THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP

posted on October 1st, 2009 at 10:44 PM by Steven Stanley


Begin as your inspiration with Alfred Hitchcock & Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca. (A young woman arrives at a grand and stately manor, the second wife of its handsome owner, only to be surrounded by memories of wife number one, particularly those brought up by the mansion’s housekeeper.) Add a smidgen of The Werewolf. (Among the household staff is a hunchback swineherd who turns half man/half wolf whenever there’s a full moon.)  Spice with a dash of Dracula. (Another household worker is rumored to be one of those “beings who never die,” and we all know what that means.)  Sprinkle in a tad of The Mummy. (Our widowed, remarried hero journeys to Cairo where his presence brings a long-dead Egyptian you-know-what back to life.)  Mix all this together and the resulting soufflé is Charles Ludlam’s The Mystery Of Irma Vep, a hilarious homage to 1930s/40s Hollywood melodrama.
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posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

BIG RIVER

posted on September 27th, 2009 at 2:54 PM by Steven Stanley


Actors Co-op + Richard Israel + Big River = Theater Magic.
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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, WOW!

THE SEAGULL

posted on September 26th, 2009 at 3:00 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
The award-winning Chance Theater takes on Chekhov’s The Seagull with admirable results, the production featuring excellent performances, astute direction, and a gorgeous design.  Then again, what else would you expect from Orange County’s finest intimate theater?
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posted in Drama, Orange County, Recommended

NAKED BOYS SINGING

posted on September 25th, 2009 at 3:03 PM by Steven Stanley


It was just over ten years ago that theater-maker extraordinaire Robert Schrock was struck with quite possibly the most brilliant idea of his lifetime.  If nudity, particularly of the male variety, filled theater seats, why not create a show in which every single actor performs naked, and not just brief blink-and-you-miss it full frontal flashes, but for virtually the entirety of the production?  And since the gays love their musical theater more than just about any other genre, why not make this new show a musical revue?  Finally, why not make this a revue about nudity, so that the naked bodies would be integral to the show and not simply gratuitous? 
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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical Revue, WOW!

CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD

posted on September 24th, 2009 at 3:11 PM by Steven Stanley


It’s been thirty years since Mark Medoff’s Children Of A Lesser Gods opened theatergoers’ eyes to a new world, a silent world in which hand gestures take the place of the spoken word, and to a character who steadfastly refuses to venture out into what most would call “the real world.”  Technological breakthroughs since 1979, particularly the growth of the Internet and more recent developments like cell phone texting, have considerably reduced the schism between the hearing and deaf worlds.  Still, as Deaf West Theatre’s fine 30th Anniversary production of the Tony, Drama Desk, and Olivier Award-winning play makes clear, the deaf world and that of hearing people remain very different indeed.
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posted in Drama, North Hollywood, WOW!

OKLAHOMA!

posted on September 22nd, 2009 at 3:14 PM by Steven Stanley


Los Angeles has been treating Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Oklahoma to quite a fabulous extended 65th Anniversary party these past two years, with three major productions already reviewed on these pages. It’s now Civic Light Opera Of South Bay Cities’ turn to work its musical magic on R&H’s very first collaboration, and given their illustrious track record, it’s no surprise that this Stephanie A. Coltrin-directed revival is an all-around winner, precisely the kind of production an Oklahoma!-caliber classic deserves.
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posted in Musical, South Bay, WOW!

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

posted on September 20th, 2009 at 3:25 PM by Steven Stanley


You won’t find a more tuneful, sophisticated or better performed show around town than South Coast Repertory’s beautifully staged revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together.
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posted in Musical Revue, Orange County, WOW!

THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED

posted on September 19th, 2009 at 3:29 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Santa Monica’s venerable Morgan-Wixson Theatre begins its 64th season with arguably its boldest choice ever, The Little Dog Laughed, Douglas Carter Beane’s hilarious, biting Hollywood-New York showbiz satire. It’s not every community theater that will take a chance on a love story between a gay movie star and a bisexual hustler, featuring a lesbian agent, R-rated language, brief full frontal male nudity, and plenty of same-sex smooching.  Fortunately for L.A. theatergoers in search of cutting-edge entertainment, the Morgan-Wixson has taken just such a chance, the result of which is a brilliantly written, well acted and directed, and funny slash conversation-provoking evening of theater.
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posted in Comedy, Recommended, West Side/Beverly HIlls

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