MASK
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
The Pasadena Playhouse stage is lit from behind by a dozen or more white
spots shining like headlights at the audience, illuminating a tribe of bikers led
by the imposing figure of big, longhaired, bearded Dozer. “Come Along For
The Ride,” they sing to the music and lyrics of Hall of Fame legends Barry Mann
and Cynthia Weil, and what a ride it’s going to be. Surrender your urge to
nitpick and let your heart lead you along the brief but brilliant highway that is
the life of Rocky Dennis, immortalized by Eric Stolz and Cher in the 1985 film
Mask. This is Mask as musical, and if the story was rich and rewarding already
as biopic, it is even more so with Mann and Weil’s songs added, and the stellar
performances of Michelle Duffy, Greg Evigan, Michael Lanning, and the
raveworthy debut of Allen E. Read as Rocky.
(read more)
JEKYLL & HYDE
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
What a difference a director makes! Cabrillo Music Theatre’s production of
Jekyll & Hyde towers over all others, including FCLO’s excellent revival just five
months ago, and the #1 reason can be summed up in a single name: Nick
DeGruccio. Following his brilliant direction of The Last Five Years, Beehive, and
Zanna Don’t (all of them cited on StageSceneLA’s Best Of The Year lists),
DeGruccio now does quite possibly his best work yet, taking a show which
detractors have called “bombastic” and “boring” and electrifying it, clarifying
its themes, heightening its drama, and above all making it human. These are
real people we are seeing on stage, from its trio of star roles (or should that be
quartet?) to even the bit players at The Red Rat, in St. Jude’s Hospital, or on
the streets of London.
(read more)
ALL SHOOK UP
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
If there were more justice in the world of Broadway theater, All Shook Up
would now be in its third year of playing there to standing ovations. It has a
clever and very funny book by Joe DiPietro. Ken Robertson and Sergio Trujillo
came up with a bunch of sensational dances. It featured a truly star-making
performance by Cheyenne Jackson and an equally stellar supporting cast.
Most notable of all, it was built around two dozen songs made famous by Elvis
Presley, in other words, some of the most recognizable, hummable hits ever on
a Broadway stage.
(read more)
WEST SIDE STORY
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
As I sat watching West Side Story last night, amazingly my first time ever at a
professional stage production of this musical theater classic, I couldn’t help
thinking about what Broadway audiences must have felt as they first
discovered it back in 1957. This was, after all, a Broadway whose most recent
Tony-winners were My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, and The Pajama Game.
What must audiences who were accustomed to this fun and sunny fare have
thought about a show where the leading man and leading lady didn’t have
the proverbial happy ending, and whose characters lived dismal lives in the
worst parts of Manhattan and hated anyone whose differences threatened
their go-nowhere existences?
(read more)
1776
Saturday, February 16th, 2008
It’s always exciting for me to discover a new play or musical, and that’s exactly
how I felt experiencing 1776 at Actors Co-op. True, 1776 has been around for
nearly 30 years, and I believe that I just might have seen the first national tour
(though if so, obviously in my infancy). I think also that I may have rented the
movie version at some time or other since the advent of the VCR. Still,
whatever memories I have of any previous 1776s are vague to say the least.
That’s why seeing 1776 at last, especially in such a polished and class-act
production, filled me with a sense of discovery.
(read more)
ASSASSINS
Sunday, February 10th, 2008
If by some chance you’ve never seen or heard of Stephen Sondheim and John
Weidman’s Assassins, here’s what it’s about, in brief:
It’s about eight men and women who either assassinated, or attempted to
assassinate, a United States President.
Not your usual bill of fare for a musical, is it?
(read more)
JAMES JOYCE’S THE DEAD
Saturday, February 9th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Open Fist Theatre Company is nothing if not versatile. Following The Idiot Box, its
clever dark comedy about reality intruding on sitcom perfect lives, and The
Room, a fascinating look back at American history and politics in the 1930s,
Open Fist now presents a musical, or more aptly put, a play with music, James
Joyce’s The Dead.
(read more)
CABARET
Friday, February 8th, 2008
When a musical has been around as long as John Kander and Fred Ebb’s
Cabaret has (the original Broadway production opened in 1966), it becomes a
show that most veteran theatergoers have seen multiple times. Thus,
whenever a new production opens, it is up to the performers and director to
keep it fresh and vital. I’m pleased to report that International City Theatre’s
Cabaret features a trio of fine lead performances and a director whose
concept and vision distinguish this Cabaret from others which have come
before.
(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