San Diego, CA

These San Diego Regional Theaters Meet The Moment With Must-See Shows

Published

12 months ago

March 20, 2025

These San Diego Regional Theaters Meet The Moment With Must-See Shows

Quentin Earl Darrington as Frederick Douglass and Ivan Hernandez as President Abraham Lincoln in La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere musical, “3 Summers of Lincoln.”

Rich Soublet II

You never need an excuse to escape to sunny San Diego but major premieres at two of the coveted destination’s award-winning theaters are reason enough to drop everything and book a trip now.

3 Summers of Lincoln at La Jolla Playhouse and What the Constitution Means to Me at North Coast Rep are both exceptional shows that are impactful, important and thought-provoking, especially at this time in history. Although they share themes focused on the US government, they are totally different – one’s a musical, the other a play; one is an exploration of the effort to end the Civil War, the other an exploration of the effort to create the Constitution – and each brings something exciting and relevant to the table.

3 Summers of Lincoln at La Jolla Playhouse

It’s impossible to talk about 3 Summers of Lincoln without mentioning Hamilton but they really have little in common other than the fact that they’re both contemporary musicals about a game-changing period in US history. While Hamilton mostly features hip hop and rap, 3 Summers of Lincoln is more traditionally Broadway, filled with anthems, ballads and enough catchy songs to eventually earn it a Tony nomination. If I could find the soundtrack on Spotify, I would have downloaded it as I left the theater.

The La Jolla Playhouse run is the musical’s world premiere, and you’ll be sucked in from the first notes of its opening number, “Ninety Day War.” Featuring a riveting performance by a soldier played by Evan Ruggiero, a self-described “one-legged tap dancer,” who offers a physical representation of the telegraph that experts believe helped Lincoln win the war, its percussive beat goes right through you and you can’t help sit up straighter, instantly at attention.

(L-R) Eric Anderson, Noah Rivera, Johnathan Tanner and Evan Ruggiero in La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere musical, “3 Summers of Lincoln.”

Rich Soublet II

The show covers the summers of 1862, 1863 and 1864 as President Lincoln tries to end the war that has been going on for days, months, years – which are regularly displayed on the impressive set, conveying the heaviness of this endless battle and its massive body count. He worries about the soldiers, doubts his decisions and gets more and more frustrated with General McClellan. He also develops a treasured and often volatile relationship with abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Their meetings are electrifying.

It’s so moving to watch Lincoln struggle over whether to issue the Emancipation Proclamation against the warnings of his cabinet. When he finally decides to do the right thing and end slavery, despite the fact that it may cost him a second term, it feels like a miracle.

Every performance in 3 Summers of Lincoln is outstanding, with Ivan Hernandez totally embodying the President (if you saw him on the street, you’d swear Lincoln had come back to life) and Quentin Earl Darrington stealing the spotlight every time he appears on stage as Douglass. Carmen Cusack is a three-dimensional Mary Todd Lincoln, Saycon Sengbloh becomes more than Mary’s trusted friend and dressmaker and John-Andrew Morrison is a stand out as Lincoln’s butler.

With gorgeous sets, costumes and songs, 3 Summers of Lincoln deserves to follow many of La Jolla Playhouse’s former hits (including Jersey Boys, Come From Away, Redwood) to Broadway.

What the Constitution Means to Me at North Coast Rep

Jacque Wilke in “What the Constitution Means to Me” at North Coast Rep.

Aaron Rumley

A few miles north, in Solana Beach, North Coast Rep has just extended the San Diego premiere of What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck. I had seen the Tony-nominated show on Amazon Prime and loved it but seeing it in person, especially in the intimate North Coast Rep theater, was truly meaningful.

Jacque Wilke stars as the playwright herself, who recreates her real-life experiences as a 15 year old student who paid for college with money she earned by winning Constitutional debate competitions at American Legion halls across the country.

The show is deeply personal, making it a much more natural way to teach people an important thing or two than lecturing them. It’s well-structured, hilarious, heartbreaking, educational and relatable. Wilke is likeable and personable as Heidi and it’s easy to get invested in her stories and history, all of which are tied into the Constitution and its amendments. We suddenly grasp the meaning of this document as she reveals both its brilliance and flaws, using actual recordings of Supreme Court justices involved in their own debates about real cases.

Em Danque and Jacque Wilke in “What the Constitution Means to Me” at North Coast Rep.

Aaron Rumley

It quickly becomes clear that women have been underserved by the Constitution, which Heidi argues is a “living document” that can and should evolve over time. One of the highlights of the show is the debate between Heidi and a local student (Em Danque), who each take a side on whether to keep or abolish the Constitution. Every audience member is given a pocket copy of the Constitution to keep and encouraged to cheer for points they agree with and boo when they disagree.

At every performance, one audience member is chosen to pick the winner of the debate. At mine (and 85% of the performances, according to the stage manager) , she opted to keep the Constitution with the caveat that it needed more amendments to protect rights for all. Or, to quote President Lincoln himself, “The people – the people – are the rightful masters of both congresses, and courts – not to overthrow the constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.”

The audiences of both What the Constitution Means to Me and 3 Summers of Lincoln were totally engaged and vocal, applauding wildly when specific lines hit home, reinforcing the plays’ messages that we, the people, have to participate if we want to influence the outcome of elections, wars, bills, the future of democracy. We can’t just be spectators.

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Related Topics:3 summers of lincoln Featured heidi schreck la jolla playhouse north coast rep San Diego what the constitution means to me

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Germán Márquez

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Germán Márquez – San Diego Union-Tribune

GERMÁN MÁRQUEZ

Position(s): Right-handed pitcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 31
Height / Weight: 6-foot-1 / 230 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in February 2026
Contract status: Will make $1 million in 2026 with a $750,000 buyout on a mutual option for 2027; can add up to $3.25 million in performance bonuses.
fWAR in 2025: 0.3
Key 2025 stats: 3-16, 6.70 ERA, 83 strikeouts, 48 walks, 1.71 WHIP, .317 opponent average, 126⅓ innings (26 starts)

STAT TO NOTE

36.9 — The percentage of groundballs that Márquez yielded in 2025, a career low and significantly below his career average (48%). Márquez’s groundball rate was regularly above 50% before requiring Tommy John surgery in early 2023. He made one start in 2024 and struggled mightily while making 26 starts last year.

Down — Márquez had a 4.40 ERA through his first seven years in the majors, not bad considering he pitched roughly half his games at one of the best hitting environments in the majors. In fact, Márquez has a 5.17 ERA in his career at Coors Field and a 4.22 ERA in road environments. But Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023, made one start in the majors in mid-July in 2024 (4 IP, 3 ER) and struggled throughout his first full year back in the Rockies rotation. The season was so difficult for Márquez that he was actually worse on the road (7.32 ERA) than he was in 11 starts at Coors Field (5.98 ERA). His strikeout rate (5.9 per nine innings) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.73) were the worst of his careers, as was his walk rate (3.4 per nine innings), while his hit rate (12.0 per nine innings) was the second worst of his career. On top of that, Márquez’s groundball rate was also the lowest of his career (see stat to note) and ranked in the bottom 22nd percentile of the league and his hard-hit rate (48.5%) and average exit velocity (91.7 mph) both ranked in the bottom 2 percentile of the league. One reason: a 94.8 mph four-seamer is down a few ticks than the height of his effectiveness. Márquez reached free agency after the season and signed with the Padres in February.

2026 OUTLOOK

Márquez has a big-league deal with the Padres, but he’ll have to rediscover his pre-elbow-reconstruction form to hold onto a roster spot, as RHP Griffin Canning (Achilles) is expected to push for a spot at some point this season and the likes of LHP JP Sears, RHP Matt Waldron and minor league signees like Marco Gonzales could warrant looks if Márquez’s struggles continue into 2026.

German Marquez #33 of the San Diego Padres participates in drills during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

ROSTER RANKINGS

1. OF Fernando Tatis Jr.
2. 3B Manny Machado
3. OF Jackson Merrill
4. RHP Nick Pivetta
5. RHP Michael King
6. RHP Mason Miller
7. OF Ramón Laureano
8. SS Xander Bogaerts
9. LHP Adrián Morejón
10. RHP Jeremiah Estrada
11. RHP Jason Adam
12. 2B Jake Cronenworth
13. RHP Joe Musgrove
14. RHP Randy Vasquez
15. OF Gavin Sheets
16. LHP JP Sears
17. RHP Yu Darvish
18. RHP Bradgley Rodriguez
19. RHP David Morgan
20. C Freddy Fermin
21. LHP Wandy Peralta
22. C Luis Campusano
23. LHP Yuki Matsui
24. INF Sung-Mun Song
25. RHP German Marquez
26. RHP Matt Waldron
27. OF Bryce Johnson
28. OF/1B Nick Castellanos
29. RHP Ron Marinaccio
30. RHP Bryan Hoeing
31. LHP Kyle Hart
32. INF Will Wagner
33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
34. RHP Miguel Mendez
35. RHP Daison Acosta
36. RHP Ty Adcock
37. RHP Alek Jacob
38. INF Mason McCoy

Removed from 40-man roster

OF Tirso Ornelas (designated for assignment)
RHP Jhony Brito (60-day injured list)

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San Diego, CA

Blount named Head Basketball Coach at San Diego – HoopDirt

Published

24 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Blount named Head Basketball Coach at San Diego – HoopDirt

In today’s Daily Dirt, I mentioned that the search at San Diego was done. Here’s the official announcement from USD on the hiring of JR Blount as their next head men’s basketball coach:

University of San Diego Athletics has named JR Blount the 15th head coach in San Diego men’s basketball program history, USD Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Athletics Kimya Massey announced on Monday.

Blount arrives in San Diego with a reputation as one of college basketball’s rising coaching talents after helping lead Iowa State to four NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons.

He joins the Toreros after five seasons on T.J. Otzelberger’s staff at Iowa State, where the Cyclones compiled a 95-45 record during his tenure, won the 2024 Big 12 Tournament Championship and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2024 — one of the most successful stretches in program history. Iowa State finished in the AP Top 15 in each of those four seasons and climbed as high as No. 2 nationally in each of the last two years. During the 2025-26 season, the Cyclones opened with a 16-0 start, highlighted by victories over No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston, No. 9 Kansas and No. 14 St. John’s.

“After a thorough and highly competitive national search, we are proud to welcome JR Blount as the next head coach of USD men’s basketball,” said Massey. “JR is an outstanding leader, a relentless competitor and one of the brightest rising coaches in college basketball. Even more importantly, throughout this process I came to know him as a humble leader with strong integrity and deep family values. JR has been a part of winning at every level of his career and understands what it takes to build a program that competes with toughness, discipline and consistency. Just as importantly, he believes in developing young men holistically and leading in a way that reflects the values of this university.

“This is a pivotal moment for our program and JR’s vision aligns with our belief that San Diego men’s basketball should compete in the upper tier of the WCC and position itself to be a regular NCAA Tournament participant. We are excited about what lies ahead under his leadership.”

“As a product of Catholic education and deeply committed to USD’s mission and values, Coach Blount is an outstanding role model for the young men in our Torero basketball program,” said USD President James T. Harris III. “He brings an impressive resume with deep experience, a winning track record and — above all — a commitment to the overall wellbeing of our student-athletes.”

“I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to lead USD men’s basketball,” Blount said. “We are so thankful to Athletic Director Kimya Massey and President Harris for this opportunity. This is more than just a coaching position for me — it’s a chance to become part of a community and build something meaningful. My wife and our three daughters are excited to make this move together and we can’t wait to invest in this university and the relationships that make it special.

I come to USD with a deep desire to win — to compete relentlessly, to develop our young men to their fullest potential and to build a program our fans can be proud of. Winning championships is important, but so is building a culture of toughness, accountability and love. We’re going to work every day to represent USD the right way, on and off the court. I’m ready to get started.”

Blount played a key role in Iowa State’s rise under Otzelberger, helping orchestrate one of the most significant program turnarounds in recent Division I history. In his first season with the Cyclones in 2021-22, Iowa State rebounded from a two-win campaign the year before to finish 22-13 and advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The Cyclones quickly established a national reputation for defensive toughness, ranking among the nation’s best in scoring defense, defensive efficiency, steals and turnovers forced.

Over the next three seasons, Blount helped Iowa State sustain that momentum. In 2022-23, the Cyclones advanced to the NCAA Tournament and recorded nine wins over AP Top 25 opponents, tied for the most in school history. In 2023-24, Iowa State won the Big 12 Championship, finished 29-8, posted an undefeated 18-0 record at Hilton Coliseum and advanced to the Sweet 16. Most recently, the 2024-25 Cyclones finished 25-10, climbed as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, earned another NCAA Tournament appearance and closed the season ranked No. 17 nationally.

Known for his work in player development, recruiting and culture-building, Blount has mentored multiple all-conference and All-America caliber players throughout his coaching career. At Iowa State, he developed some of the Big 12’s top performers while contributing to a program identity rooted in toughness, connectivity and competitive excellence.

Prior to Iowa State, Blount spent three seasons at Colorado State, where he helped elevate the Rams into one of the Mountain West’s top programs. During his tenure in Fort Collins, Colorado State signed the highest-rated recruiting class in program history and posted consecutive 20-win seasons, including a 20-8 finish and a run to the NIT semifinals in 2020-21. He also played a leadership role in Colorado State’s Together Initiative, which promoted social justice and racial equality on campus.

Blount also previously served in coaching roles at Drake and Saint Leo and began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where the program won the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championship.

A former three-year team captain and two-time team MVP at Loyola University Chicago, Blount later played professionally for the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League during the 2010-11 season. He earned degrees in psychology and sociology from Loyola in 2009 and later received his master’s degree in education from UW-Stevens Point in 2012.

A native of Milwaukee, Blount and his wife, Ashley, have three daughters: Maya, Zuri and Gema.

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San Diego, CA

SDPD investigating suspicious death

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

UNIVERSITY CITY (KGTV) — San Diego police are investigating the death of an 81-year-old woman who was found unresponsive in her apartment in the 6300 block of Genesee Avenue.

Officers and San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel responded to a 9-1-1 call at about 11:56 p.m. on March 6.

First responders found the woman in her bedroom, unresponsive and “positioned awkwardly on a bed.” Despite immediate life-saving efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit were called to the scene due to “unusual circumstances,” police said. The cause and manner of death remain undetermined.

Investigators are working with the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine what happened.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

This story has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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