BUILDING THE WALL

posted on March 28th, 2017 at 12:47 PM by Steven Stanley

Donald Trump’s campaign promise to rid America of its millions upon millions of “illegal aliens” reaches extremes that would do a certain WWII dictator proud in Building The Wall, Robert Schenkkan’s ham-fisted “It darn well could happen here!” two-hander now getting the first of a series of rolling World Premieres at the usually laudable Fountain Theatre.
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posted in Drama, Los Angeles, Theater Review, World Premiere

LITTLE CHILDREN DREAM OF GOD

posted on March 28th, 2017 at 12:06 PM by Steven Stanley

Miami reality meets Haitian black magic in Jeff Augustin’s Little Children Dream Of God, a stunningly directed, designed, and performed Road Theatre Company West Coast Premiere.
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posted in Drama, North Hollywood, Theater Review, WOW!

CAT’S PAW

posted on March 27th, 2017 at 9:57 AM by Steven Stanley

Suspense dramas don’t much more edge-of-your-seat nor subject matter more hot-button than William Mastrosimone’s 1986 eco-terrorism thriller Cat’s Paw, updated by the author in 2011, more relevant than ever in 2017, and the terrific latest from Actors Co-op.
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posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, Theater Review, WOW!

CAROUSEL

posted on March 26th, 2017 at 10:54 AM by Steven Stanley

Anyone curious about why Time Magazine named Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel the 20th Century’s Best Musical need look no further than Musical Theatre West’s superb 21st-Century revival. Director Joe Langworth, choreographer Daniel Smith, and an all-around brilliant cast give us a Carousel still “fresh and alive and gay and young,” even at seventy-two years of age.
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posted in Long Beach/San Pedro, Musical, Theater Review, WOW!

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

posted on March 25th, 2017 at 12:41 PM by Steven Stanley

Cameron Watson directs two equally sensational ensembles in Antaeus Theatre Company’s pitch-perfect intimate revival of Tennessee Williams’ Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, not only one of the finest productions now playing around town but (sound the trumpets!) the very first to grace the brand-spanking-new Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Beautiful Downtown Glendale.
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posted in Burbank/Glendale, Drama, Theater Review, WOW!

FINDING NEVERLAND

posted on March 22nd, 2017 at 4:57 PM by Steven Stanley

It’s telling that the Best Picture Oscar-nominated Finding Neverland scored not a single Tony nomination when set to music on Broadway in 2015. Despite a number of memorable moments (and an Act One finale that may well inspire longer, louder, more deserved cheers than any in recent memory), Finding Neverland The Musical substitutes broad comedy, generic songs, and cartoonish supporting characters for the subtlety and depth that made Finding Neverland The Movie one of 2005’s most acclaimed films.
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posted in Musical, National Tour, Orange County, Theater Review

LOVE ALLWAYS

posted on March 20th, 2017 at 6:26 PM by Steven Stanley

Gloria Gifford directs half-a-hundred of her attractive young acting students in assorted scenes from five 1970s Renée Taylor-Joseph Bologna TV specials, compiled as Love Allways, a Los Angeles Premiere that proves a mixed bag of Love Boat-style winners, losers, and in-betweeners. The good news is that you’re never far from the next winner, including the show-opening “Herb, Erica, Stuart, & Joanne” and the evening’s grand finale “Tony & Madelaine” (assuming you attended the performance reviewed here).
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posted in Comedy, North Hollywood, Theater Review

ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

posted on March 19th, 2017 at 3:32 PM by Steven Stanley

SoCal musical theater lovers are hereby advised to head on down to San Diego and catch Cygnet Theatre’s heavenly revival of the multiple Tony-winning On The Twentieth Century, not only a once-in-a-blue-moon chance to see the Cy Coleman-Betty Comden-Adolph Green gem but a terrific showcase for local stage stars too often overlooked the city’s higher-profile regional theaters.
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posted in Musical, San Diego County, Theater Review, WOW!

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