THE SOUND OF MUSIC
posted on July 21st, 2016 at 11:38 PM by Steven Stanley
If you’re one of the gazillion who’ve watched Julie Andrews declare the Austrian hills “alive with the sound of” you know what, or seen any of the gazillion community, school, or regional stagings of a certain Rodgers & Hammerstein Tony Award winner, you may be asking yourself, “Do I really want to see The Sound Of Music again?” If this is the case, here are ten reasons not to miss the one-in-a-gazillion touring production now captivating audiences at the Segerstrom Center For The Arts.
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Tags: Orange County Theater Review, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Segerstrom Center For The Arts
posted in Musical, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!
ONE OF THE NICE ONES
posted on July 19th, 2016 at 6:43 PM by Steven StanleyExpect the unexpected—and then some—in Erik Patterson’s One Of The Nice Ones, an edge-of-your-seat dark comedy so filled with “I didn’t see that coming” twists that it’s almost impossible to review without revealing a spoiler or two, but I’ll do my best, while at the same time still providing a taste of the latest from one of L.A.’s most exciting contemporary playwrights now making his Echo Theater Company debut.
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Tags: Echo Theater Company, Erik Patterson, Los Angeles Theater Review
posted in Comedy, Los Angeles, Theater Review, World Premiere, WOW!
HELLO, DOLLY!
posted on July 18th, 2016 at 6:15 PM by Steven StanleyDolly Levi is still glowing, still crowing, and going stronger than ever as 3-D Theatricals debuts its splendiferous 2016 revival of one of Broadway’s Golden Era greatest, the record-breaking 10-Tony-Award-winning Best Musical of 1964, Hello, Dolly!
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Tags: 3-D Theatricals, Jerry Herman, Los Angeles Theater Review, Michael Stewart, Orange County Theater Review, Thornton Wilder
posted in Musical, Orange County, South Bay, Theater Review, WOW!
RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD
posted on July 17th, 2016 at 10:41 AM by Steven StanleyLast year’s 99-seat World Premiere musical smash Recorded In Hollywood has returned big time as a Kirk Douglas Theatre guest production in a much retooled upscale transfer that promises even greater things ahead for the crowd-pleasing, get-up-and-dance Memphis/Motown-style tribute to 1950s/60s African-American R&B groundbreaker John Dolphin.
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Tags: John Dolphin, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review
posted in Musical, Theater Review, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!
DISNEY THE LITTLE MERMAID
posted on July 16th, 2016 at 12:37 PM by Steven StanleyMore than three dozen terrifically talented performers fill Thousand Oaks’ Kavli Theatre with an ocean’s worth of Under The Sea magic this weekend and next as Cabrillo Music Theatre gives Disney The Little Mermaid one of CMT’s biggest and best productions ever.
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Tags: Alan Menken, Cabrillo Music Theatre, Howard Ashman, Ventura County Theater Review
posted in Musical, Theater Review, Ventura County, WOW!
ALL SHOOK UP
posted on July 14th, 2016 at 5:30 PM by Steven StanleyA whole lot of shaking’s going on in Laguna Beach this summer as a mix of East-coasters and OC locals join talents to entertain audiences of all ages with All Shook Up, the crowd-pleasingest jukebox musical since Mamma, Mia!
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Tags: Elvis Presley, Joe DiPietro, Laguna Playhouse, Orange County Theater Review
posted in Musical, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!
DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
posted on July 11th, 2016 at 2:51 PM by Steven StanleyFew 21st-century musicals have put the Comedy back into Musical Comedy like Best Musical Tony nominee Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, at long last getting the big-stage professional production SoCal musical theater lovers have been waiting for since its National Tour stopped at the Pantages a full decade ago, and what a production it is thanks to the Musical Comedy Pros at Musical Theatre West.
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Tags: David Yazbek, Los Angeles Theater Review, Musical Theatre West
posted in Long Beach/San Pedro, Musical, Theater Review, WOW!
A CHORUS LINE
posted on July 10th, 2016 at 10:44 AM by Steven StanleyIt takes balls to reimagine a classic and an abundance of talent to pull it off, particularly when the classic in question is the 1975 megaclassic A Chorus Line. Fortunately, Chance Theater’s Oanh Nguyen and Hazel Clarke have both, resulting in an A Chorus Line that might provoke protests from purists who’d have Michael Bennett’s direction and choreography set in stone but will likely thrill everyone else, this reviewer included.
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Tags: Chance Theater, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood, Marvin Hamlisch, Nicholas Dante, Orange County Theater Review
posted in Musical, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!