MR. WOLF
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015RECOMMENDED
Rajiv Joseph takes a provocative look at the human consequences of a despicable crime twelve years after its perpetration in his hit-and-miss World Premiere drama Mr. Wolf, a play I found powerful and affecting in its more realistic moments but frustrating and perplexing in its attempts at the poetic and profound. In either case, performances alone make it worth a look-see.
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BUYER & CELLAR
Monday, April 20th, 2015
“Mem’ries” light the corners of struggling actor Alex More’s mind, but they are neither “misty” nor “water-colored” given that the divinely heavenly boss-from-hell whom Alex is “rememb’ring” in Jonathan Tolins’ hilarious Buyer & Cellar, now getting an absolutely fabulous San Diego Premiere at The Old Globe, is none other Barbra herself, no family name required.
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JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, A MUSICAL
Monday, April 20th, 2015
If a World Premiere musicalization of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in which the 19th-century novelist figures not only as part of its title but as one of the its leading players seems fraught with peril, then Austen fans can rest assured. To quote from La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts’ next-up Mary Poppins, Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice, A Musical is practically perfect in every way.
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MARY POPPINS
Saturday, April 18th, 2015
Mary Poppins The Broadway Musical has arrived at Cabrillo Music Theatre to enchant audiences of all ages, and though Opening Night was technically rough around the edges, this is one terrifically entertaining production, particularly with Juliana Hansen and Wesley Alfvin filling Julie Andrews’ and Dick Van Dyke’s shoes quite marvelously indeed.
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THE POWER OF DUFF
Saturday, April 18th, 2015
All hell breaks loose—or is it heaven?—when TV anchor Charlie Duff offers an impromptu (and decidedly prayerful) tribute to his just-deceased father at the end of the nightly news, thereby setting off a firestorm of pro-and-con reactions in Stephen Belber’s The Power Of Duff, a play that is one part dark comedy, one part satire, but ultimately the deeply moving story of one man’s inadvertent quest for redemption.
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DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
Thursday, April 16th, 2015
Glendale Centre Theatre offers musical theater lovers a mid-week treat with the 2005 Tony Best Musical nominee Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, giving its audiences one of Broadway’s (and GCT’s) most laugh-out-loud hilarious shows ever.
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GUYS AND DOLLS
Wednesday, April 15th, 2015RECOMMENDED
Damon Runyon’s colorful New York denizens have set up shop this week in Costa Mesa, and if the revival of Frank Loesser’s Guys And Dolls now playing at the Segerstrom Center For The Arts isn’t the bona fide “Broadway National Tour” we expect on the SCFTA stage (the scenic design in particular doesn’t stand up to Segerstrom standards), it features all-around terrific performances and the most exciting “Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat” I’ve ever seen.
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RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD: THE MUSICAL
Monday, April 13th, 2015
When you think about history-making 20th-century African-American music impresarios, Berry Gordy and Quincy Jones and perhaps two or three other names probably top the list. A less likely name to spring to mind is that of John Grayton Dolphin, an omission that Recorded In Hollywood: The (World Premiere) Musical sets out to rectify … and does so so crowd-pleasingly under Denise Dowse’s pizzazzy direction that it could easily end up giving the Broadway smash Memphis a run for its money.
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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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