TREASURE ISLAND

posted on August 18th, 2026 at 3:11 PM by Steven Stanley

Dialog scenes get bogged down in nautical jargon, 18th-century slang, and outdated grammar, much of it unintelligible to 21st-century ears, but whenever action sequences take over, Theatricum Botanicum audiences are treated to the swashbucklingest adventure story ever to unfold under Topanga skies.
(read more)

Tags: , , ,
posted in Action-Adventure, Now Playing, Theater Review, West Side/Beverly HIlls

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

posted on August 16th, 2026 at 4:10 PM by Steven Stanley


Theatre Palisades and director Cate Caplin have another winner on their hands with Kimberly Akimbo, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s quirky comedy about a soon-to-turn-16-year-old who’s got more on her plate than your average high schooler.
(read more)

Tags: , , ,
posted in Comedy, Theater Review, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

RIDE THE CYCLONE

posted on August 11th, 2026 at 4:46 PM by Steven Stanley



Triple-threat performances by a super-talented Gen Z cast score a solid A from this Boomer, but having now seen two different productions of Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond’s Ride The Cyclone, the best I can give the musical itself is a C-.
(read more)

Tags: , , ,
posted in Musical, San Gabriel Valley, Theater Review

FROZEN

posted on August 11th, 2026 at 8:53 AM by Steven Stanley


The Broadway musical Frozen may not be nearly as preschool-kids-friendly as Disney’s The Little Mermaid or Beauty And The Beast, but Torrance Theatre Company once again gives professional regional theaters stiff competition with their splendidly performed and gorgeous-to-look-at big-stage production of the 2018 Broadway hit.
(read more)

Tags: , , , , ,
posted in Musical, South Bay, Theater Review, WOW!

posted on August 10th, 2026 at 12:26 PM by Steven Stanley


You know me as L.A.’s most prolific theater reviewer, but did you also know that I’ve spent my entire professional career teaching English as a Second Language?  Continue reading to see how I have segued from the university classroom into online coaching.
(read more)

Tags: , , , ,
posted in Coaching

MARY POPPINS

posted on August 8th, 2026 at 12:03 PM by Steven Stanley


Carter Thomas not only proves himself a director par excellence, he gives silver screen greats like Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Dick Van Dyke a run for their dance showmanship as Bert (the role Van Dyke originated on screen) in Highlands Theater’s magical and mesmerizing revival of the Broadway smash Mary Poppins.
(read more)

Tags: , , ,
posted in Burbank/Glendale, Musical, Theater Review, WOW!

GREASE

posted on August 7th, 2026 at 12:52 PM by Steven Stanley


I’ve seen eleven different productions of Grease, but none of them has reached the heights of Altadena Music Theatre’s thrillingly innovative under-the-stars reinvention of the 1972 Broadway smash.
(read more)

Tags: , , ,
posted in Musical, Pasadena, Theater Review, WOW!

WAITING IN THE WINGS

posted on August 3rd, 2026 at 12:01 PM by Steven Stanley


Dames don’t get any grander than the grandes dames taking centerstage at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Waiting In The Wings, Noël Coward’s charming 1960 salute to actresses of a certain age who’ve still got it in them to hold an audience spellbound.
(read more)

Tags: , ,
posted in Comedy, Now Playing, Theater Review, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

Next PagePrevious Page