THE RAINMAKER
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
There aren’t many plays from the 1950s that hold up as well as L. Richard Nash’s 1954 folksy romance The Rainmaker. Not only does The Rainmaker not seem dated, it’s as funny and heartwarming as any play being premiered today, and despite its 1950s Midwest setting, it might as well be taking place somewhere in middle America circa 2008. As the second production of A Noise Within’s “Season Of Awakenings,” The Rainmaker is sure to charm audiences of all ages.
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HAMLET
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
Michael Michetti + Hamlet @ A Noise Within = A sure-to-be-talked-about event.
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PHANTOM
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
Say the word Phantom, and most Broadway buffs will immediately think of the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber megahit, currently in its 21st year on Broadway (over 8500 performances to date). But there’s another Phantom which will pop into the minds of true musical theater aficionados, the single-word-titled Phantom (no Of The Opera here), with book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. Though the closest the “other Phantom” has gotten to Broadway is New Jersey, over the past 17 years it has become a regional theater staple (over 1000 regional performances), and now graces the Glendale Centre Theatre stage, in a production whose performances alone make it well worth seeing.
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SOUVENIR
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
Several decades before Mrs. Elva Miller (known affectionately as “Mrs. Miller”) blithely and cluelessly massacred such 1960s hits as “Downtown” and “A Lover’s Concerto” in her vibrato-heavy, wobbly, off-key mezzo, there was an even more celebrated “pure coloratura” who achieved now legendary fame in the operatic concert world by performing arias in a voice that makes Mrs. Miller’s seem nearly magnificent by comparison.
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SEESAW
Monday, September 15th, 2008
What would L.A. musical theater lovers do without MTG? Who else but the musical theater magicians who make up Musical Theatre Guild would give Angelinos the chance to see a production of a rarely produced Broadway semi-hit like 1973’s Seesaw? Who else could do it with a mere 25 hours of rehearsal? And who else could achieve such overall excellence in a “concert staged reading” that it could easily hold its own against many a “fully staged production” on local stages?
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R.R.R.E.D. / THE REDHEAD MUSICAL MANIFESTO
Sunday, September 7th, 2008
Though it won’t be for all tastes, R.R.R.E.D. / The Redhead Musical Manifesto is a wow of a showcase for a wow of a redheaded singer-songwriter, Katie Thompson, and her talented redheaded musical cohort Patrick Livingston.
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AS U2 LIKE IT
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Matt Walker and his zany band of Troubies are back with their latest mix of song, dance, laughter, Shakespeare, and adlibs galore. The troupe, which has won L.A. hearts with (among others) Much Adoobie Brothers About Nothing, Hamlet (The Artist Formerly Known As The Prince Of Denmark), and OthE.L.O, now blends As You Like It with cleverly rewritten U2 hits to produce As U2 Like It, a total delight from start to finish.
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EDUCATING RITA
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
Willy Russell’s Educating Rita is probably best known to Americans as the 1983 film which starred Michael Caine as alcoholic Professor Frank Bryant and introduced Julie Walters to the world as hairstylist turned open university student Susan “Rita” White, a role which won her the Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination.
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Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
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