BOOMERMANIA
Saturday, September 3rd, 2011
Now in its seventh smash North Hollywood month, Boomermania has recently moved to the larger, more stageview-friendly NoHo Arts Center, a 99-seater whose state-of-the-art lighting and sound system make the 1950s-‘80s musical comedy review look and sound better than ever.
THE BIG WOOGIE
Monday, August 15th, 2011NOT RECOMMENDED
What an amazing theater town Los Angeles is, each month offering literally hundreds of shows to pick from—big budget/big bucks/big stage productions at the Pasadena Playhouse or the Geffen, midsized offerings like those at the Colony and ICT Long Beach, and 99-seat plan productions at Theatre @ Boston Court, Antaeus, and the Celebration—to name just three of the many small theaters which easily match the best of off-Broadway. Add to these the countless 30, 40, and 50-seat mini-theaters where it’s possible to “put on a show” for about .005% of Broadway’s Spider Man budget, and you’ve got oodles of temptations on any given weekend.
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THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Sunday, August 14th, 2011
When you hear the words “Shakespearean Comedy,” which of the Bard’s plays most quickly pop to mind? A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Twelfth Night? The Taming Of The Shrew? Much Ado About Nothing? As You Like It? All of the above?
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DOUBTING THOMASON
Saturday, July 16th, 2011
Los Angeles theater buffs may recall one of the biggest Ovation Award upsets ever, when the under-the-radar West Coast Premiere of Tracy Letts’ Killer Joe went on to win four crystal statuettes, including Best Production, Best Ensemble, and Best Direction. Far fewer will be aware that, at about the very same time as that production was set to open, another group of L.A. actors were rehearsing the very same play, only to discover a week before their own opening that someone else (the future Ovation winners) had the rights to Killer Joe—and they didn’t.
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I’M JUST WILD ABOUT HARRY
Friday, June 10th, 2011
Take an 1892 British farce that broke records with its 1466-performance London run. Add to it nearly two-dozen song hits from the 1900s, ‘10s, and early ‘20s. Cast it with a terrific bunch of actors who can also sing and dance. Add to the mix a director, musical director, choreographer, and trio of designers, each of whom is blessed with ingenuity and flair. Do all of the above and the result is I’m Just Wild About Harry, Gary Lamb and William A. Reilly’s delightful jukebox musical now playing at the duo’s Crown City Theatre Co.
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THE MALCONTENT
Friday, May 6th, 2011
An overthrown national leader sneaks back into to his country in disguise, hoping to engineer a return to power. To do so, he must match wits with the new leader’s ruthless, ambitious young protégé, who is having a secret affair with the new leader’s beautiful young wife, who is in turn being pursued by a second handsome, unprincipled schemer. And that’s just the start of two and a half hours of lust, intrigue, betrayal, passion and politics in John Marston’s The Malcontent.
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THE COLUMBINE PROJECT
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
Few L.A. theater projects have had quite the success (or the journey) of The Columbine Project, Paul Storiale’s meticulously researched docudrama about the Columbine High School massacre of 1999. World premiering in April of 2009 at the 48-seat Avery Schreiber Theatre in North Hollywood, The Columbine Project was extended twice before transferring to off-Broadway with unprecedented swiftness (and with the entire L.A. cast intact). Its July through October New York run at the Actors Temple Theatre was praised by the prestigious New Yorker magazine as a production which “fills the tiny, funky theatre with talent and gravity.” In December of the same year, the original North Hollywood production was awarded five ADA (Artistic Director Achievement) Awards including a Best Director award for its creator/writer/director Paul Storiale.
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THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Neil Simon revealed a considerably darker side than was his wont in his 1973 hit The Prisoner Of Second Avenue, which Jason Alexander now stars in at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre in a production that rivals the best of Broadway revivals.
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Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
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