CHICAGO

posted on August 15th, 2011 at 7:36 PM by Steven Stanley


To paraphrase Stephen Sondheim, “Everything’s coming up Chicago” these days. Still going strong at 6000+ performances on Broadway, the musical smash is at long last lighting up regional and community theater stages, giving directors, choreographers, performers, and designers the chance to put their own stamp on the John Kander/Fred Ebb classic.

(read more)

posted in Musical, South Bay, WOW!

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

posted on August 14th, 2011 at 4:39 PM by Steven Stanley


When you hear the words “Shakespearean Comedy,” which of the Bard’s plays most quickly pop to mind? A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Twelfth Night? The Taming Of The Shrew? Much Ado About Nothing? As You Like It? All of the above?
(read more)

posted in Comedy-Drama, North Hollywood, WOW!

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S SPIDER’S WEB

posted on August 13th, 2011 at 3:44 PM by Steven Stanley


Theatre 40 has another Agatha Christie hit on its hand with The Queen Of Crime’s 1954 comedic mystery Spider’s Web. Though not quite on a par with T40’s previous Christie gem Black Coffee (Dame Agatha’s plotting and the cast’s British accents are slightly less razor-sharp this time), Spider’s Web nonetheless makes for a thoroughly entertaining brain teaser with nearly as many laughs as you’d expect in an English farce.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

TRYST

posted on August 12th, 2011 at 8:41 PM by Steven Stanley


George Love has never met a woman he couldn’t seduce, wed, fleece, and abandon (all in short order), and he has never met a woman more ripe for seduction than Adelaide Pinchin. It’s no wonder, therefore, that this master of the romantic con makes the plump, plain, downright pathetic London seamstress his latest target in Karoline Leach’s Edwardian thriller Tryst, now making a welcome return to L.A. area stages at San Pedro’s Little Fish Theatre.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Long Beach/San Pedro, WOW!

PASSING PROPER/PASSION AND PRECISION

posted on August 7th, 2011 at 6:19 AM by Steven Stanley


A would-be screenwriter attempts to navigate the shark-ridden Hollywood waters in Passion And Precision, the second of a matched set of one-acts by Joe Davis Massingill. That the first of the two, Passing Proper, just happens to be a staged version of the very screenplay the writer is hoping to sell is just one of several reasons to check out the two plays running on a single bill at Theatre 68.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Los Angeles, WOW!

CORPUS CHRISTI

posted on August 5th, 2011 at 6:20 AM by Steven Stanley


I’ll admit it. I was a Doubting Thomas. As curious as I was about seeing a fresh new take on Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi, the one production I’d seen previously at Long Beach’s Garage Theatre had not boded well for a second, nor did the discovery that the show was being helmed by a young actor making his directorial debut. Still, the chance to see Corpus Christi again was too tempting to turn down, and August being the quietest theatrical month of the year, this skeptic decided to give the Garage a second chance.
(read more)

posted in Comedy-Drama, Long Beach/San Pedro, WOW!

THE DEVIL AND DAISY JANE

posted on August 4th, 2011 at 6:22 AM by Steven Stanley


When Andy Warhol spoke about a future in which everyone would get his or her very own Fifteen Minutes Of Fame, he might well have been talking about today’s World Of Reality TV—a universe in which no-talents like the Kardashians, the Hiltons, and John & Kate can become overnight sensations just by being themselves.
(read more)

posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, WOW!

HIGH FIDELITY

posted on July 31st, 2011 at 6:23 AM by Steven Stanley


“I just can’t understand critics. If a musical isn’t completely unique it gets trashed. I read some of the reviews and could not believe what I read. Good Songs, Good Acting, Good Chemistry, Good Creative team, etc, etc, etc. So what was wrong? Well, the answer is … nothing!”
(read more)

posted in Musical, Orange County, WOW!

Next PagePrevious Page