STOP KISS
Monday, November 10th, 2014
Don’t let the gay bashing that is the pivotal event of Diana Son’s Stop Kiss scare you away from its exciting Pasadena Playhouse debut. Under Seema Sueko’s nuanced direction and with a pair of star turns by Angela Lin and Sharon Leal, Son’s 1998 off-Broadway hit reveals itself at its heart to be the subtly shaded tale of two women who find themselves almost accidentally falling in love.
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WICKED LIT 2014
Friday, October 10th, 2014
The Mountain View Mausoleum And Cemetery is the undisputed star of Wicked Lit 2014, providing a venue so mysterious and spooky that it outweighs any objections one might have about the 5th-annual creepy, kooky trio of terr(or)ific one-acts’ more than three-hour-long running time.
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KISS ME KATE
Thursday, September 25th, 2014
A stellar, (almost) all-African-American cast breathe new life into the 1948 William Shakespeare-meets-Cole Porter classic Kiss Me Kate, an innovative Pasadena Playhouse revival that works to perfection for all but about ten minutes of its thrillingly reinvigorated two acts.
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STUPID FUCKING BIRD
Monday, June 30th, 2014
2014’s hottest “new” playwright may well be none other than the Russian master Anton Chekhov, his 19th Century classics having inspired not one but three current hits: Christopher Durang’s Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike, Donald Margulies’ The Country House, and now —most Chekhov-specifically—Aaron Posner’s inspired meta-dramedy Stupid Fucking Bird, currently being given a sensational West Coast Premiere under the ever-inventive direction of Michael Michetti.
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STONEFACE
Thursday, June 12th, 2014
The creator-star of the multiple-award-winning Louis And Keely Live At The Sahara, the writer-director of the smash Sacred Fools original Watson: The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes (and its sequel), and the star of TV’s 3rd Rock From The Son join forces at the Pasadena Playhouse in Stoneface, a 99-seat hometown hit that’s been given a much-deserved L.A. regional theater transfer … and when was the last time you’ve seen that happen in our fair city?
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WAKE
Saturday, May 3rd, 2014
An agoraphobic mortician, a homeschooled teenager, an increasingly forgetful grandmother, the ghost of a deceased spouse, and a man who just might sweep all the doldrums away take center stage in Carey Crim’s not-quite-perfect dramedy Wake, whose West Coast Premiere at South Pasadena’s Fremont Centre Theatre benefits enormously from Matt Kirkwood’s deft direction, an all-around terrific ensemble, and a topnotch production design.
MACBETH
Saturday, April 26th, 2014RECOMMENDED
Elijah Alexander and Jules Willcox deliver powerhouse performances as Macbeth and his Lady as A Noise Within presents its latest excursion into Shakespeare territory. By contrast, Larry Carpenter’s direction proves considerably less impressive.
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COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA
Tuesday, April 15th, 2014
A gripping slice of contemporary Midwest life when it made its 1950 Broadway debut, William Inge’s Come Back, Little Sheba has now become a compelling period piece … and a superb 21st Century revival at A Noise Within.
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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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