WHAT THE BUTLER SAW

posted on August 15th, 2009 at 5:28 PM by Steven Stanley


Here’s a question for theater aficionados? Can you think of a play which deals with, features, or mentions all of the following: depravity, disguises, gender identity, the government, hanky-panky, hermaphroditism, homosexuality, incest, insanity, marriage, mistaken identities, nymphomania, pederasty, psychiatry, rape, religion, reunited orphan siblings, slapstick, and transvestitism? Who could possibly have found a way to put all of the above into one play—and make it one of the most laugh-out-loud hilarious screwball farces ever?
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posted in Comedy, Long Beach/San Pedro, WOW!

LEGALLY BLONDE

posted on August 14th, 2009 at 5:33 PM by Steven Stanley


Having conquered both Harvard Law School and Hollywood in the movie smash that made Reese Witherspoon an A-list star, Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods then went on to take Broadway by storm as the heroine of 2007’s Legally Blonde The Musical. Now, the not-so-dumb-blonde has arrived at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre in a textbook example of how to turn a hit celluloid romcom into a nigh-on-perfect Broadway musical.
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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, WOW!

TREEFALL

posted on August 13th, 2009 at 5:39 PM by Steven Stanley


At some time in the perhaps not so distant future, after a series of “ecological events” has altered civilization as we know it, a trio of teenage boys have set up house in a primitive one-room mountain cabin somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Despite the cataclysms that have befallen society, the “family unit” has somehow found a way to survive in Henry Murray’s Treefall, now in its world premiere engagement by Rogue Machine.  Though a post-apocalyptic nightmare fairy tale would not be my usual theatrical cup of tea, the performances of its talented, charismatic young cast, the contributions of a superb design team, and some ultimately moving, thought-provoking writing make Treefall an absorbing piece of theater.
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posted in Drama, Los Angeles, WOW!

THE MUSIC MAN

posted on August 11th, 2009 at 5:49 PM by Steven Stanley


If you want to know why The Music Man is one of the three longest-running musicals of the 1950s, head on up to Solvang for proof positive that Meredith Willson’s biggest hit is also one of the best Broadway musicals ever.
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posted in Musical, Santa Barbara County, WOW!

THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP

posted on August 10th, 2009 at 6:02 PM by Steven Stanley


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 sinister housekeeper. (That’s Alfred Hitchcock-Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca, right?) Among the household staff is a hunchback swineherd who turns into a werewolf whenever the moon is full.  (What?  You don’t remember that from Rebecca?)  Another household worker is rumored to be one of those “beings who never die,” aka a Vampire.  (Now that sounds like Dracula!)  Our widowed, remarried hero journeys to Cairo where his presence brings a long-dead Egyptian mummy back to life. (What kind of movie mishmash is this? Have we died and gone to horror movie heaven, or hell?)
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posted in Comedy, San Diego County, WOW!

CLOSER THAN EVER

posted on August 8th, 2009 at 6:06 PM by Steven Stanley


Ten talented Asian-American performers sing about “life, love, and all the doors in between” in Lodestone Theatre Ensemble’s next-to-very-last production, an ingeniously-staged, brightly-performed revival of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s musical revue Closer Than Ever.
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posted in Burbank/Glendale, Musical Revue, WOW!

LIFE COULD BE A DREAM

posted on August 7th, 2009 at 6:10 PM by Steven Stanley


Looking for a great evening of musical nostalgia, romance, and laughter? Then travel back in time to the days of “Doo-Wop” in Roger Bean’s sure-to-be-a-smash new musical Life Could Be A Dream, just opened at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre.
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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, WOW!

SAY GOODBYE, TOTO

posted on August 6th, 2009 at 6:16 PM by Steven Stanley


Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, the Munchkins, and the Wizard himself are back—in Amy Heidish’s charming, delightful, and surprisingly original Say Goodbye, Toto, a Wizard Of Oz not just for the kiddies.
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posted in Comedy, Los Angeles, WOW!

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