Daniel Koh

A thrilling revival of Andrew Lippa’s THE WILD PARTY promises to take audiences on a non-stop emotional journey to the fraught and (seemingly) fantastic 1920s. Sizzling jazz, emotional anthems and contemporary music combine to pull audiences into a world of careless, conflicted characters pushed to their limits.

Torrance Theatre Company closed the 2021-202 season with The Legend of Georgia McBride written by acclaimed and award-winning playwright Matthew Lopez.

LITTLE WOMEN, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, directed by Anne Gesling, music direction by Daniel Koh, choreography by Michael Marchak, produced by Evelyn Vizzi, Eve Keller, and Cori Goldberg. The production runs November 13 – 28.

With the current theatre world on hiatus, I have created a Spotlight Series of interviews with some of am the many talented artists who make our Los Angeles theatre community so exciting and vibrant thanks to their ongoing contribution to keeping the arts alive in the City of the Angels. And like all of us, how are they dealing with the abrupt end of productions in which they were involved? This Spotlight Series interview features Kristin Towers-Rowles, an Award-Winning Director, Triple-Threat Actress, and Granddaughter of Screen Legend Kathryn Grayson.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is Broadway's hit musical based on London's urban legend with several stage adaptations dating as far back as 1847. Set in the 19th Century, Sweeney Todd is the tale of a man determined to seek vengeance. Framed and imprisoned by a corrupt judge whom he believes responsible for the death of his beloved wife, Todd returns to London after being rescued by a sailor. The sailor, Anthony, falls for the judge's beautiful ward, in reality Todd's daughter Johanna. She is smitten with Anthony. But Johanna is the subject of Judge Turpin's vile lust, and he keeps her confined, intent on marrying her himself.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, offers audiences a toe-tapping trip back to the golden age of musicals, and took Broadway by storm, winning five Tony Awards. It spoofs musical-comedy fanatics and the genre itself, often called one of the wittiest, craziest shows ever to hit Broadway. The very entertaining production at Santa Monica's Morgan-Wixson Theatre through October 13 is directed by Kristie Mattsson, produced by Michael Jackson Heimos, with music direction by Daniel Koh, and choreography by Niko Montelibano.

The Drowsy Chaperone, the Tony-award winning Broadway musical, will be presented at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, running now through October 13 as the first production of the 2019-20 Mainstage season.

To date, Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA has enjoyed record-breaking attendance during its 2019 Winter, Spring and Summer seasons, thus the coming of Fall sets high expectations and comparable goals for Executive Producer Michael Sterling.    

To date, Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA has enjoyed record-breaking attendance during its 2019 Winter, Spring and Summer seasons, thus the coming of Fall sets high expectations and comparable goals for Executive Producer Michael Sterling.

However, director Mattsson, who helmed the Morgan's sold-out hit production of Mary Poppins last season, certainly should have known about the theater's sound system problems and addressed them in advance of the opening. For as entertaining as this big rock musical should have been, unfortunately it suffers from the worst of all problems in staging such a musical extravaganza - a sound system which cannot handle the volume needed to successfully present such an undertaking. Consequently, even the music track was played too softly to achieve the necessary effect, with the singers often barely audible over it. Perhaps the biggest saving grace in the production is the entertaining choreography which fills the stage with clever, comical, and attention-grabbing costumes and wigs which honor the 'big' outrageous mid-80s fashion trends.

The Wedding Singer, the Broadway musical based on the hit Adam Sandler film, will be presented at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, opening tonight and running through August 3 as the final production of the 2018-19 Mainstage season. The musical is based on the New Line Cinema film written by Tim Herlihy. with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy. directed by Kristie Mattsson, produced by Spencer Johnson, choreographed by Niko Montelibano, music direction by Daniel Koh, and stage managed by Ashley DeFrancesco.

SHE LOVES ME, the 1963 Broadway musical with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, was based on Miklos Laszlo's 1937 play, Parfumerie, a warm, gentle comedy that follows the tangled dating life of perfume shop employee Georg Horvath whose dating life goes awry when he discovers that the stranger he has fallen in love with through a secret correspondence is none other than Amalia Balash, a co-worker with whom he constantly bickers. This universal tale about mistaken identity and romantic love went on to become the inspiration for the classic films The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Ole Summertime, and Nora Ephron's 1998 box office hit You've Got Mail in which Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan took their secret romance online through emails.

When Santa Monica's Morgan-Wixson Theatre decided to present MARY POPPINS The Broadway Musical as the final production of their 2017-18 Mainstage season, the group had no idea how the old theater adage "The Show Must Go On" would prove the title character's belief that "anything can happen when you let it." You see, the original directing team deserted the production a month before it was due to open, with an incomplete cast in place and tickets already having been sold. How could the challenge be met on time? Let me assure you, thanks to its new directors Kristie Mattsson and Aric Martin, musical directors Andrew Lederman and Daniel Koh, choreographers Lauren Blair and Holly Weber, and producers Anne & Larry Gesling, Spencer Johnson, and Meredith Wright, I would never have known such an additional challenge had been in place given the incredible quality of the production I saw!

The 2018 Jimmy Awards took place on Monday, June 25, 2018 at 7:30pm at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. Laura Benanti hosted. The coveted Jimmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor were presented to Renee Rapp, The Blumey Awards (Charlotte, NC) and Andrew Barth Feldman, The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance (New York, NY).

Chromolume Theatre will present the Neil Bartram/Brian Hill musical The Story of My Life in the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival, it was announced today. Under the direction of Michael Marchak, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Daniel Koh and Andrew Schufman. Music direction is by Richard Berent. The show will run for five performances only at the Hobgoblin Playhouse beginning June 3 at 7:30pm.

LITTLE WOMEN, THE MUSICAL with book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, is based on the beloved 1869 classic novel by Louisa May Alcott. It's a song-filled adaptation of the touching tale of young love, achieving dreams, and the power of family to overcome even the most difficult of life's challenges. No doubt almost every young woman read the novel at some point during their lives, devouring the tale of the March sisters adventures (budding author Jo, practical Meg, sweet Beth, and romantic Amy) who are coming of age during the Civil War under the care of their doting mother, whom they call Marmee, while their father is away fighting for the North. They gather together to read his too infrequent letters, each warmly cuddling together around their beloved mother like a safe cocoon in a world being torn apart by violence around them.

PACIFIC OVERTURES with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, with additional material by Hugh Wheeler had its Broadway premiere in 1976 and was presented in Kabuki style, with men playing women's parts and set changes made in full view of the audience by people dressed in black. It opened to mixed reviews and closed after six months, despite being nominated for 10 Tony Awards. Given the unusual casting and production demands, there is good reason why this remains one of the least-performed Sondheim musicals. So it's no wonder it has been 19 years since the musical has been presented in Los Angeles.

The award-winning Archway Theatre will present a live stage tribute adaptation of the zombie film that began it all when 'Night of the Living Dead' opens Friday, Oct. 13. Last Fall Archway's production of Strindberg's 'Ghost Sonata' was the North Hollywood Fringe Festival award-winner for Best Halloween Season Drama. This season, popular Archway director, Ron Milts, leads a classic of different sort to the stage with his adaptation of 'Night of the Living Dead. Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Todays; 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 13 through Nov. 18. Tickets are $28 general; $14 for students and seniors.

Chromolume Theatre at the Attic has announced the final production of its 2017 Season of Musicals, Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures. Opening on Friday, December 1 at 8pm, the show will play a strictly limited engagement of 12 performances through December 17.

The award-winning Archway Theatre will present a live stage tribute adaptation of the zombie film that began it all when 'Night of the Living Dead' opens Today, Oct. 13. Last Fall Archway's production of Strindberg's 'Ghost Sonata' was the North Hollywood Fringe Festival award-winner for Best Halloween Season Drama. This season, popular Archway director, Ron Milts, leads a classic of different sort to the stage with his adaptation of 'Night of the Living Dead. Performances are 8 p.m. Todays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 13 through Nov. 18. Tickets are $28 general; $14 for students and seniors.