SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
Sunday, October 28th, 2007
Cabrillo Music Theatre begins its 2007-8 season with a tunefully winning production of
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. 7Brides47Bros is of course best known as the 1954
MGM musical classic, which starred Howard Keel as Adam, a mountain man in
search of a wife, and Jane Powell as Milly, who accepted his proposal not knowing
that there were six more manly men at the homestead. Debby Boone undertook
the role of Milly in the short lived (opened on Thursday, closed on Sunday) 1982
Broadway production, which has since become a regional theater favorite (recently
staged by Fullerton CLO). Though perhaps not deserving of a loooooong Broadway
run, 7Brides47Bros is still a far more enjoyable experience than its brief Broadway stay
would indicate, and Cabrillo, blessed with about as fine a leading man and lady as
the show could boast and an ensemble more than up to the challenges of John
Charron’s Michael Kidd inspired choreography, has a winner on its hands.
(read more)
A DELICATE BALANCE
Thursday, September 27th, 2007
Ventura’s esteemed Rubicon Theatre Company follows its cute and funny
world premiere of Bad Apples with a quite memorable indeed revival of
Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize winning musings on the nature of family and
friendship, A Delicate Balance. The title refers to the delicate balance
maintained by a suburban WASP couple in their marriage and home life. This
Rubicon production is a perfect example of theatrical balance; everything,
performances, direction, and design have come together to create about
as fine a production of Albee’s contemporary classic as can be imagined.
(read more)
THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007
The members of the Musical Theatre Guild are musical theater magicians. How
else could they create musical theater magic in just 25 hours of rehearsal time?
They’ve done it again, with a delightful, tuneful (book in hand and sans sets but
otherwise pretty much fully staged) production of Rupert Holmes’ The Mystery of
Edwin Drood (based on Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel). Their first of two
performances (at the Alex in Glendale last Monday) happened to coincide with
the mammoth Chess benefit, but I was able to catch yesterday’s reprise
performance at the much more intimate Janet & Ray Scherr Forum in Thousand
Oaks, which was a treat for the ears and the eyes.
(read more)
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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