Leslie Stevens News

Perfect for the fall and Halloween season, 3-D Theatricals' (3-DT) of Orange County will present the two-time Tony Award winning musical THE ADDAMS FAMILY, based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams.

One of the keys to providing great entertainment is understanding your audience. For a theatre company that means knowing what your audience wants and then being able to provide it so they keep coming back for more. Independent Shakespeare Co. has done a brilliant job of both. Not only do they play to crowds that number in the thousands each night during their Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, but they always find a way to connect with the audience and make them feel included. 

3D Theatricals (3DT), recipient of the 2015 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's Joel Hirschhorn Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre during 2014, beckons all patrons of the arts to buckle up and hold on for a rip-roaring journey back into time by way of the acclaimed Broadway musical SIDE SHOW, based on the true life story of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. Side Show has been set for ten performances - exclusively at historic Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, CA, running April 25 - May 10. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night curtain call and festivities below!

The musical Side Show played Broadway in 1997 for 91 performances and was Tony nominated but never got the recognition it deserved. A revamped version went to Broadway in 2014, but it, too, closed early. Like Jason Robert Brown's Parade, another noteworthy Broadway miss, it's worth the attention, but its dark grotesque presentation of carnival freak shows is not the most appealing fare for commercial theatre audiences. Many are repelled by the sight of a man with three legs, a bearded lady, a half-man, half-woman or in the case of Daisy and Violet Hilton, by the appearance of twins who are conjoined. The girls hated the term Siamese twins, for they were not Siamese, and also if people asked them if they wanted to be normal. What is normal? Now in a revival production of the original - not the 2013 revamped production, which played La Jolla and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. before Broadway - by 3-D Theatricals at Plummer Auditorium, Fullerton, Side Show comes out as winning and memorable as when it first appeared.

Michael Sterling recently spoke with LA and off-Broadway playwright Doug Haverty, who is enjoying a very successful revival on the West Coast of the musical INSIDE OUT, which debuted at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City 20 years ago.

Inside Out/book by Doug Haverty/music by Adryan Russ/lyrics by Haverty & Russ/directed by Bruce Kimmel/The Grove Theater Center, Burbank/through March 22 Celebrating its 20th anniversary the little musical Inside Out by Doug Haverty and Adryan Russ throws a boldly bright spotlight on the positive loving effects of group therapy. Based on the actual accounts of women who joined a group in the early 90s, Inside Out shares their stories...and the music is not only part of the plot, as pop singer Dena (Leslie Stevens) agonizes over the challenges of making a comeback, but more urgently becomes the almost guaranteed therapeutic force of nature for the entire piece. Six outstanding singers/actresses under the uber skilled direction of Bruce Kimmel dispense advice and sing and move with electrifying verve. Now onstage at the Grove Theater Center in Burbank, Inside Out may very well prove to be a better tonic than a gospel revival. In fact, it's assuredly the most effervescent all-girl group in town!

The critically acclaimed New York, Off-Broadway hit musical Inside Out will celebrate its 20-year anniversary at the Grove Theatre Center in Burbank, CA tonight, February 12th - March 22nd, it was announced by Kritzerland Entertainment and PlayWorks Music.

The critically acclaimed New York, Off-Broadway hit musical Inside Out will celebrate its 20-year anniversary at the Grove Theatre Center in Burbank, CA February 12th - March 22nd, it was announced today by Kritzerland Entertainment and PlayWorks Music. Veteran TV/Film/Theatre/Actor/ Author/Performer/Playwright and CEO of Kritzerland Records Bruce Kimmel has been set to direct the musical by Doug Haverty (book and lyrics) and Adryan Russ (lyrics and music). An all-star female ensemble/cast of six features Sandy Bainum, Cynthia Ferrer, Stephanie Fredricks, Dana Meller, Leslie Stevens and Adrienne Visnic. Preview performances are February 12th and 13th with the show's official opening scheduled for February 14th.

AMERICAN SHOWSTOPPERS: AN EVENING OF CY COLEMAN, WITH THE FRED BARTON ORCHESTRA was held at the Michael Schimmel Center at Pace University on Saturday, October 18, 2014. BroadwayWorld has photos from the concert below!

On Saturday, October 18, noted arranger Fred Barton will bring the music of Broadway and the American Songbook showmanship to the Schimmel Center at Pace University in American Showstoppers: An Evening of Cy Coleman.

Having established itself as the preeminent night of new musical theatre in Los Angeles, A LITTLE NEW MUSIC returns to Rockwell: Table & Stage in Los Feliz with a highly inventive program featuring Broadway and local talent. The hilariously irreverent Jordan Kai Burnett (THE MAX FACTOR FACTOR) will host for a fourth time, and we are pleased to welcome as our guest musical director the two-time Ovation Award-winning composer Gregory Nabours.

Having established itself as the preeminent night of new musical theatre in Los Angeles, A LITTLE NEW MUSIC returns to Rockwell: Table & Stage in Los Feliz with a highly inventive program featuring Broadway and local talent. The hilariously irreverent Jordan Kai Burnett (THE MAX FACTOR FACTOR) will host for a fourth time, and we are pleased to welcome as our guest musical director the two-time Ovation Award-winning composer Gregory Nabours.

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will open their 2014-2015 season with the multiple Tony Award nominated musical SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS. The one-night-only concert will take place at the Moss Theatre at New Roads School in Santa Monica on Sunday, September 14, 2014 at 7:00 pm.

Stephen Sondheim's lyrics and James Lapine's book are so brilliantly profound in INTO THE WOODS that, when in doubt, the best thing an actor can do is simply make sure the audience can hear the words. 3-D Theatricals struggles with this basic tenet in its gorgeously appointed though unmanageably large production.

Playwrights' Arena, in association with Greenway Arts Alliance at Greenway Court Theatre, presents the World Premiere of CINNAMON GIRL by Velina Hasu Houston and Nathan Wang, opening Today, March 15, 2014. The show will be directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera with musical director Marc Macalintal.

Playwrights' Arena, in association with Greenway Arts Alliance at Greenway Court Theatre, presents the World Premiere of CINNAMON GIRL by Velina Hasu Houston and Nathan Wang, opening Saturday, March 15, 2014. The show will be directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera with musical director Marc Macalintal.

El Cid presents the best in live Americana, roots, and outlaw country music with its weekly Honky Tonk Hacienda Todays. Jazz Tuesdays-The Moonrise Club on Tuesdays and today January 30 and February 13 brings old time, hot jazz, western swing, and other acoustical iterations from the 20's and 30's to El Cid.

El Cid presents the best in live Americana, roots, and outlaw country music with its weekly Honky Tonk Hacienda Thursdays. Jazz Tuesdays-The Moonrise Club on Tuesdays and on Thursday January 30 and February 13 brings old time, hot jazz, western swing, and other acoustical iterations from the 20's and 30's to El Cid.

The Laramie Project Ten Years Later/by Moises Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber/produced by Jon Imparato/directed by Ken Sawyer/The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center,Davidson/Valentini Theatre/through November 16

Playwrights' Arena with Artistic Director Jon Lawrence Rivera, the only theatre dedicated to discovering, nurturing and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, has announced the cast for their workshop presentation of a new musical, CINNAMON GIRL [written by Velina Hasu Houston (book and lyrics), music by Nathan Wang and directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera], tonight Monday, September 30, for one night only. The members of the cast include: KERRY CARNAHAN, BRYAN GELI, Jennifer Hubilla, MAEGAN McCONNELL, Peter Mitchell, Leslie Stevens, CLAY STORSETH and CHACKO VADAKETH.