There’s more than a whiff of cinematic glamour to this month’s plays: screen star Katie Holmes comes to the Old Globe, Meryl Streep played young Julia Child not too long ago, Edith Head is a Hollywood legend, and Barefoot in the Park and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying become hit movies. But while movies seem to be faltering of late, San Diego theater is still going strong.
Here are seven shows that might be worth your while, from drama to comedy to musical.
Hedda Gabler
Here’s a fun game: see how many names you recognize from this list of actresses who have played the titanic role of unhappy wife Hedda Gabler: Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Eleonora Duse, Alla Nazimova, Asta Nielsen, Johanne Louise Schmidt, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Eva Le Gallienne, Elizabeth Robins, Anne Meacham, Ingrid Bergman, Peggy Ashcroft, Fenella Fielding, Jill Bennett, Janet Suzman, Diana Rigg, Glenda Jackson, Isabelle Huppert, Claire Bloom, June Brown, Kate Burton, Geraldine James, Kate Mulgrew, Kelly McGillis, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Jane Fonda, Annette Bening, Amanda Donohoe, Judy Davis, Emmanuelle Seigner, Mary-Louise Parker, Harriet Walter, Rosamund Pike, Ruth Wilson and Cate Blanchett. Now add Katie Holmes to that list, as the actress stars in a new version adapted by Erin Cressida Wilson and directed by the Globe’s Barry Edelstein. Runs February 7 through March 15.
- Where: The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego
- When: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm and 7 pm
- Cost: $71-$154
- Get tickets
The Recipe
Fun fact: in 1991, the American Institute of Wine and Food, a national organization founded by Julia Child and Robert Mondavi, divided its small rare book collection between Radcliffe College and the University of California, San Diego. Now La Jolla Playhouse is returning the favor, after a fashion, with this new play about the culinary giant’s early days. (Yes, she was 6′ 2″, but that’s not what we’re getting at here.) Tickets are selling fast, but there should be at least a few left by the time you read this. Directed by Lisa Peterson, running February 10 through March 22.
- Where: La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla
- When: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm, Sunday at 1 pm and 7 pm
- Cost: $99-$124
- Get tickets
Somewhere Over the Border
It’s very kind of Cygnet Theater to put “Heartfelt Uplifting Musical” above the title here, given the tensions surrounding immigration. Otherwise person might be tempted to catch the Wizard of Oz reference in the title and conclude that this was something of a tragedy, one in which someone’s dreams of finding a better life come true in Technicolor fashion, only for them to wake up somewhere…less colorful. Directed by Carlos Mendoza, running February 18 through March 15.
- Where: Cygnet Theatre, 2880 Roosevelt Road, San Diego
- When: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7 pm, Saturday at 2pm and 7 pm, Sunday at 2 pm
- Cost: $57-$83
- Get tickets
A Conversation with Edith Head
Just go scroll the IMDb credits for Edith Head, the greatest costume designer in Hollywood history. It’s breathtaking. Eight Oscars, sure, but she did so much great work. Susan Claassen worked with author Paddy Calistro to develop this one-woman show based on Head’s own words, and now, Claasen is bringing it to Moxie Theatre. Runs February 19 through March 1.
- Where: Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite N, San Diego
- When: Thursday and Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2 pm
- Cost: $37-$42 (check site for discounts)
- Get tickets
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Amazon just laid off 16,000 people, for a total of 30,000 since October of last year. AI was mentioned as one of the reasons. UPS has cut nearly 80,000 over the past two years. Microsoft ditched 15,000 last year. I’ll stop there, but it seems clear that what’s needed is a bit of escapism from professional realities — like the the story of a guy who can’t stop falling up the corporate ladder. Yes, please. Sure, you could watch the movie. It’s cheaper, and it’s great. But for pure immersive escapism, you can’t beat the magic of theater. Runs February 6 through March 1.
- Where: San Diego Musical Theatre, 4650 Mercury Street, San Diego
- When: Thursday and Friday at 7 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 7 pm, Sunday at 2 pm
- Cost: $30-$69
- Get tickets
Barefoot in the Park
Here we have the sort-of opposite of Hedda Gabler: once again, there are newlyweds, and once again, there are anxieties about the future, and once again, there’s a quotidian reality to the whole affair. But the similarities pretty much stop there. A wonderful, funny, utterly inconsequential odd couple story from the guy who brought you The Odd Couple, Neil Simon. Directed by Kara Tuckfield, running February 6 through March 1.
- Where: Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way, Coronado
- When: Friday at 7 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 7 pm, Sunday at 2 pm
- Cost: $30
- Get tickets
Straddle
What were we saying about quotidian realities? It’s Dodie and Vita’s anniversary again. And this year’s celebration feels an awful lot like last year’s. And the year before that. In this sexy new play from Harrison David Rivers (author of last season’s we are continuous), one couple asks: how do you keep things hot when it’s all been done before? Directed by Sherri Eden Barber, running February 19 through March 15.
- Where: Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Boulevard #101, San Diego
- When: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 pm, Sunday at 2 pm
- Cost: $11.50-$66.50
- Get tickets
