XANADU
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Who would ever have thought that Xanadu, one of biggest critical and commercial flops of the 1980s, would turn into a hit Broadway musical of the 2000s? Even the musical’s book writer, Douglas Carter Beane, is said to have had doubts about turning that lemon into lemonade. He need not have feared. Xanadu scored a pair of Tony nominations, including one for Beane, and ran for over 500 performances.
(read more)
RENT
Saturday, December 12th, 2009
Is there anyone out there who doesn’t know the story of Jonathan Larson and Rent? About how aspiring musical theater writer/composer Jon spent years trying to make a name for himself only to encounter setback upon setback until finally, on the eve of Rent’s first off-Broadway preview performance, he passed away suddenly, only days before his thirty-sixth birthday… About how Rent got rave after rave in the New York press and won Jon posthumously the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book of a Musical—and countless others too numerous to mention… About how Rent went on to become the seventh longest-running show in Broadway history…
(read more)
SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Since Dr. Seuss’s very first children’s book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (written way back in 1937), kids have grown up with the good doctor. Who among us hasn’t read (or had read to us) Dr. Seuss classics like The Cat In The Hat, Horton Hears A Who, or Horton Hatches The Egg? With so many Dr. Seuss fans of all ages all over the planet, it’s no wonder that Dr. Seuss eventually made it to Broadway. Seussical (The Musical), with songs by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, debuted on the Great White Way in 2000 and since then has gone on to considerable success in regional and children’s theater companies across the country.
(read more)
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
The Grinch has been stealing Christmas for the past fifty-two years, ever since the now classic Dr. Seuss children’s book first hit the stands, yet who would have thought then that the curmudgeonly cave-dweller with a heart “two sizes too small” would go on to conquer the small screen (in a 1966 animated special featuring the voice of Boris Karloff as the Grinch), the big screen (Jim Carrey played the hairy Green One in 2000), and even Broadway (in musical theater form in 2006 and ’07)? Not even Dr. Seuss himself could have imagined such a future for his 1957 picture book.
(read more)
PETER PAN
Friday, December 4th, 2009
Peter Pan is back in a spectacular new production which heralds the arrival of Southern California’s most exciting new professional theater company—3-D Theatricals.
(read more)
WINTER WONDERETTES
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
The marvelous foursome known as the Wonderettes are back in town just in time for the holidays, making this is the best kind of news for theatergoers in search of Christmas cheer. Like The Marvelous Wonderettes, the show that made them famous, Winter Wonderettes is two acts of comedy, harmony, and nostalgia, and a seasonal treat for old and young alike.
(read more)
LITTLE WOMEN THE BROADWAY MUSICAL
Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Little Women The Broadway Musical has been a favorite of mine since I first heard its tuneful score (music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein) and later saw a performance of the National Tour. Book writer Allan Knee somehow managed to compact Alcott’s 400-plus-word novel into a two-and-a-half hour musical which retains the book’s most memorable moments (Jo’s stealing a Christmas tree from the neighboring Laurence family’s property, jealous Amy burning Jo’s manuscript, Jo’s shame at finding a scorch mark on her gown the night of the big party, etc.) while adding songs which run the gamut from Jo’s feisty “Better” to the bouncy “I’d Be Delighted,” to the rousing Act 1 closer “Astonishing.”
(read more)
SPRING AWAKENING
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
The arrival of Spring Awakening at the Orange County Performing Arts Center is welcome news indeed for anyone who missed the Tony-winning smash in its initial Los Angeles run a year ago. It’s equally exciting news for Spring Awakening fans like myself who simply couldn’t get enough of the Steven Sater/Duncan Sheik musical adaptation of Frank Wedenkind’s groundbreaking 1891 drama the first time around.
(read more)
Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
COPYRIGHT 2026 STEVEN STANLEY :: DESIGN BY