go to playwright Dave Malloy, but it's adapted from none other than Leo Tolstoy himself, drawing on part eight of "War and Peace." You don't need to know much about "War and Peace," because this script very quickly becomes its own wild and standalone entity — the romance between Natasha and Anatole, and his depressed brother-in-law, Pierre.
This is a musical through-and-through, with reportedly only one spoken word of dialogue in the entire script. Malloy drew on electronic dance music, Russian folk music and indie rock for the score. This production is directed by Cygnet's artistic director Sean Murray.
Details: "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812." On stage April 10 through May 19, 2024. Cygnet Theatre, 4040 Twiggs St., Old Town. $58-$73.
'Madama Butterfly' | San Diego Opera
Giacomo Puccini's masterpiece opera, "Madama Butterfly" returns to the San Diego Opera stage — it was last produced in 2016. The story follows a young woman in Japan, Cio-Cio-San, known as "Butterfly," who meets an American officer, Pinkerton, falls in love and — so she thinks — marries him. He returns to his American family, while she is left to raise their son alone, awaiting his return. It's a tragic story, with a gorgeous and quintessential operatic score.
San Diego Opera's production stars Corinne Winters and Adam Smith, and will be joined by the San Diego Symphony.
Details: "Madama Butterfly." 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 28. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $13-$340.
'Fat Ham' | The Old Globe
Playwright James Ijames won a Pulitzer Prize for drama for his spin on Shakespeare's "Hamlet," which brings us Juicy, a queer, smart, Black college student faced with the ghost of his father who shows up at a family barbecue looking for revenge.
But these generational woes don't quite play out like Hamlet himself might have expected. Ijames' take is about finding agency and stepping out of the cycles of trauma and violence. Directed by Sideeq Heard at The Old Globe.
Details: "Fat Ham." May 25 through June 23. The Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. Tickets on sale April 12.
"TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix" | Diversionary Theatre
Moxie Theatre and Diversionary Theatre, two of San Diego's most beloved and adventurous small theaters, are joining forces to produce this world-premiere musical. Playwright and lyricist EllaRose Chary and composer and lyricist Brandon James Gwinn take the iconic and tragic friendship of Thelma and Louise and turn it into the beginning of an anthemic, queer empowerment story.
Here's a clip of one of the songs from a virtual Rhinebeck Writers Retreat presentation, which was directed by Sherri Eden Barber, who will direct this production in San Diego.
(Contains som explicit language.)
Buckle up: There's a "riot grrrl" band on stage, a quest for a happy ending and a casting note in the script that certainly sets the stage: "The following descriptions reflect the need for this cast to defy the traditional cis, white, femme, skinny, able-bodied, male gaze inspired concept of queer women in media."
Details: "TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix." On stage May 9 through June 2, 2024. Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd. #101, University Heights. $25-$70.
