ASSASSINS
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
West Coast Ensemble continues its tradition of presenting some of Los Angeles’ finest intimate theater musicals (Floyd Collins, Zanna Don’t, Sunday In The Park With George) with an absolutely first-rate new staging of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins. Of the three Assassins productions I’ve seen over the past 15 months, this one features the strongest cast—an utterly sensational one at that—and benefits enormously from the imaginative direction of Richard Israel, fresh from his unanimously praised 1776.
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SONGS FROM AN UNMADE BED
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
The Celebration Theatre scores big with Songs From An Unmade Bed, their best show yet this season and the first to present a fully (and beautifully) realized three-dimensional portrait of a contemporary gay man. Exquisitely performed by Broadway vet Dave Barrus, imaginatively staged by director-of-the-hour Patrick Pearson, and designed by one of the finest teams L.A. has to offer, Songs From An Unmade Bed is must-see theater, not just for its core audience, but for any lover of musical theater or song.
DOG SEES GOD
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
The teenagers in Dog Sees God: Confessions Of A Teenage Blockhead could come straight out of American Pie or Mean Girls, but they bear an uncanny resemblance to a celebrated bunch of comic strip kids.
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shAme
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
When reminiscing about their high school years, most adults can probably recall having studied Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter at some point or other. An imdb check shows over a dozen film or TV adaptations including 1995’s, which starred an improbably cast Demi Moore as Puritan adulteress Hester Prynne. The classic melodrama even made it to Broadway a century ago. Never before, however, has it been set to music, or at least not until composer songwriter Mark Governor decided to turn it into a rock opera now making its Hollywood club debut.
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TEEN GIRL
Thursday, May 29th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Though Justin Tanner’s Teen Girl features some of the wackiness of his Space Therapy and Oklahomo, it is at heart the story of a teen girl’s awakening to the possibilities of love.
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HILLARY AGONISTES
Saturday, May 17th, 2008NOT RECOMMENDED
The year is 2009, Hillary Clinton is our President, and 65,000,000 people have disappeared across the world. “Who are these people who would just disappear without their clothes?” wonders Hillary. And who (or what) is behind this phenomenon? Is it terrorists? Aliens? The Rapture? Female Chief of Staff Morag advises (in a Scottish brogue), “Aliens is the way to go on this. It defuses the Rapture scenario. Some people can’t bear the stigma that the Lord has passed them over. You have to leave them something to believe in. Certainty soothes.”
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THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Friday, May 16th, 2008
Sixty-some years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie remains his most timeless work. With a production as fine as the one currently playing at Actors Co-op, it is hard to imagine a better or more rewarding evening of theater.
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TOOTH AND NAIL
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
The Elephant Theatre Company follows the outstanding Anything with an even better world premiere comedy, Gena Acosta’s absolutely fabulous Tooth And Nail.
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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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