Despite the title, the play is quite funny. I would call it a dramedy, though, because of the plot. And I would caution that, because of some strong language and clips of hip hop music, Gen-X/Y audiences might relate better.

The play follows 26-year-old Melody (Zoe Winters) whose newlywed hubby travels often for work. [SPOILER ALERT]: He dies suddenly in a plane crash, and she is left without friends or occupation in their new home in Connecticut. Having never even been to a funeral, Melody learns to cope with the help of her widowed mother-in-law, Hope (Estabrook).

The play, written by Bekah Brunstetter and directed by Hal Brooks, makes you think about your present and past relationships. Set in the modern day, it’s very relatable, and it compels you consider what it means to love a person, to lose him/her, and also how we mourn—and move on.

I attended the show with fellow editor Kimberly Cunningham. She cried the entire time. She said, “I almost went into the ugly cry.” Ha!

There was an usher standing at the door with a Kleenex box. Kim took two tissues. It was a good night at the theater.

Review: “Little Widow” has a lot of life

Photo by Ed Krieger

The post Review: “Little Widow” has a lot of life appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

For those of you who might think Pygmalion is a stuffy, 100-year-old PLAY written by George Bernard Shaw, well, stop rolling your eyes and start rolling your “R”s. I was rrreally amazed at this show. Pygmalion had me laughing in my seat. So many zingers, such great delivery—it felt like I was listening to modern-day dialogue, and I was told that the language was not modernized.

Unfortunately for Pygmalion, it seems it’s known mostly for having inspired that other show—My Fair Lady—which it did, but the play’s significance reaches beyond Audrey Hepburn. If you don’t know the plot: Professor of speech Henry Higgins (played by Robert Sean Leonard) bets his pal Colonel Pickering (Paxton Whitehead) he can turn a flower seller into a lady, and pass her off at a high-society gala. Real-life Brit Charlotte Parry plays Eliza Doolittle to brilliant effect, and Don Sparks makes Mr. Doolittle the most lovable scoundrel (owww!). The sets and costumes, designed by Alexander Dodge and Robert Morgan respectively, transport you back a century—and, in our current age of spare sets and digital screens, they’re refreshingly complex and detailed. I say! Gohh see this play to-day.

Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle and Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins

Henry DiRocco

The post Last Chance to see Pygmalion appeared first on San Diego Magazine.