THE FIRST WIVES CLUB
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
Take a hit movie about a trio of 40something wives getting even with husbands who’ve abandoned them for younger women, add songs written by a trio who can truly be called legendary, cast the show with some of Broadway’s finest performers—and you have The First Wives Club, a thoroughly entertaining new musical now in its pre-Broadway run at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, under the brisk direction of Francesca Zambello.
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FOOTLOOSE
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Ever hear of Bomont, the town where it’s illegal to dance? Well, if you’re a movie buff, you certainly have. That’s the town where Kevin Bacon and his mom moved in 1984’s Footloose, much to Kevin’s dismay. The movie introduced a heap of 80s hits, including the title song, “Let’s Hear It For the Boy,” “Almost Paradise,” “Holding Out For A Hero,” “I’m Free,” “Somebody’s Eyes,” and “The Girl Gets Around.” Fourteen years later Footloose made it to Broadway, as a full-fledged musical this time, with most of the movie hits integrated into its story line and a bunch of new Tom Snow creations added. The resulting production ran for over 700 performances, and though it’s reputed to be a favorite high school musical, I can’t recall a major L.A. production.
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BEGGARS IN THE HOUSE OF PLENTY
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
What a difference a director and cast can make!
When I saw a production of John Patrick Shanley’s Beggars In The House Of Plenty about four years ago, I found myself squirming in my seat waiting for it to end. I couldn’t make head nor tail of what was going on as the play got more and more bizarre and heavy-handed. My guest and I looked at each other when the lights went back up and said almost simultaneously, “Now what was that about?” Arriving home, I did some googling and saw that at least one reviewer had raved about the production, leading me to wonder what she had seen in it that my friend and I had not.
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FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
The prolonged ovation which greets Topol’s first entrance in Fiddler On The Roof confirms that this Farewell Tour, starring the man whose name has become synonymous with that of its lead character, is an event of the first order. As Tevye, the milkman of Anatevka, Chaim Topol gives a brilliant performance in an absolutely superb revival of the 1964 Broadway classic. That the production which surrounds him is of Broadway caliber elevates this Fiddler to must-see status.
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THE BEST IS YET TO COME: THE MUSIC OF CY COLEMAN
Sunday, July 19th, 2009
City Of Angels, Sweet Charity, Little Me, Seesaw, On The Twentieth Century, I Love My Wife, The Will Rogers Follies, Barnam.
“Big Spender,” “It’s Not Where You Start,” “There’s Gotta Be Something Better” “Hey, Look Me Over,” Witchcraft,” “The Best Is Yet To Come.”
What do these Broadway shows and hit songs have in common? The answer in two words is Cy Coleman, composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist extraordinaire.
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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
It’s not whether you win or lose. It’s how you play the game.”
It’s highly doubtful that any of the preteen contestants in William Finn’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee have ever taken these words of advice to heart. For these regional spelling bee finalists, and for many of their parents, winning is everything, and if you have any doubt that kids can be every bit as competitive as adults, Finn’s quirky, highly original musical will soon cure you of this misconception.
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ALTAR BOYZ
Friday, July 17th, 2009
Those Altar Boyz are back, and there’s no one happier about the news than I am. Since discovering the Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording in 2005 (which I’ve listened to more times that I could possibly count), I’ve had the thrill of seeing the show’s First National Tour, two regional productions—and now Altar Boyz’ first L.A. intimate theater staging at the Celebration Theatre. Directed by Patrick Pearson and choreographed by Ameenah Kaplan, with musical direction by Christopher Lloyd Bratten, and starring five sensational young triple threats, this may well be the best Altar Boyz yet.
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LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
For a 1982 off-Broadway musical based on a no-budget black-and-white film shot in two days, Little Shop Of Horrors has come a long, long way. A London West End production opened in 1983 and a movie version was released in 1986 even as Little Shop continued to entertain off-Broadway audiences for an amazing 2,209 performances. A big stage revival finally took the show to Broadway in 2003. Few are the high schools, community theaters, and regional CLOs which haven’t staged Little Shop at least once in the past twenty-seven years. Little Shop Of Horrors is that rarity in musical theater—a show which works equally well in a tiny space and on a Broadway-sized stage, one which can delight and entertain whether performed by teenagers, amateurs, or the kind of A-List professionals now starring in Musical Theater West’s sensational big theater revival.
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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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