MY WAY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
“Frank Sinatra recorded 1500 songs, and tonight we’re going to sing every single one of them,” jokes Jason Watson at the beginning of My Way: A Musical Tribute To Frank Sinatra. Though a complete retrospective of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ discography would doubtless take (in Watson’s words) “the next eight days,” My Way does a terrific job of showcasing Sinatra’s best-known hits (and a few of his rather more obscure songs as well), making it one of the most entertaining “jukebox” musical revues ever.
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HAIR
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
It was mid-1968. LBJ was still President, with Richard Nixon’s election and seven more years of war in Vietnam yet to come. Already, though, there were “tribes” of young people in their teens and twenties whose dissatisfaction with an America riddled with racism, poverty, sexism, sexual repression, and political corruption led them to create the hippie movement of the 60s. More than anything else, though, these “new American patriots,” as they saw themselves, were in revolt against a war they believed to be unjust, unnecessary, and un-American.
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THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Friday, June 5th, 2009
One of the best things about live theater is being able to see favorite plays and musicals revived with new actors tackling iconic roles, new directors putting their stamp on familiar material, and new design teams giving old shows new looks. This rarely happens in movies and TV, where the word remake is often synonymous with “Sacrilege!”
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AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRAND BOEUF
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
The Laguna Playhouse serves up a tangy comedic soufflé in the West Coast Premiere of An Empty Plate In The Café Du Grand Boeuf—with a surprise “be careful what you wish for” dénouement worthy of O Henry.
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THE BRAND NEW KID
Sunday, May 31st, 2009
Don’t let the words Theatre For Young Audiences fool you. South Coast Repertory’s TYA productions are treats for theatergoers of all ages. True, most audience members over the age of 12 are probably there as chaperones, but fear not. In terms of on-and-offstage talent, these shows can’t be beat, and even adults who cringe at the idea of seeing anything G-rated will likely have a great time, with or without kids in tow.
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COLLECTED STORIES
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
The mentor-pupil relationship of an acclaimed author of short stories and her most promising student is charted over a period of six years in Donald Margulies’ compelling drama Collected Stories. Now returning with its original star to South Coast Repertory (where it had its world premiere in 1996), this much awaited revival proves a sterling example of big-stage professional theater at its best.
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THE KING AND I
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
When you’ve seen a musical theater classic like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King And I as many times as I have, the excitement of each new production (besides the pleasure of revisiting an old favorite) is seeing new performers, directors, choreographers, musical directors, and designers put their own stamp on it.
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THE GIRL, THE GROUCH, AND THE GOAT
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
The Chance Theater scores a real coup in presenting the West Coast Premiere and first professional production of the latest musical by Mark Hollmann, the Tony-winning composer/co-lyricist of Urinetown. (I guess this means that it could well be billed as the show’s Professional World Premiere.) The musical is The Girl, The Grouch, And The Goat, and if Urinetown’s Little Sally had issues with the title of her musical, imagine what she’d have to say about this new mouthful of a title. Then again, this is indeed the story of a girl (named Myrrhine), a grouch (named Clemnon), and a goat (who remains nameless).
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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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