Michael L. Quintos News

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Birmingham, Washington, DC., New Orleans, Germany and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include The University of Alabama's AVENUE Q, UNCLE VANYA in DC, and JOSEPH in New Orleans, just to name a few.

So. Cal audiences should check out Musical Theatre West's rather admirable regional production of LES MISERABLES, which continues its limited run at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach through April 26, 2015. This highly-commendable, local production features a superb-sounding 30-person cast, an impressive arsenal of lighting, set, and costume designs, and strikingly lush musical accompaniment from a 16-piece live orchestra. Despite some choppy-ness in its narrative flow, the ear candy produced by this exceptional collective had me floating in euphoria.

Filled with relatable humor, wit, and plenty of fiercely sarcastic dialogue and gasp-lite melodrama, OF GOOD STOCK explores the layered, often contentious relationship between a trio of sisters who have decided to gather together at their family's gorgeous ocean-side summer home for a little weekend reunion, with their respective beaus in tow. Written by playwright Melissa Ross, this world premiere production is currently on stage at Costa Mesa's Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory through April 26, under the direction of Gaye Taylor Upchurch.

Ladies and gentlemen... meet Mike McLean, a Southern California native currently making his national tour debut as Benny Southstreet in the classic stage musical GUYS AND DOLLS, now performing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through April 19. Right before the tour swings its way to Orange County, we thought we'd play 20 (silly) questions with him...

In playwright Kimber Lee's hushed yet absorbing sushi-making drama TOKYO FISH STORY---now having its World Premiere production at Costa Mesa's Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory through March 29---centuries of painstaking tradition are... well, rapidly showing its age against the progress of modern times. Can both harmoniously co-exist? Directed with poetic beauty by Bart DeLorenzo, the play is a subtle yet engagingly universal drama that is also a 90-minute love letter to the intricate art of making sushi.

Any opportunity to catch two-time Grammy-nominated international jazz superstar and frequent favorite BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award-winner Jane Monheit bring her talents to a local venue outside of New York (and even nearby Los Angeles) is its own cause for celebration. That was certainly evidenced by the rapturous reception she received during her triumphant return to Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Monheit closed out the Center's 2014-2015 Jazz series with Hello Bluebird, her jazz-centric tribute to the legendary Judy Garland. As expected, the 85-minute concert was nothing less than stunning. Let me repeat... stunning.

On the trailblazing March 2nd episode of ABC Family's hit critically-acclaimed drama series THE FOSTERS, viewers witnessed a pair of 13-year-old best friends explore one of the most time-honored, sometimes awkward rituals of typical adolescence: declaring their attraction for one another with a kiss. The only big difference this time around? The two pals at the center of this blooming romance are both male: Jude (stirringly portrayed by Hayden Byerly) and Connor (played by Gavin Macintosh). Prior to the airing of the history-making episode, BroadwayWorld contributing editor Michael L. Quintos posed a few questions to the young actor about his role, his life on set, and the significance of his character's existence in today's modern television landscape.

For John Lloyd Young's special Valentine's weekend cabaret concert titled 'My Turn'---which continues at the Samueli Theater on the campus of Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 14---the Tony Award-winning star of JERSEY BOYS presented an hour-long set of love songs, both joyful and heart-tugging. With the confidence and panache of a seasoned old-school song interpreter and showman, Young oh-so-passionately crooned and belted his way through an enjoyable songbook of personally curated classic standards that reverberated with the highs and lows of love.

With over 100 U.S. cities and 30 international regions featured on our site, we have so many exciting theatre happenings around our Broadway World! Below, we've highlighted our top 10 stories from this week. Check out the roundup below!

A charming, fun-filled musical comedy performed with cheery, infectious gusto, 3-D Theatricals' top-notch regional production of SEUSSICAL - THE MUSICAL is a laugh-out-loud, smile-a-minute spectacular for all ages! Featuring Cathy Rigby reprising her Broadway/National Tour role as The Cat In The Hat, the show is one of this season's most gloriously delightful, thoroughly entertaining surprises! The musical continues at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton through February 22 then transfers to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center for a limited run February 28 - March 8.

Of the multitude of recent film-to-stage adaptations that have risen from the video dust bin to breathe new life in a different guise, the stage version of DIRTY DANCING---whose first national tour is now gyrating inside Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 15---is by far one of the oddest, most peculiar ones of the bunch. Though it's not difficult to believe that this ad-hoc concoction has actually been a hit both in Australia and in the UK (they have the original 1987 film's nostalgia-hungry fans to thank for that, no doubt), it's a bit alarming to think that such an awkward head-scratcher has continued life in its current, somewhat off-putting format: as a show paved with good intentions---but executed poorly. Cool projections, though!

The second you take your seat to experience Kneehigh's dazzlingly unorthodox adaptation of the classic doomed romance TRISTAN AND YSEULT at South Coast Repertory, you know for sure you're in for---well, as the folks in Monty Python would say---something completely different. From the get-go, there's an enticing fascination that swirls wildly around this quirky, expressively theatrical Brit import, which is the latest U.S.-touring production from Kneehigh, the much-lauded Cornwall, England-based stage troupe. Their play continues through February 22 at the Tony Award-winning Costa Mesa theater.

There is a very good possibility that many of you have seen or heard of the terrific musical collective known as Postmodern Jukebox across one or more of your preferred social media platforms. This group of clever and talented viral-video/YouTube sensations is the brainchild of arranger/pianist/musical genius Scott Bradlee, whose primary objective has been to repurpose contemporary radio hits and infuse them with the vintage sounds that are more likely to be found in your grandfather's old vinyl record collection. The results? Refreshingly educational, absolutely irresistible, and, most important of all, genuinely entertaining.

In South Coast Repertory's excellent new production of Matthew Lopez's captivating play THE WHIPPING MAN---now playing at the Tony Award-winning Costa Mesa theater through January 25---an internal, theological tug-of-war is brewing just as the Civil War has come to an end. The absorbing, character-driven drama presents the uneasy return of an injured war veteran back to his family's home where two of his father's slaves---now free men under the law---have remained. The homecoming coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover, which all three celebrate inside the war-torn ruins of this once grand Southern mansion.

When it comes to film-to-stage adaptations, the sassy, Tony Award-winning Best Musical KINKY BOOTS---whose touring company is now on stage at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through January 11---is that rare phenomenon we all wish would happen more often: a stage show that actually improves upon its cinematic source material. On stage, the sparkly stage version certainly amps up the hilarity, high-jinks, and heart, thanks to Harvey Fierstein's even cheekier book that complements Cyndi Lauper's Tony-winning, pop-tastic music and lyrics. Along with the added bonus of Jerry Mitchell's fiery choreography balanced within his even-paced direction, the stage adaptation very much deserves every accolade it has received and continues to enjoy. KINKY BOOTS is, no question, one feel-good, winner of a show.

Filled to the (vacuum-sealed) brim with naughty one-liners and blush-worthy double entendres, DIXIE'S TUPPERWARE PARTY is a one-woman comedy laugh-fest cleverly disguised as the most outlandish Tupperware party you'll ever experience. It is hosted by the flamboyant, ultra-caffeinated Dixie Longate, the big-haired, sweet-and-spicy Southern hick female alter-ego of writer/actor Kris Andersson, who has arrived in the peculiar land of OC Housewives to hock her amazing, innovative and virtually indestructible 'plastic crap.' The Drama Desk-nominated Off-Broadway show---yes, it's a show---continues its just-extended run at Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa through January 4, 2015.

I'd have to be, well... a mean ol' Grinch to say anything remotely negative about the new non-equity touring stage production of DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL, so I'll try my best to keep it to a minimum. Honestly though, it's really not that hard, actually, because---surprise---the show, for the most part, is an honest-to-goodness adorable little musical with lots of kid-friendly comedy and a feel-good holiday message that really softens even the hardest of cynics. And yes, even I myself found my heart growing three sizes during the course of the show's smile-inducing opening night performance at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts (it continues here for a brief run through December 14). Sure, the show isn't exactly the pinnacle of musical theater excellence, nor does it even attempt to be. But what it lacks in roof-raising, show-stopping splendor, it makes up for ten-fold in pure pluck---the kind that kids, especially, will eat right up like candy.

Broadway's loss is definitely Long Beach's gain now that the big, bright, and buoyant new musical BIG FISH is making a splash as the season opener for Musical Theatre West's 62nd season. Filled to the brim with heart, emotional heft, and colorful storytelling, this slightly flawed but charmingly imaginative new musical wraps up its final remaining West Coast premiere performances at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through November 16. My immediate recommendation? Definitely experience this while you can.

The historic reunion---formatted as part talk-show, part concert---featured not only its creators Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine waxing nostalgic about the making of this beloved show, but also had several members of the Original Broadway cast including Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby, Danielle Ferland, and Ben Wright---all performing together on the same stage for the first time in years. Humorist and CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mo Rocca served as the evening's wry, very amiable host and moderator. The results? Mind-blowingly awesome... not only for the incredible musical performances given by the reunited cast, but also for all the dishy, humorous, and, at times, emotionally-tinged inside info shared by the musical's genius collaborators.

In the world premiere production of playwright (and creator of NBC's Smash) Theresa Rebeck's ZEALOT---now performing at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through November 16---Mecca, Saudi Arabia serves as the setting for a volatile tug-of-war that erupts at the start of the 'Hajj,' the holy city's annual Islamic pilgrimage. Here a young woman's act of civil disobedience incites riots, prompting a carefully-considered, if endlessly circling debate on the merits of whether to comply and honor a host country's 'traditional' rules, or to allow Western ideologies to triumph in order to best serve the needs of a fellow human---a fellow global citizen---in dire need of care and protection. While Rebeck's play, helmed by SCR's own artistic director Marc Masterson, is generally insightful, the play feels pretty unfinished, as if there's plenty more to unearth in the narrative that didn't quite make it to the page (and, consequently, the stage). Regrettably, it doesn't quite reach the point of heightened urgency you would come to expect in a drama with such a politically-charged storyline.