By Kristen Nevarez Schweizer
April 22, 2025
San Diego theatergoers should pick both of the two dazzlingly different—but thematically kindred—productions playing this month. At The Old Globe, the fierce, funny, and fabulously feminist Regency Girls makes its world premiere with Broadway ambitions already bubbling. Meanwhile, at Cygnet Theatre’s Old Town location, Katori Hall’s The Hot Wing King brings the heat (and the heart) in a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy about brotherhood, queerness, and being true to yourself.
On the surface, it’s a perfect theatrical face-off: the girls versus the boys. But look a little closer, and both shows are offering up the same liberating message—freedom comes when you stop letting the world define you and start showing up exactly as you are.
Girls Just Wanna Rewrite the Rules
Running April 2 through May 11 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Regency Girls follows Elinor Benton, a young woman in 19th-century England who finds herself unmarried, pregnant, and facing ruin. Instead of hiding, she grabs her best friends and embarks on a rebellious road trip in search of a new future. Think Jane Austen meets Bridesmaids—with a bright Broadway score.
The spoof show (which will delight snarky fans of Downton Abbey and Bridgerton) is the creation of a powerhouse team: two-time Tony and Grammy nominee Amanda Green (Hands on a Hardbody, Bring It On), Emmy-winning writers Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan (Veep, Scrubs), and three-time Emmy-nominated composer Curtis Moore (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). Directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Josh Rhodes, Regency Girls is packed with wit, heart, and modern resonance. This one’s already generating buzz as Broadway’s next big thing—and San Diego audiences get to see it first.
Tickets are available at theoldglobe.org or by calling (619) 234-5623.
The Boys’ Secret Sauce is Her Writing
Just a few miles away in Old Town, The Hot Wing King serves up a totally different flavor. Running April 9 through May 2 at Cygnet Theatre, this sharp and soulful comedy dives into the lives of Cordell and his crew—lovingly dubbed “The New Wing Order”—as they prepare to win Memphis’s legendary “Hot Wang Festival.”
But when a family tragedy lands Cordell’s partner’s teenage nephew in their care, the kitchen turns into a battleground and a peace table for more than just spicy wings. Directed by Kian Kline-Chilton, and featuring a powerhouse cast including Rondrell McCormick (Mud Row) and Kevane La’Marr Coleman (Angels in America), this production celebrates queer Black love and friendship in all its vibrant, vulnerable complexity.
Hall’s award-winning script is divine, and its central themes could be celebrating the chosen family we build, or the joy in our niche cultures, or the bravery it takes to live authentically. Each view — like the ingredients of a terrific, balanced recipe — is present in this script.
Tickets start at $34. Visit cygnettheatre.org or call (619) 337-1525 for more information.
Two Shows. One Message. Your Choice (or Not).
Both these shows play into tropes and stereotypes for a subtle message with deeper nuance. Whether you’re drawn to a splashy spectacle (Regency Girls) or the length and heartbreak of a staged dramatic comedy (heart and heat in The Hot Wing King), both productions offer something deeper: stories that celebrate self-expression and the courage to defy expectations. San Diego audiences are lucky to have these two theatrical gems playing side-by-side this spring season.
