THE LAST ROMANCE
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
Life begins at eighty or so for the two lead characters in The Last Romance, Joe DiPietro’s charming, funny, andvery romantic new comedy now in its West Coast Premiere at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. Like DiPietro’s earlier Over The River And Through The Woods, The Last Romance offers some of the best comedic roles ever for septuagenarian and even octogenarian actors, and was written especially for two of them, Marion Ross of TV’s Happy Days fame and WWII vet Paul Michael, her real life partner.
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ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
Take a couple dozen songs written by multiple Oscar winners Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, hire a couple dozen Broadway and regional theater triple-threats to perform them to Tony-winning director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw’s fancy footwork, string them together with a plot suggested by a 1962 Frank Sinatra flick, call the confection Robin And The 7 Hoods—and you’ve got the thoroughly enjoyable World Premiere (and possibly Broadway-bound) new musical now delighting audiences at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater.
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HAIRSPRAY
Sunday, July 25th, 2010
Following over six years (and a grand total of 2642 performances) on Broadway and several Equity and non-Equity National Tours, the smash hit musical Hairspray has at last been made available to theaters across the country, and San Diego Repertory Theatre has scored big in getting the rights to its Southern California Regional Theater Premiere, making for a delightful, often outstanding production directed with assurance and flair by Sam Woodhouse and featuring actors who put their own stamp on John Waters’ memorable characters and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s tuneful songs.
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[title of show]
Saturday, July 10th, 2010
In the spring of 2004, New York City writing partners Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen sat down to create a new musical in just three weeks, that being precisely the period of time remaining before the New York Musical Theatre Festival’s submission deadline. Joined by friends (and fellow performers) Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff, the quartet met the deadline with a 90-minute musical about itself, from its first spark of inspiration to its opening night on Broadway. As for the show’s title, having rejected such candidates as Festival Of Dreams, Your Arms Too Short To Write This Musical, and RENTT (with two t’s), the creative team decided to stick with what was on the application form: [title of show]. And wonder of wonders, their dream became a reality.
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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Saturday, July 10th, 2010
Every musical theater aficionado has his or her own pet shows, ones that can be seen again and again without ever losing their appeal, especially when new performers put their stamps on favorite roles. My own personal favorites include The Last Five Years, The Light In The Piazza, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, all of which I have reviewed in numerous productions since StageSceneLA’s 2007 premiere.
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MOSCOW
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Three gay men find themselves trapped in an empty theater that may be heaven, hell, or somewhere in-between (with only Chekhov’s The Three Sisters as their companion) in Nick Salamone and Maury R. McIntyre’s engaging, touching chamber musical Moscow, now playing at San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre.
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SPEECH & DEBATE
Sunday, March 28th, 2010
You’d think by now that closeted politicians would have learned their lesson. Vote consistently homophobic and people will suspect you have a secret to hide. Troll the Internet or public restrooms and that secret will out you whether you like it or not.
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ALIVE AND WELL
Sunday, March 28th, 2010
She: I never apologize cause I am never wrong.
He: Neither am I!
Is this any way to start a relationship? Well, in the world of romantic comedies it is. Think of all the great screen couples whose road to love began with out-and-out hatred, or at least some good old-fashioned dislike. Think Gable and Colbert in It Happened One Night, Crystal and Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, or last year’s Reynolds and Bullock in The Proposal. Couples like these carry on a great tradition begun perhaps by Will Shakespeare in The Taming Of The Shrew, or who knows, maybe from as far back as Adam and Eve.
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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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