THE NISEI WIDOWS CLUB: How Tomi Got Her Groove Back

posted on November 14th, 2013 at 6:35 PM by Steven Stanley


The Japanese-American Golden Girls who call themselves The Nisei Widows are back at East West Players, and if those who caught the first installment Nisei Widows Club in 2003 can ignore the knee-jerk reaction, “Never again!”, this return visit ten years later, while still pure sitcom, proves considerably more entertaining, and ultimately quite touching once (as the play’s title gives away) Tomi’s got her groove back.
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posted in Comedy, Los Angeles, Theater Review, WOW!

12 ANGRY MEN

posted on November 13th, 2013 at 5:30 PM by Steven Stanley


A black-and-white cast adds provocative new shadings to 12 Angry Men as the Pasadena Playhouse revives the 20th Century jury room drama for a 21st Century audience, and though director Sheldon Epps’ re-envisioning of Reginald Rose’s now iconic play proves problematic, there’s no denying the power of the dynamic dozen actors onstage at the Playhouse or of Rose’s ingeniously constructeds, beautifully written classic.
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posted in Drama, Pasadena, Theater Review, WOW!

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

posted on November 11th, 2013 at 10:11 PM by Steven Stanley


A trio of showstopping performances highlight Actors’ Repertory Theatre Of Simi’s crowd-pleasing production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, one of the most laugh-out-loud hilarious Broadway musicals ever.
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posted in Musical Revue, Theater Review, Ventura County, WOW!

MIRACLE ON SOUTH DIVISION STREET

posted on November 11th, 2013 at 9:49 PM by Steven Stanley


Playwright Tom Dudzick, whose Over The Tavern and Greetings! have racked up more than three hundred productions between then, is back, and Los Angeles audiences are the lucky beneficiaries of the latest comedic confection from America’s “Catholic Neil Simon” as Burbank’s Colony Theatre presents the West Coast Premiere of Miracle On South Division Street (The Holiday Version).
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posted in Burbank/Glendale, Comedy, Theater Review, WOW!

THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS (THE MUSICAL!)

posted on November 10th, 2013 at 10:24 PM by Steven Stanley


How would you like to relive every single musical ever written by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander & Ebb … all in under two hours and performed by a cast, not of thousands or hundreds (or even dozens) but a mere four terrifically talented triple-threats?
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posted in Los Angeles, Musical Spoof, Theater Review, WOW!

SAVE ME

posted on November 10th, 2013 at 8:36 PM by Steven Stanley


Dynasty’s Alexis Carrington, All About Eve’s Eve Harrington, Mean Girls’ Regina George, Melrose Place’s Amanda Woodward, Days Of Our Lives’ Sami Brady … All these movie and TV bad girls owe a debt of gratitude to the brazen hussy that started it all way back in 1890, the one-and-only Hedda Gabler, brought up to 21st Century life in Save Me, Valerie Rachelle’s modern interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s late 19th-Century classic, directed with style and flair by Rachelle and featuring a sensational Shannon Nelson as Her Majesty, Queen Bitch Hedda.
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posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, Theater Review, World Premiere, WOW!

THE POKÉMUSICAL

posted on November 7th, 2013 at 6:52 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
A second extension of the Hollywood Fringe Festival hit The Pokémusical made it possible for this reviewer to catch the much talked-about musical spoof of the animated Pokénon TV series and films, one which features quite a few laughs and some terrific performances. Despite those pluses, however, I must confess to having ended up a good deal less a fan of The Pokémusical than its rave reviews had led me to expect. (read more)

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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical Spoof, Recommended, Theater Review

4000 MILES

posted on November 7th, 2013 at 12:51 AM by Steven Stanley


When was the last time you saw a comedy in which an elderly female character wasn’t made the butt of the joke? When was the last time you saw an intergenerational relationship depicted in all its potential richness? When was the last time you saw a family drama that managed to grip you without resorting to soap opera melodramatics?
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posted in Comedy-Drama, Orange County, Theater Review, WOW!

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