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.
(read more)
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.
(read more)
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.
(read more)
ALL IN THE TIMING
Sunday, April 10th, 2011
Trust me. David Ives’ All In The Timing is unlike any program of one-acts you’ve ever seen. Imagine a series of sketches on Saturday Night Live, but with their intelligence level upped to the nth power. Ives’ six comic concoctions are smart plays indeed, each one with its own particular (and peculiar) “high concept.” As performed by a stellar troupe of eight at Crown City Theatre, the sextet of playlets make for one quirky, entertaining evening of theater at its most unique.
(read more)
PURSUED BY HAPPINESS
Friday, March 25th, 2011
There’s good news for hopeless romantics, those of us who truly believe in the redemptive power of love. Keith Huff’s Pursued By Happiness can now be added to the list of terrific plays written about wounded souls who somehow manage to find salvation in each other.
(read more)
HAVING IT ALL
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
A group of disparate (and perhaps desperate) strangers find themselves stuck in the same space and, not surprisingly, hate each other at first sight. As the minutes tick by, however, they begin talking—out of frustration or necessity—and little by little discover how wrong their first impressions have been. By the time their enforced proximity comes to an end, bonds have been formed, friendships even, and each of these strangers comes out changed for good (in both senses of the term). A proven formula for drama, comedy, and in the case of Having It All, for an original musical now earning cheers at North Hollywood’s NoHo Arts Center.
(read more)
THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
Friday, February 25th, 2011
The Adventures Of Pinocchio and Deaf West Theatre prove a match made in Family Theater Heaven in the company’s 20th Anniversary Season production of the classic children’s tale.
(read more)
URNED HAPPINESS
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011RECOMMENDED
“Cheery, upbeat, even festive” are hardly the words one would normally use to describe a funeral, but then again the recently deceased “Mother Hapshaw” was probably the last person to inspire tears and lamentations. In fact, “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead” could easily be the theme song of Ernest Kearney’s black comedy Urned Happiness, now playing at North Hollywood’s T.U. Studios.
(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