Ed Krieger News

What makes the current production at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica so special is its Tony Award winning director Lita Gaithers Owens cast Tony Award nominee Starletta DuPois as Lena "Mama" Younger. DuPois has a long history with A RAISIN IN THE SUN having first been cast as Beneatha, then became known for her role as Ruth in the acclaimed American Playhouse film version, and now Mama. "A true gift at this point in my career is having experienced the life of this play through three extraordinary women characters that the playwright created," DuPois shared. In fact, her emotional and physical understanding of the role so central to the play was thrilling to experience as her entire physical presence totally embodied Mama right down to every moment of her joys, heartbreak, anger, and love for her children, as if DuPois was channeling Mama from her very soul.

The ruins of an abandoned WWII Nazi compound in Pacific Palisades, known today as the 'Murphy Ranch,' are the inspiration for a new play. The Athena Cats presents the world premiere of Blueprint for Paradise by Laurel M. Wetzork, opening July 30 at the Hudson Theatres in Hollywood. Laura Steinroeder directs a cast that includes Alex Best, Regi Davis, Ann Hu, David Jahn, Steve Marvel, Peter McGlynn and Meredith Thomas.

With lead actress Lindsay LaVanchy currently in New Orleans shooting an episode of Scream: The TV Series for MTV, the Fountain Theatre has announced a revised running schedule for the West Coast premiere of Baby Doll, adapted by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann from the 1956 Academy Award-nominated film by Tennessee Williams. The new opening date will be July 29, and performances will continue through Sept. 25.

Veteran Broadway actor Stu James (Benny in RENT, national tour of The Color Purple) will reprise the role of black entrepreneur and music mogul John Dolphin when last season's smash hit musical RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD gets an all-new production at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Previews began July 8, with the press opening was held on July 16. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The name of the game in show biz is never to settle for greatness, but rather to go that extra mile and make it better. Such is the case with Recorded in Hollywood. In its transferal from a smaller Hollywood space to the Kirk Douglas Theatre,  the show provides a book by Matt Donnelly and Jamelle Dolphin that opens up even more than before to tell the true story of record producer John Dolphin. The story takes place from 1948 to 1958 in South Central, Los Angeles, when blacks were arrested for the slightest infractions of the law. Since I did not see the initial production, I am basing my opinions on this newer version. It is slick, a very slick show with a dynamic, triple threat ensemble headed by Stu James, directed superbly by Denise Dowse and choreographed to the max by Cassie Crump. The bad feature is that it only runs through August 7.

When The Little Mermaid was released in 1989, it not only became one of the most popular Disney films to date, it was also the very first animated musical to use Broadway composers for its music - changing the direction of animated movies forever. Now Cabrillo Music Theatre brings this amazing story to life with The Little Mermaid, live on stage! This is not simply a children's show - it's a brand-new fully-developed Broadway musical, in the spirit of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Mary Poppins, and Cabrillo Music Theatre's production will be the first in the region!

Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID opens today, July 15th, 2016, playing until Sunday, July 24th, 2016 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the stars in costume below!

Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID opens on Friday, July 15th, 2016, playing until Sunday, July 24th, 2016 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the stars in costume below!

A bold reimagining of Chekov's The Cherry Orchard, EL NOGALAR explores social class, family, identity and the choice between adapting to a changing world or getting left behind.

What is the path we take to find love in a harsh world? Colleen Camp Productions and CRAZYface Productions LLC present a fresh new production of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES, directed by John Hindman and starring Sara Rae Foster (Showtime's Masters of Sex) and Jeff Ward (Lifetime's Manson's Lost Girls). Rajiv Joseph's poignant and darkly comic tale about love, pain and friendship opens May 20 at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

What is the path we take to find love in a harsh world? Colleen Camp Productions and CRAZYface Productions LLC present a fresh new production of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES, directed by John Hindman and starring Sara Rae Foster (Showtime's Masters of Sex) and Jeff Ward (Lifetime's Manson's Lost Girls). Rajiv Joseph's poignant and darkly comic tale about love, pain and friendship opens May 20 at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The fascinating life of Chicago newspaperman turned legendary playwright, screenwriter and novelist Ben Hecht takes center stage in Grippo Stage Company's world premiere of THE BEN HECHT SHOW, written and performed by James Sherman and directed by Dennis Za?ek. Based on Ben Hecht's books A Guide For the Bedevilled and A Child Of the Century, in which Hecht confronts his own identity as an American Jew in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust, THE BEN HECHT SHOW will play June 10 - July 17, 2016 at Piven Theatre at Noyes Cultural Center, 927 Noyes St. in Evanston. Tickets are currently available at grippostagecompany.com or by calling (800) 838-3006. The press opening is Tuesday, June 14 at 8 pm.

What starts out as a simple toothache evolves into a dizzying chain of events as a group of disparate people, played by a cast of five who assume many roles indiscriminate of age, gender, and race, struggle to make connections in an increasingly isolated world. At the center of the story is a Thai/Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant, The Golden Dragon, where a young Chinese man suffering from an oversensitive incisor sparks a whacked and weird series of interconnected stories. A delicious mixture of epic theatre, bizarre comedy, poetry, and fable combine to create this fabulous pho.

MainStreet Theatre Company presents the Theatre for Young Audiences premiere of MIRETTE, with book Elizabeth Diggs, music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. School performances begin today, April 18th, with the public opening on April 23rd. The show runs until May 8th, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Just beyond the elegant dining room of an Upper East Side restaurant, service workers angle for shifts, pray for tips and cling to dreams of life beyond their daily back-of-house grind. Armando Molina directs the Los Angeles premiere of My Mañana Comes by Elizabeth Irwin, opening April 16 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.

The Theatre @ Boston Court presents The Golden Dragon, by Roland Schimmelpfennig, translated by David Tushingham, directed by Boston Court Co-Artistic Director Michael Michetti. This world premiere production opens Sunday, May 8, 2016 at 5pm on the Main Stage at Boston Court Performing Arts Center, 70 North Mentor Avenue in Pasadena.

Before his retelling of the Witches of Oz in WICKED, composer Stephen Schwartz took on a contemporary retelling of some of the most popular Biblical tales known to Man. CHILDREN OF EDEN uses these stories and characters to strike a universal chord in all of us. Beautiful music, story, humor, and imagery remind us of Spring, filled with new life bursting all around. CHILDREN OF EDEN opened on Friday, April 8th, 2016, playing until Sunday, April 17th, 2016 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. 

The fascinating life of Chicago newspaperman turned legendary playwright, screenwriter and novelist Ben Hecht takes center stage in Grippo Stage Company's world premiere of THE BEN HECHT SHOW, written and performed by James Sherman and directed by Dennis Za?ek.

A Jewish-American reporter in Japan uncovers a conspiracy to cover up the government-sanctioned sale of HIV-contaminated blood products in a new political thriller with music inspired by true events. Written and directed by Obie and New York Outer Critics Circle Award-winner/DGA Award, two-time Golden Globe and five-time Emmy Award nominee Robert Allan Ackerman, the world premiere of BLOOD, based on the real-life 'Japanese Tainted Blood Scandal,' gets a five-week run beginning March 5 at The Complex on Hollywood's Theater Row. Featuring original music and songs by 'The Virgins' bassist Nick Ackerman and 'Jet' drummer/vocalist Chris Cester, BLOOD marks the debut production of L.A.'s newest theater company, The Garage. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

Southern storytelling at its best! Writer/performer John Posey (How to Get Away with Murder, Teen Wolf) returns to L.A. with an all-new revival of his critically acclaimed comedy about a former small-town football star who attempts to live vicariously through his son. Father, Son & Holy Coach, presented by Rainy Night Films in association with Tyler Posey and directed by Terri Hanauer, opens as a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre on February 13. (Scroll all the way down for links to high resolution photos.)