Justin Michael Wilcox News

Cabrillo, Thousand Oaks/directed by Yvette Lawrence/choreographed by Cheryl Baxter/through July 23 Peter Pan is a story filled with wonderment, and a total joy to behold onstage. Children of all ages love the idea of being able to fly and to live freely, without attachments or responsibilities. With the right casting, the show is pure magic. Now onstage through July 23 at Cabrillo Music Theatre, soon to be renamed 5 Star Theatricals, Peter Pan will never grow up, thank heavens! In this case there is not a famous star attached to the role. Carly Bracco is an immmensely talented singer, dancer, and actress who toured extensively with Cathy Rigby and played Wendy. She brings so much of herself to the role and is so much fun to watch, that nothing is lacking, making this Peter Pan a first class production.

CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE presents one of the most beloved family friendly musicals of all time with the third and final show in its 2016-2017 season, PETER PAN, with music by Mark "Moose" Charlap and Jule Styne, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based on J.M. Barrie's unforgettable story, musical direction by Dan Redfeld, choreography by Cheryl Baxter and direction by Yvette Lawrence. PETER PAN opens on Friday, July 14, 2017 and runs through Sunday, July 23, 2017 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE presents one of the most beloved family friendly musicals of all time with the third and final show in its 2016-2017 season, PETER PAN, with music by Mark 'Moose' Charlap and Jule Styne, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based on J.M. Barrie's unforgettable story, musical direction by Dan Redfeld, choreography by Cheryl Baxter and direction by Yvette Lawrence. PETER PAN opens on Friday, July 14, 2017 and runs through Sunday, July 23, 2017 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.   

Because it is arguably one the most beloved and critically-acclaimed musicals of all time, WEST SIDE STORY is revisited often by regional theaters across the country (and, frankly, the world). So it is no surprise that yet another large regional theater in Southern California is reviving this nostalgia-baiting, reliably-entertaining, and thematically-resonant show, this time by the talented folks over at McCoy Rigby Entertainment at their home base at the La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts, where performances continue through May 14, 2017. The resulting show---while mostly and genuinely enjoyable---presented a few jarringly curious presentation choices that didn't quite sit well. Unfortunately, in its admirable quest to inject some 'new-ness' into the well-known retro musical, some of the slight staging reinventions did enough to really lessen the impact of certain scenes that have previously been significant highlights.

Powerful, poignant and timely as ever, LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT presented the fourth show of its 2016-2017 season, the most acclaimed musical of all time, WEST SIDE STORY, book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein with musical direction by Brent Crayon, choreography by John Todd and directed by Ovation award-winner Richard Israel.

Powerful, poignant and timely as ever, LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT present the fourth show of its 2016-2017 season, the most acclaimed musical of all time, WEST SIDE STORY, book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein with musical direction by Brent Crayon, choreography by John Todd and directed by Ovation award-winner Richard Israel.

On March 13, (mostly)musicals returned to the E Spot Lounge in Studio City with CRIME SCENE: a uniquely entertaining evening of songs so good, it might be illegal!

Powerful, poignant and timely as ever, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the fourth show of its 2016-2017 season, the most acclaimed musical of all time, WEST SIDE STORY, book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein with musical direction by Brent Crayon, choreography by John Todd and directed by Ovation award-winner Richard Israel.

On Sunday, February 19 LA's Next Great Stage Star 2017 Presented by Princess Cruises came to an uber exciting conclusion at the Colony Theatre. After a very entertaining 90-minute program in which the 18 contestants gave 150% to their uptempo songs from Broadway shows, thirteen contestants were eliminated and the top five finalists selected during the first intermission. It was then decided, like the last two years from the consensus of the judges, to add a sixth contestant. Then each of the six proceeded to perform a second number after which the distinguished panel of 18 judges made the final decision during the second intermission. Musical director par excellence Richard Berent accompanied at the piano throughout the three hour show.

(mostly)musicals kicked off their 4th season in style with songsforaHAPPYnewyear at the E Spot Lounge on Monday, January 16. This was the company's 21st entry in a series of themed cabarets, and set a new attendance record. 'We were thrilled that so many people came out to Studio City to get HAPPY with us!' explains producer amy francis schott. Scroll down for pictures of the memorable night!

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the third show of its 2016-2017 season, Jason Robert Brown's THE LAST FIVE YEARS, starring Devin Archer and Natalie Storrs, with musical direction by Brent Crayon and directed by Ovation Award-winner Nick DeGruccio. BroadwayWorld has a first look at opening night below!

Loosely patterned after 'an audition process', this 11th annual fully produced event is geared to discovering new talent between the ages of 18 and 32 for the musical theatre stage. This year once again the contest is generously sponsored/presented by Princess Cruises. As has become the standard, approximately 20 contestants compete for the title, a $2500 cash prize, a headlining engagement at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal during the New Year, professional representation in the business of  musical theatre, and other valuable prizes. To date, over a dozen former contestants have already made their Broadway and/or Off-Broadway debuts; while nearly another 100 have either starred in Broadway U.S. National Tours; Regional U.S. Musical Theatre productions; Las Vegas Hotel sit-downs of Broadway Musicals; on board in lavish production shows presented by some of the world's most prestigious cruise lines; or have starred on stages at numerous Southern California Theme Parks such as Disneyland's California Adventure and Lego Land. Internationally, Tokyo Disney is also host to Stage Star talent. 

Kicking off their 4th season in style, (mostly)musicals will return to the E Spot Lounge on Monday, January 16 (at the new time of 7:30pm) with songsforaHAPPYnewYEAR -- the company's 21st entry in a series of themed cabarets. 'We are excited to move into a new year and a new season of (mostly)musicals -- and we want to get it off to a HAPPY start! There are no sad songs allowed at *this* show,' explains producer amy francis schott.

Kicking off their 4th season in style, (mostly)musicals will return to the E Spot Lounge on Monday, January 16 (at the new time of 7:30pm) with songsforaHAPPYnewYEAR -- the company's 21st entry in a series of themed cabarets.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the second show of its 2016-2017 season: Davis Gaines starring in the hilarious comedy LEND ME A TENOR, written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Art Manke. LEND ME A TENOR opened on October 22 and runs through Sunday, November 13, 2016 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.  BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the opening night pics below!

On Sunday, October 16, the wildly popular cabaret benefit, Les Girls, returned to the stage for its 16th annual celebration. Hosted by Ari Graynor (For a Good Time, Call...), the event kicked off with a cocktail reception and silent auction followed by a sexy and wickedly funny evening of entertainment, made possible by the donated performances of some of Hollywood's top personalities! All the proceeds supported the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund's Breast Cancer Deadline 2020, a strategic plan of action with a January 1, 2020 deadline for knowing how to end the disease. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Engaging, well-paced, aurally pleasing, and exceedingly entertaining from start to finish, the Hollywood Bowl's A CHORUS LINE is an exceptional presentation of this iconic show which celebrates those hard-working, ultra-talented, under-paid men and women who willingly choose a volatile career in which they sing and dance their hearts out in the background of a musical. It is set in the far out mid-70's, hence, the show is a retro-tastic trip down memory lane as it showcases a day of auditions for eight chorus member positions in a brand new musical opening on Broadway. For this Bowl version of A CHORUS LINE, producers enlisted TV host/actor Mario Lopez and then filling the rest of the large 17-member cast with a diverse group of proven triple-threat stage professionals. The resulting show is, hands down, one of the most well-performed musical productions that I have seen at the Bowl. From the execution of director/choreographer Baayork Lee's Michael Bennett-inspired choreography to the incredible singing performances of Kleban and Hamlisch's memorable classic songs, this is a production of A CHORUS LINE that can stand proudly side-by-side with any acclaimed full production of the musical, regional or otherwise.

The LA Phil's Hollywood Bowl production of A Chorus Line opening July 29 -31 for three performances has been in full tilt rehearsals since last week and BroadwayWorld's own Michael Sterling was there to talk to the stars and get a sneak peek at what audiences can expect on the legendary Hollywood Bowl's massive stage.

Lovers of the era of Busby Berkeley movie musicals are getting a double whammy of Golden Age goodness this month with a pair of musicals playing only two blocks from each other in Hollywood. I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU is already running at the mid-sized Ricardo Montalban Theatre on Vine and, very shortly, 42ND STREET will open at the much larger Hollywood Pantages. Both are inescapably linked by their subject matter.