Amanda Callas

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.