THE CANADIANS

posted on October 14th, 2019 at 3:31 PM by Steven Stanley

A couple of small-town 20something BFFs embark on the gay cruise of a lifetime courtesy of South Coast Repertory in Adam Bock’s hilarious–and unexpectedly touching–World Premiere romantic comedy The Canadians.
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posted in Comedy, Orange County, Theater Review, World Premiere, WOW!

ONCE

posted on October 13th, 2019 at 10:36 AM by Steven Stanley

You may have seen it once on Broadway, and once more when its National Tour played locally, and once more still when South Coast Repertory debuted it regionally, but forget all those Onces. If you haven’t seen the Tony-winning Best Musical of 2012 restaged in the round by the brilliantly inventive Kari Hayter for 3-D Theatricals, you haven’t yet experienced the full musical-theater wonder that is Once.
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posted in Gateway Cities, Musical, Theater Review, WOW!

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE

posted on October 7th, 2019 at 11:10 AM by Steven Stanley

A veritable who’s who of Morgan-Wixson Theatre regulars, a director on a roll, and a crackerjack team of production designers join forces to make Broadway’s The Drowsy Chaperone the all-around best Morgan-Wixson musical I’ve reviewed since first raving about their Thoroughly Modern Millie back in 2009.
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posted in Musical, Theater Review, West Side/Beverly HIlls

MISS LILLY GETS BONED

posted on October 6th, 2019 at 6:02 PM by Steven Stanley

A 35-year-old Sunday School teacher who’s saving herself for Hugh Grant. A man who might just be the next best thing to Hugh. A child grieving his mother’s recent death. An elephant guilty of murder. A doctor given a week to tame this lethal beast. Stir in a sexually hyperactive younger sister and you’ve got Bekah Brunstetter’s latest theatrical gem, Miss Lilly Gets Boned, freshly revised from its 2010 World Premiere for its 2019 Rogue Machine West Coast debut.
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posted in Comedy-Drama, Theater Review, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

GEM OF THE OCEAN

posted on October 5th, 2019 at 9:36 AM by Steven Stanley

There is much to rave about in A Noise Within’s big-stage revival of August Wilson’s Gem Of The Ocean, not however its nearly three-hour running time and one particularly over-the-top performance.
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posted in Drama, Pasadena, Theater Review

A KID LIKE JAKE

posted on October 4th, 2019 at 11:16 AM by Steven Stanley

What would you do if your four-year-old son’s love for all things Cinderella represented not just an affection for the fairytale heroine but something considerably more profound? This is the dilemma facing a 30something husband and wife in Daniel Pearle’s engrossing family dramedy A Kid Like Jake, a hot-button-issue IAMA Theatre Company West Coast Premiere.
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posted in Drama, Pasadena, Theater Review, WOW!

MISS SAIGON

posted on October 3rd, 2019 at 4:03 PM by Steven Stanley

Miss Saigon’s epic blend of war, romance, and show-stopping production numbers has rarely if ever been brought to more dazzling, breathtaking life than in its Tony-nominated 2017 Broadway revival’s First National Tour, now mesmerizing and moving audiences in equal measure at the Segerstrom Center For The Arts.
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posted in Musical, National Tour, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

posted on September 29th, 2019 at 10:20 AM by Steven Stanley

Student produced, student directed, student designed, and student performed, Musical Theatre Repertory at USC’s intimate staging of the 2005 Broadway hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is as all-around splendiferous a Bee as any of the sixteen I’ve now seen.
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posted in Los Angeles, Musical, Theater Review, WOW!

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