ANY NUMBER CAN DIE
Saturday, June 14th, 2008
As much as I have enjoyed attending (and appearing in) Whittier Community Theatre productions, I must confess that I wasn’t expecting all that much from a little known murder mystery spoof entitled Any Number Can Die, written by a certain Fred Carmichael, author of over 40 plays even the most avid theatergoer has probably never heard of. Ever seen All The Better To Kill You With? Don’t Mention My Name? Exit The Body? Hey, Naked Lady? Meet My Husbands? A Pack Of Rascals? Ten Nights In A Bar Room?
(read more)
RETURN
Friday, June 13th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Sonia Levitan’s award-winning young adult novel The Return has been turned into a musical, entitled simply Return, with often powerful results.
(read more)
SONGS FROM AN UNMADE BED
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
The Celebration Theatre scores big with Songs From An Unmade Bed, their best show yet this season and the first to present a fully (and beautifully) realized three-dimensional portrait of a contemporary gay man. Exquisitely performed by Broadway vet Dave Barrus, imaginatively staged by director-of-the-hour Patrick Pearson, and designed by one of the finest teams L.A. has to offer, Songs From An Unmade Bed is must-see theater, not just for its core audience, but for any lover of musical theater or song.
THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
It’s mid-December 1939 and all Atlanta is atwitter with excitement over the tonight’s gala premiere of Gone With The Wind. Christmas trees are being decorated all across the city including at the home of Adolph Freitag. What, you ask? Freitag doesn’t sound like a Christian name. You’re absolutely right. “Take down that star!” Beulah “Boo” Levy orders her daughter Lala. “Jewish Christmas trees don’t have stars!”
(read more)
ADAM BAUM AND THE JEW MOVIE
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
In Modern Orthodox, Daniel Goldfarb hilariously contrasted two extremes of modern Judaism. In Adam Baum And The Jew Movie, he writes an equally laugh-filled comedy about the legendary Jewish studio heads who created decades of Jew-free movies in Hollywood.
(read more)
DOG SEES GOD
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
The teenagers in Dog Sees God: Confessions Of A Teenage Blockhead could come straight out of American Pie or Mean Girls, but they bear an uncanny resemblance to a celebrated bunch of comic strip kids.
(read more)
IMAGINE
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
The best children’s theater, like the best Disney classics, is theater that’s not just for kids. South Coast Repertory knows this well, and the latest entry of its “Theatre For Young Audiences” series is sure to delight not only children … but also the grownups they bring along.
shAme
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
When reminiscing about their high school years, most adults can probably recall having studied Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter at some point or other. An imdb check shows over a dozen film or TV adaptations including 1995’s, which starred an improbably cast Demi Moore as Puritan adulteress Hester Prynne. The classic melodrama even made it to Broadway a century ago. Never before, however, has it been set to music, or at least not until composer songwriter Mark Governor decided to turn it into a rock opera now making its Hollywood club debut.
(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.
COPYRIGHT 2026 STEVEN STANLEY :: DESIGN BY