AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’

posted on January 5th, 2008 at 7:54 PM by Steven Stanley


Five terrifically talented singers, a virtuoso piano player, and a sensational 
onstage band combine forces with the music of Fats Waller to get the joint (i.e. 
the Thousand Oaks Civics Arts Plaza) jumpin’ in Ain’t Misbehavin’, the 
Southland’s first CLO production of 2008.  If this show is any indication, this looks 
to be the start of a fantastic year of musical theater for Angelenos.
(read more)

posted in Musical Revue, Ventura County, WOW!

AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

posted on January 4th, 2008 at 7:50 PM by Steven Stanley


The Celebration Theatre is in good hands this month with As Much As You Can, 
a contemporary twist on the Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner genre, written by 
Paul Oakley Stovall. Under Krissy Vanderwarker’s excellent direction, As Much As 
You Can becomes a funny, heart-warming, and ultimately very moving slice of 
contemporary African American life.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

PAGING DR. CHUTZPAH

posted on December 31st, 2007 at 4:36 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
“Never again will I lie down with a woman of the opposite sex without making a
total commitment,” swears middle-aged Manhattan psychiatrist Dr. Lester
Oronofsky (Marq Del Monte) to his receptionist Myrna Jorgensen (Alycia Tracy).
Oronofsky has, by his own reckoning, slept with “two baker’s dozen” female patients.
(With a private consulting room overlooking Central Park, “how could I resist?”) 
(read more)

posted in Burbank/Glendale, Comedy, Recommended

ALICE-SIT-BY-THE-FIRE

posted on December 29th, 2007 at 4:33 PM by Steven Stanley


You might think that a nearly 90-year-old play by the author of Peter Pan, rather
preciously titled Alice Sit-By-the-Fire, would come across dated and dull to
contemporary audiences.  If so, think again.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE

posted on December 23rd, 2007 at 4:26 PM by Steven Stanley

For the past 35 years, Schoolhouse Rock (a Saturday morning cartoon series that
teaches history, grammar, math, science and politics through clever, tuneful
songs) has been entertaining and educating kids of all ages. More recently, the
stage version, Schoolhouse Rock Live!, has become a favorite production of
middle and high school drama departments.  Now, Los Angeles is being treated to
its first professional production of Schoolhouse Rock Live!
(read more)

posted in Los Angeles, Musical, Recommended

THE PIECES OF ME

posted on December 22nd, 2007 at 4:22 PM by Steven Stanley


It’s a thrill to “discover” talented performers and watch them as their careers
take flight. I first saw Andrew Chappelle in a high school production of Grease in
2004.  Not just any high school; this was LACHSA, the Los Angeles County High
School for the Arts, where some of the most talented kids in the L.A. area
prepare for future careers in showbiz. The cast of Grease included Corbin Bleu,
who has since gone on to teen stardom as one of the High School Musical kids.  
More importantly, Grease also starred Andrew Chappelle, a young man whose
own Broadway fame is just a few years away.  Chappelle riveted audiences the
following year in his scene-stealing performance as James Thunder Early in
Dreamgirls.  Following his 2005 graduation, Andrew headed off to CCM, the
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a school whose
Broadway/TV star alumni include Vicki Lewis, Randy Harrison, and Faith Prince,
among many others.
(read more)

posted in Cabaret/Concert/Variety, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

ANYTHING

posted on December 21st, 2007 at 4:18 PM by Steven Stanley


The Elephant Theatre Company’s world premiere production of Anything, written by and starring Timothy McNeill and directed by David Fofi is a perfect example of how rich and rewarding our Los Angeles stage scene is. Exquisitely written and acted, sensitively directed, and gorgeously designed, Anything marks a noteworthy conclusion to 2007 and an auspicious start to ETC’s 12th season of live theater.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

THE KID FROM BROOKLYN

posted on December 20th, 2007 at 4:06 PM by Steven Stanley


Danny Kaye is alive and well and performing in North Hollywood!  Well, if not the 
genuine article, then at least an amazing facsimile. Giving one of the most 
memorable performances of this or any year, Brian Childers IS Danny Kaye in the 
just opened The Kid from Brooklyn, now wowing audiences at the El Portal Theatre.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, North Hollywood, WOW!

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