RENT
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Following their outstanding 2009 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, The El Camino College Theatre Department has made Jonathan Larson’s Rent this year’s annual musical theater production, and the result is a thoroughly professional, often exciting staging of the 1996 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning hit.
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SWEENEY TODD
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Anyone who’s seen only Tim Burton’s film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd or the “high-concept” production at the Ahmanson last year is hereby advised to head down (or up or over) to Torrance and catch the absolutely phenomenal revival being staged at El Camino College.
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THE WILD PARTY
Friday, March 12th, 2010RECOMMENDED
Just like the kids who pooled their talents to “put on a show” in 1939’s Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland flick Babes In Arms, so the young 21st Century performers of Still Hungry Theatre have banded together to stage Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party on a shoestring—with commendable results.
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BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS
Friday, February 26th, 2010
It’s been said that Ginger Rogers became a star doing everything her dance partner Fred Astaire could do … but backwards in high heels. The Oscar-winning actress-dancer now gets her very own tribute musical, Lynette Barkley and Charles McGovern’s Backwards In High Heels, and it’s hard to imagine a better production of “The Ginger Musical” than the one just opened at Long Beach’s International City Theatre.
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KISS ME KATE
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Compared to the 510 years that Petruchio has been telling Katherina to “Kiss me, Kate” in William Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, the mere 62 that he’s been doing the same thing in Cole Porter’s Tony Award-winning Kiss Me Kate seem like no time at all, especially in as fresh and fun a production as the one currently on stage at Glendale Centre Theatre.
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BROADS THE MUSICAL
Sunday, February 21st, 2010
Life begins at 65 for Elaine, Louise, Myra and Nilda, aka The Broads, and for those of you out there who’ve never heard of them, just ask any of their fellow residents at South Florida’s Millennium Manor. They’ll tell that you the Broads are the next best thing to Metamucil, and that when the time rolls around for Millennium Manor’s annual variety show, it’s by far the Senior Citizen event of the year.
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BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS
Friday, February 19th, 2010RECOMMENDED
Screen legend Ginger Rogers takes to the floor again in Lynnette Barkley and Christopher McGovern’s lightweight musical biography Backwards In High Heels, now getting its first big-cast production by Fullerton’s FCLO Musical Theatre. Though not as dance-heavy as 42nd Street or Crazy For You or as meaty as Gypsy, Backwards (subtitled The Ginger Rogers Story) nonetheless provides two hours of fancy footwork, classic 1920s and 30s songs, and Broadway/Hollywood nostalgia.
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TWICE UPON A TIME
Friday, February 19th, 2010RECOMMENDED
Civic Light Operas owe their livelihood to revivals of Broadway classics and
more recent hits. Rarely if ever do they attempt something brand new. Thus,
Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities is taking quite a bold step in presenting a
world premiere musical, Twice Upon A Time, with book and direction by Ray
Cooney. Though the results are somewhat mixed, James A. Blackman III and
company deserve major props for venturing into unknown territory.
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