Los Angeles Theater Reviews

Review: PRELUDE TO A KISS Returns to South Coast Repertory as a World Premiere Musical
by Michael Quintos - April 23, 2024

Based on Craig Lucas' 1988 play and 1992 film adaptation of the same name, PRELUDE TO A KISS - THE MUSICAL is an admirable first attempt of a new musical that is, clearly, still a work-in-progress. In its current state, this genuinely charming but disjointed musical could use a sharp refocus and som...

Review: Wildly Over-the-top BEETLEJUICE - THE MUSICAL Spooks Laughs at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - April 22, 2024

Adapted from the 1988 Tim Burton cult classic, BEETLEJUICE - THE MUSICAL is an over-the-top, chaotic, and wildly unhinged reimagining that amps up the kooky-ness of its source material a thousand-fold. Mostly funny and entertaining despite its tonal shifts and forced outlandishness, the show elicits...

Review: KING HEDLEY II at A Noise Within
by Evan Henerson - April 19, 2024

KING HEDLEY II is the eighth and quite possibly bleakest play of August Wilson’s Century Cycle. Pasadena’s A Noise Within is committed to producing the entire cycle, and ANW’s production, under the direction of frequent Wilson helmsman Gregg T. Daniel, wrestles with it valiantly....

Review: STALIN'S MASTER CLASS at Odyssey Theatre
by Amanda Callas - April 19, 2024

Stalin’s Master Class is enthralling, darkly funny, awkward, and thought-provoking about the eternal tension of politics vs art, censorship vs thought, modern art vs people’s tastes, groupthink vs ingenuity, and popularity vs quality. ...

Review: Musical Theatre West Brings MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Back to Life in Long Beach
by Michael Quintos - April 19, 2024

More like one elongated impromptu jam session than a typical musical, Musical Theatre West's new production of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET doesn't involve a complex storyline, but instead focuses on imagining what it must have been like to be in the room where music history happened. The resulting concer...

Review: HIGH MAINTENANCE at The Road Theatre On Magnolia
by Harker Jones - April 18, 2024

Ritt raises questions about the ethical and moral quandaries of employing AI to replace humans in a distinctly human space — art — but they aren’t pointed enough to really spark conversation or suggest insights, settling instead for an amusing if slight glimpse into the near future....

Review: PUPPY PALS at the Norris Theater
by Melissa Heckscher - April 14, 2024

Dog-lovers will lap up every minute of this 90-minute comedic dog stunt show that first premiered on America's Got Talent....

Review: OPHELIA at the Odyssey Theatre
by Melissa Heckscher - April 14, 2024

Anything that makes you think is worth watching. And so Ophelia — in all its memory lapses and uncomfortable places — is worth it. Just bring a friend so you have someone to help you put the pieces together when it’s all over. ...

Review: FAT HAM at Geffen Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - April 12, 2024

Huzzah James Ijames’ FAT HAM. Bless its softness, its savory juiciness, its wit and its ostentation. And its Juicy! Hooray for the clothes, the music, the unabashed delight that this whacked-out literary homage enjoys in wrestling with Shakespeare’s existential conundrums and deciding, screw it! let...

Review: All-Star Cast Shines in A BROADWAY BIRTHDAY Celebrating Sondheim and Lloyd Webber
by Michael Quintos - April 10, 2024

A talented collection of Broadway vets led by Tony winner Betty Buckley gathered together for a one-night-only concert 'A BROADWAY BIRTHDAY: SONDHEIM, LLOYD WEBBER, AND FRIENDS' at Segerstrom Concert Hall on March 28, 2024 to celebrate the legacy—and coincidental same birthdate—of musical theater ro...

Review: FUNNY GIRL at Ahmanson Theatre
by Harker Jones - April 08, 2024

FUNNY GIRL is a gold standard that has endured through the ages and the production that just hit downtown Los Angeles is a rollicking and heartfelt success....

Review: FREUD ON COCAINE at Whitefire Theatre
by Amanda Callas - April 02, 2024

In its second hit run at the Whitefire Theatre with many sold out shows, this historical comedy-drama is unbelievable but true, laugh-out loud hilarious, and brilliantly thought-provoking....

Review: ONE OF THE GOOD ONES at Pasadena Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - March 29, 2024

A second cousin once removed to William Rose’s GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER, ONE OF THE GOOD ONES finds the highly assimilated, upper middle class Gomez family losing their collective sanity when their daughter, Yoli, brings home Marcos, a man who, to her parents’ minds at least, qualifies as an “ot...

Review: A FROGGY BECOMES at Open Fist Theatre Company
by Harker Jones - March 27, 2024

Writer Becky Wahlstrom imbues A FROGGY BECOMES with an absurdism that is only complemented by the absurdism of the ’80s with the neons and the poofy hair and the synthesized music....

Review: MJ - THE MUSICAL Moonwalks Into OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - March 23, 2024

An overall resounding triumph despite its insistence on side-stepping some of the more salacious scandals associated with its subject, pop star Michael Jackson—MJ - THE MUSICAL is a genuinely entertaining and nostalgic show that purposely aims to celebrate the creative, if misunderstood genius behin...

Review: A SHAYNA MAIDEL at Laguna Playhouse
by Amanda Callas - March 23, 2024

This acclaimed play by Barbara Lebow is beautifully produced by the award-winning creative team at the Laguna Playhouse, with great sensitivity, rich texture, and mature brilliance in the direction by David Ellenstein....

Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center Kavli Theatre
by Amanda Callas - March 20, 2024

5-Star Theatricals does superb work capturing the charisma and characters of these great rock and country legends, and the music and energy of the show is breathtaking, jubilant and infectious.  Million Dollar Quartet has one extraordinary songbook.  You don’t want to miss this show....

Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Lewis Family Playhouse
by Amanda Callas - March 19, 2024

The marriage of ballet and Disney musical is a delightful one. Beauty and the Beast was a sold-out smash hit at the Lewis Family Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga March 2nd through 10th.  A joint production of the Candlelight Pavilion and the Inland Pacific Ballet, this Disney musical was lavish and ent...

Review: Grammy Nominee Jane Monheit Makes OC Return at Irvine Barclay
by Michael Quintos - March 19, 2024

Returning to Orange County, CA for a one-night-only concert at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, Monheit stunned the audience with her incredible talents, offering fresh live performances of superb tunes—including many from the Broadway stage—that are slated for her upcoming new studio album releasing thi...

Review: THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT at Pacific Resident Theatre
by Amanda Callas - March 17, 2024

You wouldn’t expect a bittersweet, haunting tale to be this laugh-out-loud funny, but it is.  There is so much charm and sensitivity in this Pacific Resident Theatre production.  The Bespoke Overcoat is almost unbearably poignant, a drama of humanity and rare tenderness. You don’t want to miss this ...

Review: THE ALLSTORE at Theatre Of NOTE
by Evan Henerson - March 16, 2024

Whether or not he has personally ever put himself through this, Evan Marshall has imagined life from the floor of a big box store and infused it – literally – with poetry. Part love story, part workers unite-inspired corporate dramady, ALLSTORE hits some satisfying beats. ALLSTORE – like much of thi...

Review: CONEY ISLAND LAND at the Theatre 68 Arts Complex
by Harker Jones - March 13, 2024

Braun’s script is never stagnant, the characters always in action, whether in a delightful literal dance party or a metaphorical pas de deux, always getting close to connecting before pulling away — or being pulled away by outside forces....

Review: FATHERLAND at The Fountain Theatre
by Harker Jones - March 07, 2024

FATHERLAND is an unsettling reminder of how an average person can tip from sane to insane all in the name of good ol’ American patriotism, crossing ethical, moral, and legal lines with nary a hesitation....

Review: REDWOOD at La Jolla Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - March 06, 2024

In REDWOOD, a new musical by Kate Diaz, and Tina Landau partially conceived by Idina Menzel and enjoying a visually arresting if somewhat simplistic world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, Menzell confronts something even more formidable than encroaching yuppie cyber cafes, enraged Oz...

Review: FANNY at Elysian Theatre
by Andrew Child - March 01, 2024

The success of Fanny doesn’t lie in the nuance or perspective the straightforward script lends to this historical figure, but rather in the eclectic smattering of talents artfully gathered and showcased by the piece....