UNCANNY VALLEY

posted on April 28th, 2017 at 6:37 PM by Steven Stanley

Hot topics don’t get much hotter than artificial intelligence, whether in headline news, or movies like Ex Machina, or Jimmy Fallon interviewing “Robot Sophia” on late-night TV, or in Thomas Gibbons’ fascinating, discussion-prompting, edge-of-your seat two-hander Uncanny Valley, now getting its Los Angeles Premiere at Long Beach’s International City Theatre.
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posted in Drama, Long Beach/San Pedro, Theater Review, Two-Hander, WOW!

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

posted on April 26th, 2017 at 5:44 PM by Steven Stanley

There’s been more than one “new (i.e. jukebox) Gershwin musical” before An American In Paris’s 2015 Broadway debut, but there’s never been one as gloriously song-and-dance-packed (emphasis on dance) as the gorgeously choreographed and designed quadruple Tony winner, a veritable feast of color and light and ballet and tap and more.
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posted in Musical, National Tour, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2

posted on April 25th, 2017 at 12:19 PM by Steven Stanley

Nora’s come back to the “doll’s house” she once called home, though how long she’ll stay is anybody’s guess in Lucas Hnath’s audacious, scabrous, wordy, discussion-prompting, and often surprisingly droll sequel to the Henrik Ibsen classic, the South Coast Repertory World Premiere of A Doll’s House, Part 2.
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posted in Comedy-Drama, Orange County, Theater Review, World Premiere, WOW!

ANDREW LIPPA’S WILD PARTY

posted on April 24th, 2017 at 6:16 PM by Steven Stanley

Dramatically dark and daringly sexual, Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party, the latest from Cal State Fullerton, showcases not just its multitalented ensemble headed by a phenomenal Hannah Clair as blonde bombshell Queenie. CSUF’s Wild Party is direction, choreography, and design at their SoCal pro-level best.
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posted in Musical Revue, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!

WEST SIDE STORY

posted on April 23rd, 2017 at 5:45 PM by Steven Stanley

It takes brilliance and balls to pull off the reinvention of a musical theater classic, particularly one as renowned for its iconic choreography as for its book, music, and lyrics, but this is precisely what director Richard Israel and choreographer John Todd have accomplished in the brilliant, ballsy West Side Story they have mounted for The La Mirada Theatre and McCoy Rigby Entertainment.
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posted in Downey/La Mirada, Musical, Theater Review, WOW!

SISTER ACT

posted on April 22nd, 2017 at 10:16 AM by Steven Stanley

A triumphant Daebreon Poiema and a sublime Debbie Prutsman head a terrifically talented, bigger-than-Broadway cast of nearly three-dozen in Cabrillo Music Theatre’s Sister Act, as tuneful and crowd-pleasing a musical comedy treat as I’ve seen up Ventura County ways in many a moon.
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posted in Musical, Theater Review, Ventura County, WOW!

BERNARDA ALBA

posted on April 21st, 2017 at 4:38 PM by Steven Stanley


Michael John LaChiusa’s Bernarda Alba, the multiple-Tony-nominated composer-lyricist’s darkly dramatic adaptation of the Federico García Lorca classic, not only provides its all-female, mostly Cal State Fullerton student cast with an equal-parts challenging/rewarding showcase for their considerable musical theater gifts, it offers Southland audiences the opportunity to see a rarely-produced chamber gem in a production so stunning, it rivals the finest intimately-staged musicals in town.
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posted in Musical, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!

LITTLE WOMEN THE BROADWAY MUSICAL

posted on April 20th, 2017 at 6:02 PM by Steven Stanley

The four March sisters have taken up brief midweek residence at Candlelight Pavilion as Inland Valley Repertory Theatre presents Little Women The Broadway Musical, a big-stage revival that merits cheers for its terrific young cast, live orchestra, and above all Jaclyn Kelly Shaw’s radiant star turn as Jo.
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posted in Musical, San Gabriel Valley, Theater Review, WOW!

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