BASH’d: A GAY RAP OPERA
Saturday, June 18th, 2011
If the words Gay Rap Opera sound to you like a three-way oxymoron, then you haven’t heard Feminem and T-Bag rap to the sounds of DJ Jedi in BASH’d: A Gay Rap Opera, now playing at Hollywood’s Celebration Theatre. Take rhymes like “Get off my fuckin’ back okay, I like to suck dick / Now fuck me in the ass and I’ll write rhymes about it,” set them to a gangsta beat, find a pair of hip-hopping triple threats like Sean Bradford and Chris Ferro to bust those rhymes, give the whole shebang one of the most exciting stagings in town, and you’ve got another great big Celebration hit to shout out about.
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THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Friday, June 17th, 2011RECOMMENDED
His story starts with their first meeting and ends with a farewell note left behind with his wedding ring. Her story begins when she finds the ring and reads the note. Only at the halfway point do the two 20something characters’ onstage lives coincide; only then do they sing to each other, look each other in the eyes, touch.
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I’M JUST WILD ABOUT HARRY
Friday, June 10th, 2011
Take an 1892 British farce that broke records with its 1466-performance London run. Add to it nearly two-dozen song hits from the 1900s, ‘10s, and early ‘20s. Cast it with a terrific bunch of actors who can also sing and dance. Add to the mix a director, musical director, choreographer, and trio of designers, each of whom is blessed with ingenuity and flair. Do all of the above and the result is I’m Just Wild About Harry, Gary Lamb and William A. Reilly’s delightful jukebox musical now playing at the duo’s Crown City Theatre Co.
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THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Since The Marvelous Wonderettes’ made its first full-length big-stage Southern California appearance at the Laguna Playhouse in 2008, there’s scarcely a mid or large-sized Southland theater that hasn’t jumped at the chance to present this off-Broadway megahit to its local audience of theatergoers, and with reason. Roger Bean’s wonderfully marvelous look back at the pop music of the 1950s and ‘60s as sung by a quartet of high school girls at their 1958 prom and their 1968 class reunion is the very definition of a crowd-pleaser. Following runs at Musical Theatre West, the Norris Theatre, and Cabrillo Music Theatre, the Wonderettes have now arrived in La Mirada, once again directed by their writer-creator, and if last night’s audience reaction was any indication, McCoy Rigby Entertainment has a smash hit on its hands. Performing with a live band, these Marvelous Wonderettes are sure to captivate audiences from teens to grandfolks, and everyone in between.
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FUNNY GIRL
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
If the best reason to see Broadway’s Funny Girl in 1964 could be summed up in a name (Barbra Streisand, for those living under a rock), then the same can be said for its current revival at Downey Civic Light Opera. That name is Karen Volpe, the triple threat who first caught this reviewer’s attention as Ado Annie in DCLO’s Oklahoma! a few years back and now dazzles in the proverbial role of a lifetime.
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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Of all the hit Broadway musicals of the past decade, there’s none more terrifically fit for school productions than The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. To begin with, it offers student actors a grand total of nine leading roles, each of which has at least one star-turn song and all of which provide ample opportunities for performers to strut their triple-threat talents. In addition, the show’s central conceit (that its elementary school-aged spellers are to be brought to life by actors in their twenties) means that not only its six pre-teen spellers but its three adult characters as well can be played by performers twenty-two and under. Merge this with a BFA program as esteemed as that of UC Irvine and the result is one of the very best Spelling Bees you’re likely to see anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
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iGHOST
Saturday, May 28th, 2011
The halls of Canterville Chase are alive with the sounds of spirits in Doug Haverty and Adryan Russ’s tunefully entertaining new musical iGhost, now getting its World Premiere at the Lyric Theatre.
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GYPSY
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
Ask any true Broadway aficionado to name the greatest musicals ever written and it’s a sure bet that Gypsy: A Broadway Fable (best known simply as Gypsy) will top many if not most lists. Though overshadowed in its original Broadway run by The Sound Of Music and Fiorello, which tied for the 1960 Best Musical Tony, Gypsy has stood the test of time with four Broadway revivals (including two in the 2000s alone), even more cast recordings, and a list of hit songs that seems to go on forever.
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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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