THE IMMIGRANT
Saturday, April 5th, 2008
Black and white photos show immigrants arriving in the United States in the early 1900s as the sound of a howling wind blows across the southeast Texas plains. While a newspaper headline announces “Victims Of Russian Massacres,” a sign welcomes travelers to Galveston, the “Treasure Island Of America.” A foreign-accented male voice is heard singing a beautiful but mournful tune: “The stars can see what we cannot, the stars remember what we forgot. See that shining spark. God is there in the dark…”
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THE WILD PARTY
Friday, April 4th, 2008
Tell a musical theater aficionado that you’re going to see The Wild Party and the first question you’ll be asked is “Which one?” Will it be the 2000 Broadway show with music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, or will it be the 2000 off- Broadway version with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa?
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THE NERD
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
Rick Steadman, aka The Nerd, is the guest from hell who comes and stays and stays and stays…in Larry Shue’s hilarious comedy, The Nerd. Shue only wrote two plays (The Nerd and The Foreigner) in a life cut far too short, but they are both comic gems which assure his legacy. There is hardly a theater company (regional, community, or school) that hasn’t presented at least one of them, and with good reason. They are funny, outrageous, absurd delights, and Shue’s The Nerd is now getting an almost perfect production at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse.
DON JUAN
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
I have a confession. I’d much rather see a comedy by Molière than one by William Shakespeare. I think it’s mostly the language. Since Molière is usually translated from 17th century French into modern English, his plays feel contemporary, even when set hundreds of years ago. I felt so last June when I saw The Imaginary Invalid at ACT in San Francisco and I felt so again last night watching Don Juan at A Noise Within, Glendale’s diamond of a classical theater company.
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BEAVERQUEST! THE MUSICAL
Friday, March 28th, 2008
Beaverquest! The Musical, Sacred Fools’ latest offering, is the brightest and most entertaining surprise of Spring 2008, combining elements of Urinetown: The Musical, Into The Woods, and TV’s Hee Haw. Though (as might be expected) Beaverquest! The Musical has countless double entendre references to the titular dam-building rodent, including fully five songs with Beaver in the title, it is more importantly a tuneful, joyous defense of acceptance and tolerance, love and sexuality. This is a show that kids can enjoy (the beaver jokes will go right over their heads) but that adults will love even more regardless of their age.
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MASK
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
The Pasadena Playhouse stage is lit from behind by a dozen or more white
spots shining like headlights at the audience, illuminating a tribe of bikers led
by the imposing figure of big, longhaired, bearded Dozer. “Come Along For
The Ride,” they sing to the music and lyrics of Hall of Fame legends Barry Mann
and Cynthia Weil, and what a ride it’s going to be. Surrender your urge to
nitpick and let your heart lead you along the brief but brilliant highway that is
the life of Rocky Dennis, immortalized by Eric Stolz and Cher in the 1985 film
Mask. This is Mask as musical, and if the story was rich and rewarding already
as biopic, it is even more so with Mann and Weil’s songs added, and the stellar
performances of Michelle Duffy, Greg Evigan, Michael Lanning, and the
raveworthy debut of Allen E. Read as Rocky.
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THE DYING GAUL
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
In the 1990 film Longtime Companion, Craig Lucas wrote what remains
arguably the best dramatic depiction of the epidemic which wiped out much
of an entire generation of gay men. His sensitive screenplay revealed the
goodness and generosity of those 20/30/40something couples whose devotion
was proof that there was much more to gay love than just sex, and that the
gay community was capable of greatness in the face of callous government
disregard.
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SECRETS OF THE TRADE
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
Though the coming out/coming of age story has been told time and again, it
is one that bears retelling, especially when told as freshly and smartly as
Jonathan Tolins does it in Secrets Of The Trade, now playing at the Black
Dahlia Theatre. Tolins’ play is, as well, a perfect example of why L.A. theater,
especially theater of the “waiver” variety, can hold its head high and proud
amidst any theatrical community. It is no wonder that Tony-winning multiple-
Broadway-shows-to-his-credit John Glover has chosen to appear in a tiny
theater on Pico Blvd. A production as fine as this one gives Glover a role he
was, as they say, born to play and surrounds him with talent worthy of any
Broadway stage.
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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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