tick, tick … BOOM!

posted on January 23rd, 2010 at 12:13 PM by Steven Stanley


Musical theater lovers under the age of forty may find it hard to imagine a time when Jonathan Larson’s Rent wasn’t part of our national musical theater lexicon. 12 years and 5,124 performances on Broadway, a still ongoing National Tour, a major motion picture, and since its Broadway closing, regional theater productions galore—Rent has truly conquered the musical theater world.
(read more)

posted in Musical, Orange County, WOW!

HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE

posted on January 22nd, 2010 at 12:18 PM by Steven Stanley

Paula Vogel tackles pedophilia in her 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned To Drive, and if the sexual abuse of an eleven-(to seventeen)-year-old sounds like unpleasant subject matter for an evening of theater, you’re absolutely right. Told by its heroine Li’l Bit as a series of flashbacks, How I Learn To Drive is a play that had me squirming almost from its first moment. Notwithstanding, The Production Company’s current revival is as superbly performed, directed, and designed as they get.
(read more)

posted in Drama, North Hollywood

URINETOWN

posted on January 21st, 2010 at 12:23 PM by Steven Stanley


USC’s Musical Theatre Repertory proves once again (in the immortal words of The Who) that “the kids are alright” with their latest production, the 2001 Broadway hit musical Urinetown.  
(read more)

posted in Los Angeles, Musical, WOW!

SYLVIA

posted on January 20th, 2010 at 9:51 PM by Steven Stanley


Sylvia is A.R. Gurney’s tale of an adorable mutt who finds herself a new master in a Manhattan park and a new home in a New York City brownstone.  This comic tribute to Man’s Best Friend has become a regional audience favorite since its first staging in 1995 with Sarah Jessica Parker as Sylvia, and its latest incarnation at Hermosa Beach Playhouse is one of the Playhouse’s best.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, South Bay, WOW!

CAMELOT

posted on January 20th, 2010 at 11:42 AM by Steven Stanley


If you’re an avid musical-theatergoer like this reviewer, you’ve probably seen at least one production of Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot that made you think, “Bo-ring.” Then there are those Camelots that feature a 60something King Arthur, forgetting that Richard Burton was but 35 when he originated the role on Broadway and Richard Harris all of 36 when he made the movie. Dozens of lords, ladies, and “simple folk” in 6th Century garb may be gorgeous to look at (the original Broadway production of Camelot had a cast of 55!), but they have tended to bog down Camelot’s romantic triangle under the weight of all those costumes. Besides, what theater can afford a cast of even 25 these days?
(read more)

posted in Musical, Pasadena, WOW!

GLORIOUS!

posted on January 17th, 2010 at 12:27 PM by Steven Stanley


“People may say I can’t sing, but no one can say I didn’t sing.”
–Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944)
(read more)

posted in Musical, San Diego County, WOW!

HERSHEY FELDER AS GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE

posted on January 16th, 2010 at 12:31 PM by Steven Stanley


Every so often, a performer creates a theater genre or role which pretty much guarantees him or herself a potentially endless future on stage. Jaston Williams and Joe Sears have done so with their Greater Tuna roles.  Marypat Donovan has too with her Late Nite Catechism series. Add to that list Hershey Felder.
(read more)

posted in Orange County, Solo Performance, WOW!

ORPHEUS DESCENDING

posted on January 15th, 2010 at 12:34 PM by Steven Stanley


Frantic Redhead Productions’ presentation of Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending is a prime example of Los Angeles theater at its finest.  A big-name trio of leading players with serious theatrical credits and training, a gifted director with an inspired concept, and one of the finest design teams in town have combined forces to make one of Williams’ lesser known dramas not only a surefire hit but the first major artistic success of 2010 as well.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Los Angeles, WOW!

Next PagePrevious Page