SHE LOVES ME
Saturday, September 6th, 2008
A man and a woman who can’t stand each other in real life fall in love with each other in cyberspace. Sound familiar? It should be if you’ve seen Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail. But before email, there were letters, and 35 years before You’ve Got Mail, there was the 1963 Broadway musical She Loves Me, a pre-Internet version of the same irresistible tale.
(read more)
VANITIES
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
Vanities, the new Broadway-bound musical at the Pasadena Playhouse, takes a tuneful, laugh-filled, and sometimes emotional look at the lives of three small town Texas women from the optimistic Camelot years of the early 1960s, through the draft card and bra burning the late 60s, and on into the swinging 70s. Based on Jack Heifner’s immensely popular three-character three-scene comedy (one of the longest running plays in off-Broadway history), Vanities (the musical) adds David Kirshenbaum’s catchy melodies and story-propelling lyrics to the mix, plus a fourth scene (bringing the women up to 1990), to create a laughter and tear-filled 90-minute musical journey through the lives of three very different best friends.
(read more)
AS U2 LIKE IT
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Matt Walker and his zany band of Troubies are back with their latest mix of song, dance, laughter, Shakespeare, and adlibs galore. The troupe, which has won L.A. hearts with (among others) Much Adoobie Brothers About Nothing, Hamlet (The Artist Formerly Known As The Prince Of Denmark), and OthE.L.O, now blends As You Like It with cleverly rewritten U2 hits to produce As U2 Like It, a total delight from start to finish.
(read more)
BABY
Saturday, August 16th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Three women learn that they are pregnant. One is surprised, the second overjoyed, the third shocked, almost horrified by the news.
Thus begins Baby, Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s 1983 Broadway sort-of-a-hit (241 performances and 7 Tony Award … nominations).
(read more)
deLEARious
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Open Fist Theatre has come up with a winner in their World Premiere production of deLEARious, a Monty Python meets William Shakespeare delight of a musical within a musical within a musical.
(read more)
SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
Friday, August 8th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Torrance Theatre Company’s 10th annual Summer Musical, provides ample proof as to the amount and level of musical theater talent on our local stage scene. Unlike recent 7Brides productions by FCLO Music Theatre and Cabrillo Music Theatre, Torrance’s brides, brothers, and assorted townspeople are all portrayed by non-Equity actors, and though TTC’s production does not reach the bar its predecessors set, the results are nonetheless praiseworthy indeed.
(read more)
EVITA
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008RECOMMENDED
In transforming Evita from a Broadway scale musical to an intimate theater “chamber” piece, The Chance Theater has undertaken its biggest challenge yet. Unlike The Last Five Years and Closer Than Ever, which were chamber musicals to begin with, or Into The Woods and Assassins, which have become intimate theater staples, Evita started off huge and usually remains a big cast/big orchestra item at regional CLOs.
(read more)
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Great Expectations (The Musical) began its Los Angeles journey back in April with a successful run at the Hudson Backstage Theatre. It has reopened at West L.A.’s The Odyssey Theatre, and what a difference a few months and a change of venue have made. A show that was more promising than great has blossomed.
(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