NEVERWONDERLAND

posted on July 24th, 2010 at 10:44 AM by Steven Stanley


Imagine a world in which Peter Pan and Alice are brother and sister, he off to his Neverland, she into her Wonderland, the entire tale imagined in dance—and you have some idea of Boom Kat Dance Theatre’s NeverWonderLand, as gorgeous an evening of music and visual imagery as I’ve seen since Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands.
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posted in Musical, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA

posted on July 23rd, 2010 at 10:40 AM by Steven Stanley


Following its couldn’t-be-better production of Little Shop Of Horrors, Cabrillo Music Theatre now stages a show for children and parents alike in Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Cinderella.  Kids will love seeing one of their favorite fairy tales brought to musical comedy life, and those above the age of ten will relish R&H’s music and lyrics, the cast’s all-around terrific performances, and seeing 1970s TV icons Marcia Wallace as Cinderella’s stepmother and Sally Struthers as her fairy Godmother. Though Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Cinderella may lack the sophistication and unified tone of Disney’s Beauty And The Beast, a great cast and Lewis Wilkenfeld’s savvy direction make for an enjoyable two hours of family entertainment.
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posted in Musical, Ventura County, WOW!

RING OF FIRE

posted on July 22nd, 2010 at 10:35 AM by Steven Stanley


Johnny Cash fans will be in country music heaven through August 1 as FCLO Music Theatre present Ring Of Fire: The Music Of Johnny Cash. Correction: make that music fans, pure and simple.  Singer-songwriter-icon Johnny Cash transcended easy classification, blending rock and roll, rockabilly, folk, and gospel, making this production a musical event of the first order.
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posted in Musical Revue, Orange County, WOW!

THE HASTY HEART

posted on July 21st, 2010 at 10:33 AM by Steven Stanley


John Patrick’s The Hasty Heart is that theatrical rarity—a comedy-drama that is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking, a life-affirming story about impending death that is, amazingly, oximoronically, a feel-good tearjerker.
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posted in Burbank/Glendale, Comedy-Drama, WOW!

CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

posted on July 19th, 2010 at 10:27 AM by Steven Stanley


How’s this for a clever idea?  Gather a bunch of famous performers and have each one read a passage from the autobiography of a famous person, for example Brooke Shields reading from Touch Me: The [Autobiographical] Poems Of Suzanne Somers, emoting poetic gems like “we were making wild and crazy love before the ice had settled in our drinks … though I can barely remember your name …”  And that’s only the start of ninety minutes of non-stop fun.
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posted in Comedy, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

40 IS THE NEW 15

posted on July 17th, 2010 at 12:56 AM by Steven Stanley


What a difference a few tweaks can make!

40 Is The New 15, Larry Todd Johnson and Cindy O’Connor’s musical about five former high school classmates turning 40 and reflecting on the ways their lives have changed over the past quarter century, has made a triumphant return to North Hollywood a year after its workshop run. What was already an entertaining, moving, and very promising evening of musical theater has come back the polished gem that only years of rewrites and workshops can achieve.
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posted in Musical, North Hollywood, WOW!

[title of show]

posted on July 16th, 2010 at 10:24 AM by Steven Stanley


West Hollywood’s Celebration Theatre celebrates its twenty-eighth year of presenting quality live theater to the LGBTQQIA community—and has its third big musical hit in just the past twelve months—with the Los Angeles Premiere of Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen’s award-winning off-Broadway hit [title of show]. Directed with consummate panache by Celebration Artistic Director Michael A. Shepperd, [title of show] is the perfect musical for show queens of any gender or sexual orientation.
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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, WOW!

BECKY’S NEW CAR

posted on July 15th, 2010 at 10:20 AM by Steven Stanley


“When a woman says she wants new shoes, what she really wants is a new job.  When she says she wants a new house, what she really wants is a new husband. And when she says she wants a new car, what she really wants is a new life.”

Imparting these words of wisdom is Rebecca (Becky) Foster, middle-aged wife and mother and the title character of Steven Dietz’s Becky’s New Car, now getting a splendid Southern California Premiere production at Venice’s Pacific Resident Theatre.
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posted in Comedy, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

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