Los Angeles Theater Reviews Page 2

Review: EISENHOWER: THIS PIECE OF GROUND at Rubicon Theatre
by Amanda Callas - February 27, 2024

Watching Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground, I literally forgot I was watching a one person show.  Tony award winning, Broadway and Hollywood star John Rubinstein is a fascinating and charismatic actor, with uncannily perfect comedic timing.  Compelling, thought-provoking, moving, and surprisingly fun...

Review: BLACK CYPRESS BAYOU at Geffen Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - February 23, 2024

Part mystery, part cathartic family drama ruminating on legacies of evil and forgiveness, director Tiffany Nichole Greene’s production grips us tightly from the outset and does not easily let us go. Thankfully, along this 80-minute journey, we also get to laugh as well as exhale....

Review: SWEENEY TODD at A Noise Within
by Andrew Child - February 20, 2024

In classic ANW style, Rodriguez-Elliott has simplified everything, returning to the text and highlighting elements of the (mercifully and artfully) truncated libretto. Without a drop of stage blood, she has crafted lasting images of violence that grip us and carry the narrative....

Review: MIDDLE OF THE WORLD at Rogue Machine
by Amanda Callas - February 21, 2024

At its heart, Middle of the World is something of an unexpected love story between a fallen socialist leader from Ecuador and a young, driven Black finance executive. Middle of the World feels like an elegy, evoking the bittersweet, numbing ache of loss and betrayal. It invokes a sense of loss of an...

Review: Musical Theatre West Revisits Classic 42ND STREET in Long Beach
by Michael Quintos - February 13, 2024

For the most part, MTW's brand-new, admirably plucky 2024 production—now on stage through February 25—succeeds as an entertaining, visually cheerful show, filled with strong performances, a rousingly robust orchestra, and dynamic, zestfully tap-tastic dance numbers. Despite its lack of any real, ser...

Review: BRUSHSTROKE at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
by Evan Henerson - February 12, 2024

John Ross Bowie’s Cold War comedy BRUSHSTROKE considers the role of 'art' from a bunch of different angles and fashions a very nifty play around it....

Review: Bold Staging of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Rocks Chance Theater
by Michael Quintos - February 09, 2024

Featuring a humorous yet surprisingly poignant original story from John Cameron Mitchell and piercing, high-octane tunes from composer Stephen Trask, the gloriously ribald glam-rock musical HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is currently flipping its wigs out in a brand new extremely engaging production at t...

Review: CRIMINAL LIVE: TENTH ANNIVERSARY TOUR at United Theatre On Broadway
by Andrew Child - February 08, 2024

The live show, which celebrates ten years of Judge’s popular podcast Criminal,  was appropriately filled with stories whose hook introductions took many unexpected twists and turns before resolving in ways often contradictory to the well-trodden paths of narrative....

Review: Disney's THE LION KING Rules Once More at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - February 06, 2024

Now in its 27th year, Disney's game-changing, Tony Award-winning global megahit THE LION KING has once again taken over OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for another month of performances that continues through February 25, 2024. Even today, the show still manages to elicit genuine w...

Review: ROMEO AND JULIET by New Adventures at Center Theatre Group
by Andrew Child - February 05, 2024

Matthew Bourne has certainly crafted a “New Adventure” under the title Romeo and Juliet. Purists may come up empty-handed if they mine the kaleidoscopic geometry of the mesmerizing opening sequence for any semblance of “Two households, both alike in dignity”....

Review: LA COCINA at Loft Ensemble
by Evan Henerson - February 02, 2024

The high wire act that is Tony Meneses’ play LA COCINCA is a feat that companies of greater capabilities than Loft Ensemble might not pull off. There are 19 performers barreling across that stage, dispatching orders, picking up plates, whisking, saucing, grilling and doing all the other things that ...

Review: GOMBURZA's Fate Remains a Burning Protest
by Jude Cartalaba - January 31, 2024

Until Friday, February 2, films from different genres from the 49th annual Metro Manila Film Festival in the Philippines, will be screened during the inaugural Manila International Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard....

Review: Broadway's Jessica Vosk Honors the Songwriters of Laurel Canyon at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - January 30, 2024

A spectacular one-night-only concert at OC's Segerstrom Center starring one of Broadway's most acclaimed stars, Jessica Vosk's 'California Dreamin'' is a rousing, informative tribute to the incredible singer/songwriters that populated the Laurel Canyon artists community in Los Angeles that included ...

Review: POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE at Geffen Playhouse
by Harker Jones - January 29, 2024

POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE is a a laugh-out-loud riot that would benefit from a few moments of introspection and nuance....

Review: CAROUSEL OF FOOLS at Rogue Artists Ensemble
by Andrew Child - January 27, 2024

It’s 2024 and theatres shouldn’t be taking anything for granted anymore. No standard of existence or tried and true method should be undertaken without scrutiny. Rogue Artists Ensemble has appropriately blown the lid off the standard fundraising gala event, opting instead for a Carousel of Fools on ...

Review: Fun-Filled Musical Remake of MYSTIC PIZZA Debuts at La Mirada Theatre
by Michael Quintos - January 25, 2024

A lively, vibrant new jukebox musical based on the 1988 film, La Mirada Theatre's fun and entertaining new production of MYSTIC PIZZA—now playing through February 11, 2024—is a charming, if forgivably predictable coming-of-age tale featuring 80's/90's hits and a cast of likable actors and characters...

Review: KATE at Pasadena Playhouse
by Andrew Child - January 23, 2024

Upon entering the theatre, one is met by Berlant herself engaged in a Yoko Ono-esque performance flanked by an artist’s statement which has appeared verbatim in the program for every show I’ve reviewed in the past year....

Review: MERCURY at The Road Theatre On Magnolia
by Harker Jones - January 23, 2024

Overall, the show is wickedly funny and a trenchant meditation on entitlement, revenge and justice, even if that justice is one-sided. Another bull’s-eye for the Road Theatre....

Review: SUKKOT at Skylight Theatre
by Evan Henerson - January 21, 2024

Nestled uneasily in a space between comedy and misery, SUKKOT makes shoddy use of a good cast to serve up a banquet of familial angst and misery....

Review: Broadway Talents Honor Olivia Newton-John at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - January 19, 2024

Hosted by Scott Coulter at OC's Segerstrom Center, this beautifully-curated 'greatest hits' showcase celebrating Olivia Newton-John provided an entertaining tribute, delivered via superb performances from the likes of Jessica Hendy, David Burnham, and Mike Schwitter, plus a first-person testimonial ...

Review: MJ THE MUSICAL Moonwalks Into the Hollywood Pantages
by Tracey Paleo - December 28, 2023

MJ the Musical currently at the Hollywood Pantages may be the most intimate Michael Jackson biopic yet....

Review: THE GRINCH Stage Musical Slithers Back into OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - December 21, 2023

The touring stage adaptation of Dr. Seuss' cheeky holiday tale returns to the OC's Segerstrom Center with a non-equity cast. While the show itself is still a charmer—especially for young audiences—the bad audio mix at Costa Mesa's largest theater leaves most of the show's lyrics and dialogue indecip...

Review: SANTA'S CIRCUS at Montalbán Theatre
by Harker Jones - December 20, 2023

Hit the Montalbán in Hollywood for a night out with family and/or friends. Just because this is appropriate for the kids doesn’t mean it’s not fun for the rest of us. Jingle your balls all the way to the North Pole!...

Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY at Ahmanson
by Evan Henerson - December 17, 2023

Lenz’s production is solid family stuff, a little bit cock-eyed, and easy on the treacle. Knowledge of the original movie is by no means a prerequisite to enjoyment of ACS: TM. If you’re craving certain iconic moments from the movie, rest assured you’ll find them, possibly even amped up or with a mu...

Review: A PERMANENT IMAGE at Pacific Resident Theatre
by Evan Henerson - December 17, 2023

The production directed by Andy Weyman for Pacific Resident Theatre taps the bile and makes use of Hunter’s scabrous humor. The journey to that resolution is an uncomfortable slog in which we share the company of some pretty despicable people who, at PRT, are portrayed by actors who embrace their ch...