StageSceneLA

THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED

posted on January 22nd, 2011 at 6:53 PM by Steven Stanley

As an antidote to the strident, demonizing voices of the “Christian” Right, Keith Bunin’s The Busy World Is Hushed comes as manna from playwriting heaven. Bunin’s 2006 off-Broadway hit not only spotlights a gay-affirming branch of Christianity, it also features a lead character who is both a refreshingly open-minded member of the clergy and a mother so accepting of her son’s sexual orientation that she actively encourages his quest for Mr. Right.
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posted in Drama, Orange County, WOW!

ROOM SERVICE

posted on January 21st, 2011 at 9:16 PM by Steven Stanley

When a baseball pitcher launches the ball with a reverse spin, sending it curving toward the side of the plate from which it was thrown, it’s called a screwball. (Trust me. I looked it up.) Not surprisingly, the comedy genre that bears its name follows its namesake’s example by taking surprising turns and behaving in entirely unexpected ways. As a result, a screwball comedy guarantees more laughs per minute than just about any other theater or film genre, precisely what 1930s audiences needed in the Depression years which followed the Stock Market Crash.
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posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

posted on January 20th, 2011 at 8:47 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
In the time-honored tradition of “The Show Must Go On,” the gifted students of USC’s justifiably-lauded Musical Theatre Repertory have overcome a major setback (being assigned an unfriendly-to-musicals off-campus venue for their current production) in this entirely student produced, directed, choreographed, and performed revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s A Little Night Music.

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posted in Los Angeles, Musical, Recommended

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

posted on January 19th, 2011 at 5:17 PM by Steven Stanley

There’s a fine line in theater between “period” and “dated.” A play that’s dated is one that’s no longer appropriate for a contemporary audience and may even be offensive to current sensibilities. On the other hand, a period play delights us with its look back at the way we were, as seen through then-contemporary eyes. That’s why, when someone recently described Neil Simon’s Barefoot In The Park as “dated,” my immediate response was, “No, it’s not dated at all. It’s period.”
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posted in Comedy, South Bay, WOW!

FOREVER PLAID

posted on January 16th, 2011 at 8:34 PM by Steven Stanley

The Plaids of Forever Plaid are back, entertaining Glendale Centre Theatre audiences with their close-harmony vocals and amusing between-song patter in a 90-minute revue that couldn’t be a better choice for the retired seniors who make up the bulk of GCT audiences—and should prove entertaining to the under-65 set as well.
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posted in Burbank/Glendale, Musical Revue, WOW!

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION

posted on January 16th, 2011 at 6:57 PM by Steven Stanley

There’s no treat for an avid theatergoer quite like the treat of seeing something absolutely fresh and original. Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation is just such a treat.
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posted in Comedy, Orange County, WOW!

SMUDGE

posted on January 15th, 2011 at 9:20 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
How to review a show whose point you missed entirely? That’s the dilemma currently faced by this reviewer in writing about Rachel Axler’s Smudge, the latest offering by Burbank’s esteemed Syzygy Theatre Group.
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