STEPHEN SCHWARTZ
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
Upright Cabaret’s Wicked Summer Nights came to a smashing conclusion with a star-studded tribute to mega-composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz at Hollywood’s Ford Amphitheatre on Sunday, August 23, produced by power duo Chris Isaacson and Shane Scheel, and directed by Broadway’s sensational Billy Porter.
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LEGALLY BLONDE
Friday, August 14th, 2009
Having conquered both Harvard Law School and Hollywood in the movie smash that made Reese Witherspoon an A-list star, Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods then went on to take Broadway by storm as the heroine of 2007’s Legally Blonde The Musical. Now, the not-so-dumb-blonde has arrived at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre in a textbook example of how to turn a hit celluloid romcom into a nigh-on-perfect Broadway musical.
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LIFE COULD BE A DREAM
Friday, August 7th, 2009
Looking for a great evening of musical nostalgia, romance, and laughter? Then travel back in time to the days of “Doo-Wop” in Roger Bean’s sure-to-be-a-smash new musical Life Could Be A Dream, just opened at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre.
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TWELFTH NIGHT
Saturday, August 1st, 2009RECOMMENDED
The Classical Theatre Lab has returned to West Hollywood for their third consecutive summer of Shakespeare In The Parks with a well-acted and directed production of Twelfth Night Or What You Will.
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TERMINUS AMERICANA
Saturday, July 25th, 2009NOT RECOMMENDED
Publicity materials for Terminus Americana provide the following synopsis for Matt Pelfrey’s play: “After barely surviving an office rampage, Mac Winchell is thrust into a nightmare landscape populated by lost Marlboro Men, psychotic vagabonds, sinister corporate thugs and a strange cult known as a ‘The Church of Christ, Office Shooter’. Mac attempts to escape this twisted reality by undertaking a quest that ultimately leads him into the darkest corners of the American Dream. Terminus Americana is a surreal, visceral and challenging examination of our violence-saturated culture.”
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
The prolonged ovation which greets Topol’s first entrance in Fiddler On The Roof confirms that this Farewell Tour, starring the man whose name has become synonymous with that of its lead character, is an event of the first order. As Tevye, the milkman of Anatevka, Chaim Topol gives a brilliant performance in an absolutely superb revival of the 1964 Broadway classic. That the production which surrounds him is of Broadway caliber elevates this Fiddler to must-see status.
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ALTAR BOYZ
Friday, July 17th, 2009
Those Altar Boyz are back, and there’s no one happier about the news than I am. Since discovering the Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording in 2005 (which I’ve listened to more times that I could possibly count), I’ve had the thrill of seeing the show’s First National Tour, two regional productions—and now Altar Boyz’ first L.A. intimate theater staging at the Celebration Theatre. Directed by Patrick Pearson and choreographed by Ameenah Kaplan, with musical direction by Christopher Lloyd Bratten, and starring five sensational young triple threats, this may well be the best Altar Boyz yet.
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HE ASKED FOR IT
Sunday, June 21st, 2009
Freshly arrived in LaLa Land from Wyoming, aspiring actor Ted is working out on the treadmill at 24 Hour Fitness. Could the hunk doing cardio next to him possibly be gay? Perhaps a question or two might clear up any confusion. Ted: Do you like Madonna? Hunk: No. After a few more failed attempts to get the conversational ball rolling, the new guy in town plunges into his life story. “I never got that kind of radar thing you’re supposed to get,” the gaydar-challenged young actor explains. “You should try the Internet,” suggests the gym bunny, and when Ted plunges in and suggests maybe getting together, the studly object of his attention responds succinctly, “Sorry, but I don’t go out with guys I meet at the gym.”
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