BLOOD BROTHERS
Saturday, October 18th, 2008RECOMMENDED
The arrival of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers in Los Angeles is big news indeed. Though the musical ran 840 performances on Broadway in the mid-1990s, and has been playing continuously on London’s West End for over two decades, it’s been years since there’s been a fully staged L.A. production offering local audiences the chance to see what has made Blood Brothers such a British (and international) phenomenon.
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SOUTH PACIFIC
Friday, October 3rd, 2008RECOMMENDED
It’s been nearly 50 years since the last of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals debuted on Broadway, yet the team’s work remains as popular as ever. Carousel (1945) and The Sound Of Music (1959) continue to be CLO staples, as does The King And I (on Broadway in 1951, 1960, 1977, 1985, and 1996, and soon to open in Thousand Oaks). Last season Downey Civic Light Opera revived the team’s first joint effort, Oklahoma (1943), in an absolutely terrific production (and two more local CLO’s have Oklahoma scheduled over the coming year). And the current Broadway revival of R&H’s 1949 smash South Pacific recently won seven Tonys.
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JOE’S GARAGE
Saturday, September 27th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Like The Who’s Tommy, Frank Zappa’s 1979 rock opera Joe’s Garage began its life on vinyl. Both rock operas take their titular heroes on a life journey. But while Tommy moved rather quickly from concept album to movie to staged production in London’s West End, it is only now that Joe’s Garage, the cult LP, is getting its first stage adaptation by L.A.’s Open Fist Theatre Company.
RED SCARE ON SUNSET
Sunday, September 21st, 2008RECOMMENDED
No one spoofs classic Hollywood movie genres better than Charles Busch. Whether it be the Ross Hunter women’s pictures of the 1950s and 60s (Die! Mommie! Die!) or Frankie and Annette Beach Party flicks (Psycho Beach Party) or WWII spy epics (The Lady In Question), Busch knows his Hollywood backwards and forwards. The more his audience knows about movie styles and movie stars, the funnier Busch’s plays are, but even those not so familiar with names like 1950s TV staples Kate Smith, Dagmar, and Norman Vincent Peale will find laughs aplenty in Red Scare On Sunset, which lampoons (and pays tribute to) late 40s/early 50s red-baiting propaganda films like Red Menace, I Married A Communist, and My Son John.
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IT’S THE HOUSEWIVES
Sunday, September 7th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Ever heard of the superstar rock group The Housewives? The three PTA mothers who became as big as the Beatles? The gals who had such #1 hits as “Ironing Bored,” “The Reynold’s Rap,” and “I’ve Been Defrosting All Day”?
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BABY
Saturday, August 16th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Three women learn that they are pregnant. One is surprised, the second overjoyed, the third shocked, almost horrified by the news.
Thus begins Baby, Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s 1983 Broadway sort-of-a-hit (241 performances and 7 Tony Award … nominations).
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SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
Friday, August 8th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Torrance Theatre Company’s 10th annual Summer Musical, provides ample proof as to the amount and level of musical theater talent on our local stage scene. Unlike recent 7Brides productions by FCLO Music Theatre and Cabrillo Music Theatre, Torrance’s brides, brothers, and assorted townspeople are all portrayed by non-Equity actors, and though TTC’s production does not reach the bar its predecessors set, the results are nonetheless praiseworthy indeed.
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EVITA
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008RECOMMENDED
In transforming Evita from a Broadway scale musical to an intimate theater “chamber” piece, The Chance Theater has undertaken its biggest challenge yet. Unlike The Last Five Years and Closer Than Ever, which were chamber musicals to begin with, or Into The Woods and Assassins, which have become intimate theater staples, Evita started off huge and usually remains a big cast/big orchestra item at regional CLOs.
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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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