Justin Sanders

Money Shot Stark Raving, 232-7072 Through Jan 5 Carol Dane’s Money Shot tells the fascinating story of two filmmakers, John and David (Rafael Untalan and Joseph Fisher) who set out to document the story behind a Pulitzer-Prize winning photograph. The photo features a woman in some war-torn country, and the woman appears on her knees […]

Forgetting the Last Kiss Queen of the Universe Productions Through Dec 15 In his new one-man show, Forgetting the Last Kiss, Michael McClafferty gives the antithesis of a polished performance. He interrupts himself, asks the audience how he’s doing, and talks about jokes that have worked in the past, but that don’t work anymore. At […]

Fen Sowelu Theater Through Dec 15 It is safe to say that Caryl Churchill’s Fen is a play of epic proportions. It depicts the rise and fall, and rise, of a Northern English farming community, possessing both its plethora of interweaving characters and vast physical vision with exquisite detail. The fact that it does this […]

Sounding Hekate Christine Calfas Conduit, through Nov 18 This review of Christine Calfas’ new one-woman show, Sounding Hekate, will be divided into six parts: 1.) Relevant trivia. 2.) My confession. 3.) Interpretative plot synopsis. 4.) Lasting images. 5.) Pandering, melodramatic praise to fill in the hole left by my cowardly reluctance to decipher lasting images. […]

The Birthday Party Jack Oakes Theatre, Paula Production Through Nov 18 Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party revolves around two tough business-suit types who arrive at a boardinghouse in a small, English, coastal town. They are looking for Stanley Weber, a loafer who has been holing up there for over a year. Upon finding him, they […]

Pinata Full of Blood The Third Floor Through Nov 17 This little slice of sketch comedy life opens with a skit that will make you want to leave the theater. Third Floor members Tim Douglass and Kevin Michael-Moore trade off singing pitiful mock renditions of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” and Jewel’s “Foolish Games” as […]

Fateful Encounters The Firehouse Theatre Through Nov 13 Some slugs go below the belt and come from a fist. Some slugs go in the belt and come from a flask. Mikey, my buddy, looked like he’d had both kinds. His face was twisted. His skin was greener than a drunk man’s skid marks. I didn’t […]

A 2 x 4 defunkt theater The Back Door, 993-9062 Through Oct 13 What I’m beginning to appreciate more and more about the folk at defunkt (sic) theatre every time I see them, is their courage in the face of chaos. They eat chaos for breakfast. They showed it last spring with their daring production […]

Icarus The Miracle Theater, 736-1027 Through Oct 13 Even though the premise of the Miracle’s current production of Edwin Sanchez’ Icarus has a deceptively simple plot, it’s got compelling characters in spades, which makes the play as a whole incredibly compelling. The plot goes like this. Sister-and-brother team of Altagracia (Ina V. Strauss) and Primitivo […]

Count Time Count Time Back Door Theater, 230-2090 Through Oct 13 I liked exactly one half of this play. Never have I been so equally and tangibly divided in my criticism, but there it is: six female characters revolving around the theme of prison, and I liked three of them. Writer/director Lorraine Bahr has mounted […]

The Crucible Artist Repertory Theatre, 241-1278 Through Oct 14 How many plays are out there that tell stories set in Puritanical America? I can think of very few. This is because Puritanical America was boring as HELL. A bunch of hard-working Calvinists reading their bibles, eating gruel, and building cold-ass houses so their wives could […]