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Amanda Callas

Amanda Callas

Amanda currently writes as a drama critic for Broadway World and Discover Hollywood Magazine, covering live theatre in Los Angeles. Her focus is on connecting arts and culture with the vibrant local community. She is a passionate theatre evangelist, hoping to inspire everyone to discover the kind of intimate, indispensable storytelling and luminous magic that can take place in person. 

An award-winning writer, Amanda’s work on arts, culture, music, travel, and parenthood has been published on many platforms including Hollywood Revealed, The Tour Guy, Parenthood Adventures, and Lickhouse Worldwide. She has worked as a storyteller in film, podcasts, books, and by engaging diverse digital audiences.

Amanda’s films have played, and won awards, in Vienna, Lisbon, Belfast, Iran, Scotland, Mexico, Australia, Bolivia, Capri, Palm Beach, and Los Angeles. She has done science writing for NASA, reconstructed Egyptian papyri, worked as a sushi chef, and played a nervous elf bride on a sitcom.

Drawing from her literary and film background Amanda brings an eye for cultural criticism and relevance to her discussion of theatre and its unique and vital pleasures. She is particularly interested in engaging children and new audiences in the connection of immersive live storytelling, exploring theatre for the first time, digging into the rich, elevating pleasures of the classics, and discovering a bold new work they never thought they would enjoy. Amanda has a B.A. from UC San Diego and an M.Phil from the University of Cambridge in classical literature, art, philosophy, and drama.




Favorite Show:

One of my favorite shows of all time is Turandot by Puccini, with an incredible staging by British artist David Hockney. I love it how it is dipped in acid color and beautiful, surreal scene-scapes, with of course, that lavish, sublime music.The Dapper Dans barbershop quartet at Disneyland are another childhood perennial favorite. I could listen to them all day.

Favorite Stories:

  • Review: THE RAINMAKER at Laguna Playhouse - Gorgeous, luminous staging and pitch-perfect performances, the transcendent joy and restorative optimism of this production made me feel uplifted for weeks.
  • Review: 70, GIRLS, 70 at Lonny Chapman Theatre - A great undiscovered, underrated musical that deserves its place in the pantheon, celebrating mischievous and delightful septuagenarian in New York City. The performances were utterly delightful, and I left the theatre humming great songs that are STILL stuck in my head.
  • Review: ON BROADWAY at Smothers Theatre in Malibu - Absolute of embarrassment of riches with four stupendously talented Broadway singers, some of the most extreme talent I've ever seen concentrated in one place at one time. It was glorious. Unforgettable music, at one of my absolute favorite venues in Los Angeles, the Smothers Theatre, on the beautiful, secluded Pepperdine campus in Malibu.
  • Review: SANTASIA – A HOLIDAY COMEDY at Whitefire Theatre - Off the rails indie holiday show was wildly entertaining, one of the funniest things I've ever seen, with real heart. Delicious cider and free cookies in the lobby. AND, I got to meet the Yeti. It doesn't get better than that.
  • Review: BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA at Odyssey Theatre -


MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

Review: NICE GIRL at Rogue Machine at The Matrix Theatre
Review: NICE GIRL at Rogue Machine at The Matrix Theatre
June 23, 2025

Nice Girl is the West Coast premiere of a must-see new drama at Rogue Machine on Melrose through July 20th.  This is a quietly thoughtful, intimately compelling slice-of-life four person play I found incredibly poignant and moving.

Review: PANDORA'S BOOMBOX at Actors Company
Review: PANDORA'S BOOMBOX at Actors Company
June 23, 2025

Pandora’s Boombox is a metaphysical, absurdist, family-friendly clown show through June 28th at the Actors Company on Formosa, as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.  This is the kind of show that I always hope to see at Fringe - clever, wildly unusual and imaginative, hugely entertaining, and nothing you would ever usually see in a standard theatre season.

Review: MARRY ME A LITTLE at Zephyr Theatre
Review: MARRY ME A LITTLE at Zephyr Theatre
June 20, 2025

Marry Me a Little starts strong with a pretty perfect “Two Fairy Tales” and seems to lose a bit of steam as it goes on.

Review: THE WEDDING SINGER at Colony Theatre
Review: THE WEDDING SINGER at Colony Theatre
June 19, 2025

The Wedding Singer is a delightful retro romantic comedy musical at the Colony Theatre in Burbank through June 29th.  Confectionary light, with killer choreography and eye-candy 1980s costumes and sets, The Wedding Singer is a big whipped cream dollop of pure joy. 

Review: THE CHINESE LADY at Chance Theatre
Review: THE CHINESE LADY at Chance Theatre
June 11, 2025

The production by Chance Theater, directed brilliantly by Shinshin Yuder Tsai, is lyrical, riveting, and provocative.  The Chinese Lady is also surprisingly, darkly funny.

Review: ANNIE at Dolby Theatre
Review: ANNIE at Dolby Theatre
May 21, 2025

Annie is a charming classic musical at the Dolby Theatre through May 18th.  This touring production of Annie has a fantastic cast, iconic songs, and a soaring optimism and pure-heartedness that feel rejuvenating.

Review: FOSTERED at Pacific Resident Theatre
Review: FOSTERED at Pacific Resident Theatre
May 15, 2025

Fostered is a must-see world premiere comedy at Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice.  The spirit of silliness and fun is bubbly and infectious.  How often do we get to enjoy something sexy, smart, funny and effervescent, like a classic, delicious Woody Allen sex comedy?  The roars of audience laughter and applause never let up, and personally, I laughed so hard, I almost fell out of my chair.

Review: CORKTOWN '39 at Rogue Machine At The Matrix Theatre
Review: CORKTOWN '39 at Rogue Machine At The Matrix Theatre
April 28, 2025

Corktown ’39 is a new play that feels like a classic, the kind of intelligent, thought-provoking drama that you can imagine a playwright like Aaron Sorkin or Henrik Ibsen might have written.

Review: BIG HAIR: A RAD AND WILD LOVE AFFAIR at Whitefire Theater
Review: BIG HAIR: A RAD AND WILD LOVE AFFAIR at Whitefire Theater
March 25, 2025

BIG HAIR: A Rad and Wild Love Affair is a thoughtful, poignant, laugh out loud funny one woman show, a bittersweet slice of nostalgia and a heartfelt homage to the gorgeous, offbeat love story between iconic comics Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner. 

Review: HONEY CONE: LIVE! at Catalina Jazz Club
Review: HONEY CONE: LIVE! at Catalina Jazz Club
March 10, 2025

Founded in 1968, Honey Cone is like drinking sunshine. The debut of iconic girl group Honey Cone at the famed Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood on Oscars Night was unforgettable magic. Next up on their live tour is Oscar's in Palm Springs on April 11.

Interview: T.J. Wilkins And Shanice of 44, THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Interview: T.J. Wilkins And Shanice of 44, THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
February 26, 2025

Broadway World talks with T.J. Wilkins and Shanice of 44, The unOfficial, unSanctioned Obama Musical, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 23rd. Actor and singer T.J. Wilkins has performed with Stevie Wonder, The Jacksons, John Legend, and Beyoncé, shined on NBC’s The Voice, and been nominated for a Grammy for his song in Disney’s The Lion King.  Shanice performed with Ella Fitzgerald at age 11, has collaborated with Kenny Loggins, Kenny Babyface Edmonds, Justin Timberlake, and Josh Groban, been nominated for Grammys for her bestselling, chart-topping albums, and starred in her own reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Interview: Chad Doreck of 44, THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Interview: Chad Doreck of 44, THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
February 26, 2025

44, The unOfficial, unSanctioned Obama Musical, is a comedy starring award-winning film, theatre, and TV actor and singer Chad Doreck as Joe Biden.  You can see Chad Doreck starring on Dead Ringers (recurring opposite Rachel Weisz), HBO’s Grey Matter, Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood and the hit Netflix sitcom The Upshaws.   44 runs at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City through March 23rd.  Chad Doreck talks with Broadway World about playing former president Joe Biden.

Interview: Monica Saunders-Weinberg of 44 THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Interview: Monica Saunders-Weinberg of 44 THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
February 25, 2025

44 The Musical, is an award-winning comedy produced by Monica Saunders-Weinberg, a devoted philanthropist, international property investor, and film and theatre producer.  44 runs at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City through March 23rd.  Monica Saunders-Weinberg shares her journey producing 44 with BroadwayWorld.

Interview: Eli Bauman of 44 THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Interview: Eli Bauman of 44 THE MUSICAL at Kirk Douglas Theatre
February 25, 2025

Eli Bauman talks about the musical comedy he wrote, composed and directs, 44, The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical, playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 23rd.

Review: UNCONDITIONAL, A MUSICAL MEMOIR at Skylight Theatre
Review: UNCONDITIONAL, A MUSICAL MEMOIR at Skylight Theatre
February 22, 2025

Unconditional, A Musical Memoir is a must-see new world premiere at Skylight Theatre in Los Feliz through March 9th.  Unconditional is utterly heartbreaking, explosive with tenderness and the irresistible bittersweetness of memory.

Review: BACON at Rogue Machine
Review: BACON at Rogue Machine
February 16, 2025

Bacon is the West Coast premiere of a simmering new drama at Rogue Machine on Melrose running through March 30th.  Brawny, raw, savagely intimate, Bacon is a spare two-person play by Sophie Swithinbank that grabs us hard and never lets us go, even for a second.

Review: TICK TICK...BOOM! at Chance Theater
Review: TICK TICK...BOOM! at Chance Theater
February 11, 2025

TICK TICK...BOOM! is an inspiring hit musical at the award-winning Chance Theater in Anaheim through February 23rd.  Set in New York City in 1990, this is a poignant love letter to Jonathan Larson, composer of the Broadway mega-hit musical Rent. Surprisingly for something that is grounded in real life and in real struggle, there is so much reach-for-the-sky, genuine optimism in TICK TICK...BOOM! that it feels restorative. 

Review: EVANSTON SALT COSTS CLIMBING at Rogue Machine
Review: EVANSTON SALT COSTS CLIMBING at Rogue Machine
February 7, 2025

A smash hit at Rogue Machine already, many performances are already sold out.  Evanston Salt Costs Climbing is a strange, satirical, darkly funny meditation on loss, anxiety, and depression.  Among other things, it touches on our universal creeping feeling of dread, the vastness of the problems facing humanity such as climate change and environmental devastation, our struggle with our own bitter destructive natures, our fear of closeness and our desperate need for it.

Review: LITTLE WOMEN BALLET at Wilshire Ebell Theatre
Review: LITTLE WOMEN BALLET at Wilshire Ebell Theatre
December 13, 2024

Little Women Ballet is the world premiere of a charming new ballet at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Mid-Wilshire.  This is a lavish, romantic, nostalgic, family-friendly night of dance that is not to be missed.






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