AMERICAN IDIOT
Saturday, July 18th, 2026
Punk rock energy ignites the Broadwater Mainstage in Conundrum Theatre Company’s high-octane revival of the international smash American Idiot, easily the rawest, grittiest, and most ear-splitting of the nine productions I’ve now seen of the Green Day musical.
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THE UNOFFICIAL ‘MEET THE ROBINSONS’ MUSICAL PARODY
Sunday, June 21st, 2026
Unofficial Musical Parodies don’t get any more inventive than Annika Hoseth’s delightful take on the 2007 animated Walt Disney smash Meet The Robinsons, now completing its crowd-pleasing run at the Broadwater Mainstage.
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MELANCHOLY PLAY
Saturday, June 13th, 2026
Quirkiness and whimsy meet operatic grandiosity meet Sarah Ruhl’s unique take on love and life at Hollywood’s Madnani Theatre in Melancholy Play, a terrific talent showcase for some of LA’s brightest young theatrical stars and as effervescent a comedic treat as any Ruhl lover could wish for.
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MELT
Friday, June 12th, 2026A nerdy gay college theater kid and the school’s hunky hockey team captain take an instant (but definitely not permanent) dislike to each other when auditioning for a same-sex romantic two-hander in Shak Kanish’s promising new play Melt, playing this weekend only at the Lee Strasberg Institute’s Marilyn Monroe Theatre.
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HELL’S KITCHEN
Thursday, May 28th, 2026
Coming of age has rarely been brought to life on the musical theater stage as movingly or exhilaratingly as it is in Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen, now bringing L.A. audiences to their feet at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.
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IRONBOUND
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
Ironbound, Martyna Majok’s astringently funny, surprisingly affecting look at a Polish immigrant’s pursuit of “The American Dream,” is back in L.A. for an attention-worthy 3-week run at Hollywood’s Madnani Theater.
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DOGFIGHT
Monday, April 20th, 2026The production has its flaws, but Stella Mulroney and Zachary Santolaya deliver such rich and powerful performances as Rose and Eddie in Mouth Bone Productions’ Dogfight that I couldn’t help once again falling for the Louise Lortel Award-winning Outstanding Musical of 2012.
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THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Saturday, March 28th, 2026A charismatic Sean Yves Lessard as best-selling novelist Jamie Wellerstein cannot overcome a miscast “Shiksa Goddess,” lackluster direction, and poor sound mixing in Chalomot Productions’ well-intentioned but largely unsuccessful revival of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years at the Hudson Backstage.
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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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