SANTA MONICA'S BARNUM HALL

by Cary Ginell - October 26, 2023

What did our critic think of OLIVER! at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center? As the earliest Broadway musical ever to feature children playing major roles, Oliver! usually bristles with youthful excitement. But despite being marketed as a family-oriented musical, Oliver! is really inappropriate f...

by Cary Ginell - September 24, 2023

What did our critic think of GOLDIE HAWN at Bank Of American Performing Arts Center?...

by Cary Ginell - July 17, 2023

What did our critic think of CINDERELLA at 5-Star Theatricals?...

by Ron Bierman - July 03, 2023

Pacho Flores is a winner of the top prize in the world’s most prestigious trumpet competition, the Maurice André International, and the list of contemporary composers writing for him is impressive and growing. The San Diego Symphony has now performed two of the results. Last season it was Paquito D'...

by Cary Ginell - March 29, 2023

A superb production marks the 25th anniversary of the Broadway debut of 'Ragtime.' One weekend remains for this outstanding performance by 5-Star Theatricals in Thousand Oaks....

by Cary Ginell - October 16, 2022

With TV star Teri Hatcher ('Desperate Housewives,' 'Lois & Clark') leading the way, 5-Star Theatricals' production of 'The Addams Family' is a gag-filled laughfest, with great tunes, a cemetery full of puns, and even a wardrobe malfunction. It's real, and it's spectacular!...

by Cary Ginell - March 25, 2022

American Theatre Guild's current national tour of the venerable Pulitzer-Prize winning 'South Pacific' cleans up some potentially objectionable language and characterizations to retain its essential love story and message of racial tolerance....

by Cary Ginell - March 15, 2022

Christopher J. Thume blows the roof off the building with a bravura performance as drag queen Lola in 'Kinky Boots,' the 2013 Tony Award winning musical....

by Cary Ginell - December 06, 2021

'Always...Patsy Cline' brings to life Cline's rich catalog of songs, impeccably portrayed by Michele McRae, with Kathleen Silverman as her friend, Houston housewife Louise Seger....

by Cary Ginell - December 04, 2021

See what our critic thought of the national tour of 'The Band's Visit' - an inspiring musical about the healing power of music and its ability to show common ground between two historically opposing cultures. The show stars Janet Dacal as the vulnerable cafe owner Dina and Sasson Gabay as Tewfiq, th...