Our picks for the top 20 San Diego theater shows of 2025

This was a big year for San Diego theater, with many ambitious world premiere musicals and plays produced by theaters large and small. In 2025, I reviewed nearly 120 local productions. Normally, I make a top 10 list with some runners-up, but there was so much good theater this year I chose 20. While the content of this year’s plays and musicals varied wildly, many were about psychological trauma and featured depictions of violence, sexual assault, torture and even an onstage execution. Many of these plays may reflect the chaos in the world today, but the shows that most inspired and spoke to me celebrated hope, resilience and human kindness, three things we need more than ever. Here...