JAGGED LITTLE PILL
Friday, September 16th, 2022
A double album’s worth of Alanis Morissette’s Greatest Hits provide the plot-propelling dramatic soundtrack to Jagged Little Pill, the thrillingly of-the-moment Tony winner that redefines the oft-derided “jukebox musical” to stunning effect.
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13 THE MUSICAL
Monday, September 12th, 2022
Ventura county teens reveal budding triple-threat talents in Panic! Productions’ exhilarating live staging of Jason Robert Brown’s 13 The Musical at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.
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THE PROM
Thursday, August 11th, 2022A gaggle of liberal-minded Broadway narcissists descend on conservative Middle America to aid an Indiana teen who just wants to dance in public with the girl she loves in The Prom, the multiple-Tony-nominated musical that now ranks sky-high on my list of 21st-century favorites.
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THE ADDAMS FAMILY
Monday, August 8th, 2022
Torrance Theatre Company’s finger-snappingly fabulous The Addams Family redefines what a community theater can accomplish with a crackerjack volunteer-actor cast and just as much talent behind the scenes.
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AMERICAN IDIOT
Sunday, July 24th, 2022
Disaffected 20somethings let out their anti-establishment rage to a punk-pop soundtrack in Chance Theater’s electrifying summer staging of Green Day’s American Idiot.
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GREASE
Sunday, July 10th, 2022
Contemporary casting choices bring Musical Theatre West’s 2022 Grease revival into the 21st century to crowd-delighting effect without sacrificing an iota of the show’s 1950s nostalgia.
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MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL
Saturday, July 9th, 2022
Sumptuous and spectacular and filled with as many instantly recognizable pop hits as in four or five jukebox musicals put together, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is all this and more.
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ARENA: A House MUSIC-al
Sunday, June 26th, 2022A young gay Latino exits the closet to a ‘90s dance club beat in Abel Alvarado’s ARENA: A House MUSIC-al, a heartfelt but overpopulated coming-of-age story that works best when the spotlight is on Alvarado stand-in Lucio, particularly as brought to engaging, charismatic life by newcomer Preston Gonzalez Valle.
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