SQUABBLES

posted on January 30th, 2009 at 8:37 PM by Steven Stanley


Theatergoers in search of laughter with a dollop of romance added for good measure need look no farther than Squabbles, currently lighting up the stage at the Palos Verdes-adjacent Norris Center For The Performing Arts.
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posted in Comedy, South Bay, WOW!

POPE JOAN

posted on January 29th, 2009 at 8:41 PM by Steven Stanley

NOT RECOMMENDED

Following their award-winning revival of Hair, producer Michael Butler and director/choreographer Bo Crowell return with the world premiere musical Pope Joan, the saga of history’s only female pope, who (supposedly) reigned for less than three years in the 850s.
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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, Not Recommended

LIGHT UP THE SKY

posted on January 26th, 2009 at 8:51 PM by Steven Stanley


Moss Hart affectionately skewers the world of the theater in his 1948 comedy Light Up The Sky, now being given a pitch-perfect revival by Open Fist Theatre under the crackerjack direction of Bjørn Johnson.
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posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

REVERB

posted on January 25th, 2009 at 9:31 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
A 20something couple express their love by beating each other black and blue in Reverb, the latest—and darkest—of Leslye Headland’s Seven Deadly Plays, or at least of the three reviewed here.
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posted in Drama, Los Angeles, Recommended

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 PM by Steven Stanley


In one of the major 99-seat theater coups of the year, Covina Center For The Performing Arts obtained the rights to stage the L.A. Regional Premiere of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s extraordinary The Light In The Piazza, winner of a deserved six Tony awards in 2005. Now, in one of the biggest theatrical triumphs of this or any year, CCPA’s production, superbly directed by New York/L.A.-based Brady Schwind and starring three of Broadway’s most talented performers, recreates the magic of the Lincoln Center original on a warmer and more intimate scale.
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posted in Musical, San Gabriel Valley, WOW!

MISSIONARY POSITION

posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Mormon Boy Steven Fales recalls his two-year stint as missionary in Portugal in Missionary Position, a sort of prequel to Fales’ alternately captivating and compelling solo piece Confessions Of A Mormon Boy, which like its processor proves a terrific showcase for its writer-star’s triple-threat talents as actor, storyteller, and showman.
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posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Recommended, Solo Performance

THE WILD PARTY

posted on January 21st, 2009 at 9:42 PM by Steven Stanley


USC’s Musical Theatre Repertory’s production of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party is a thrilling endeavor which serves as further evidence of the brilliant directorial vision of Steve Edlund (Sunday In The Park With George) and as a preview of some very exciting professional careers ahead.
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posted in Los Angeles, Musical, WOW!

THE SERMONS OF JOHN BRADLEY

posted on January 18th, 2009 at 12:39 PM by Steven Stanley


The story of a young gay man’s journey to self-acceptance has been told countless times before in plays, films, and novels.  What makes The Sermons Of John Bradley unique (and particularly powerful) is the manner in which playwright/actor Hunter Lee Hughes tells his story, as a series of “sermons” given by the son of a disgraced Southern Baptist preacher. Neither solo performance nor performance art (though it has aspects of both), The Sermons Of John Bradley is ultimately just very fine theater, and a memorable showcase for the talents of a gifted young writer-actor.
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posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

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