STUPID KIDS

posted on February 15th, 2008 at 12:07 AM by Steven Stanley


Gay teens are once again center stage at the Celebration Theatre in John C.
Russell’s comedy Stupid Kids.  Michael Matthews, nominated for the Ovation
Award for his direction of the Celebration’s previous teen play Beautiful Thing,
once again proves himself a director extraordinaire in this energetic, dance
and music filled, laugh out loud funny yet poignant exploration of
contemporary American teendom.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

DICKIE AND BABE: THE TRUTH ABOUT LEOPOLD & LOEB

posted on February 14th, 2008 at 12:02 AM by Steven Stanley


Having recently attended opening night of Nick DeGruccio’s outstanding
production of the Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story, I found Daniel Henning’s
superb Dickie & Babe: The Truth About Leopold & Loeb of special fascination.
Thrill Me is an 80-minute romantic musical, told entirely through the eyes of the
two Chicago teenagers who gained fame, and infamy, from the 1924 “thrill
killing” of 14-year-old Bobby Franks, and features an entirely fictional twist at its
conclusion.  Dickie & Babe runs twice as long, introduces over two dozen
additional characters including family members, friends, trial witnesses, and the
greatest attorney of his time, Clarence Darrow, and is scrupulously based on fact.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

VOICES FROM OKINAWA

posted on February 13th, 2008 at 11:51 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
East West Players follows its superb productions of Julia Cho’s Durango and
Jeanne Sakata’s Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi with Jon
Shirata’s Voices From Okinawa.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, Los Angeles, Recommended

ASPECTS OF LOVE

posted on February 10th, 2008 at 11:46 PM by Steven Stanley


Musical Theatre Guild once again proves its level of talent and versatility with 
its latest “Broadway in Concert” presentation, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 
Aspects Of Love. The talent is personified by Broadway’s Kim Huber and 
Christina Saffran Ashford and National Tour/regional theater vets Roger 
Befeler, Chuck Bergman, and Michael G. Hawkins.  The versatility is proven by 
this season’s selection of musicals. Following The Mystery Of Edwin Drood with 
its big cast/big production numbers and the small cast, comedy skit filled As 
Thousands Cheer, Musical Theatre Guild now undertakes very nearly an opera 
with the entirely sung-through “Pucciniesque” Aspects of Love, which has a 
cast of 13.
(read more)

posted in Burbank/Glendale, Concert Staged Reading, WOW!

TALK ABOUT THE PASSION

posted on February 10th, 2008 at 11:42 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
An unshaven, disheveled young man carrying a backpack arrives at the office
of book editor Evelyn Ayles, who is seated at her desk.  Too busy (or too above
it all) to even look the man in the eye, Evelyn simply points to a chair and keeps
on talking on the phone as if he were not present. Finally she tells him (still not
making eye contact), “You’ve wasted your time coming here today,” and
tosses back the “clichéd” manuscript he has sent to her, then returns to
ignoring him.  The man persists, “This is my life, and you call it a cliché!”  And
then, before Evelyn even has a chance to see what he’s doing, the young
man removes a plastic strip from his pocket and locks her into her own office. 
“You’re not going anywhere until we can talk,” he declares.  “I want to talk to
you about my son.”
(read more)

posted in Drama, Orange County, Recommended

ASSASSINS

posted on February 10th, 2008 at 11:33 PM by Steven Stanley


If by some chance you’ve never seen or heard of Stephen Sondheim and John 
Weidman’s Assassins, here’s what it’s about, in brief:

It’s about eight men and women who either assassinated, or attempted to 
assassinate, a United States President.

Not your usual bill of fare for a musical, is it?
(read more)

posted in Musical, Orange County, WOW!

JAMES JOYCE’S THE DEAD

posted on February 9th, 2008 at 11:08 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Open Fist Theatre Company is nothing if not versatile. Following The Idiot Box, its 
clever dark comedy about reality intruding on sitcom perfect lives, and The 
Room, a fascinating look back at American history and politics in the 1930s, 
Open Fist now presents a musical, or more aptly put, a play with music, James 
Joyce’s The Dead.
(read more)

posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, Recommended

CABARET

posted on February 8th, 2008 at 11:05 PM by Steven Stanley


When a musical has been around as long as John Kander and Fred Ebb’s 
Cabaret has (the original Broadway production opened in 1966), it becomes a 
show that most veteran theatergoers have seen multiple times.  Thus, 
whenever a new production opens, it is up to the performers and director to 
keep it fresh and vital. I’m pleased to report that International City Theatre’s 
Cabaret features a trio of fine lead performances and a director whose 
concept and vision distinguish this Cabaret from others which have come 
before.
(read more)

posted in Long Beach/San Pedro, Musical, WOW!

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