Amanda Callas - Page 4

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.

Written by acclaimed actress and playwright June Carryl and produced by Imagine Theatre, this light-hearted, fantastical voyage through the savanna is inspired by folktales and origin stories from South Africa.  There is a charming Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland feeling of whimsy and adventure afoot in this production.

This production feels contemporary and fresh, with an edgy, f-you, punk rock rebelliousness.  Yet it also feels profoundly truthful to the original grittiness of A Streetcar Named Desire, how it was received when it premiered — its New Orleans funk and grime, its rough, perverse sexiness and sweatiness.

Vibrant, colorful, and charming, this Inland Valley Repertory Theatre production of the Academy Award winning 1989 animated Disney film is a delight.  Looking around the enthusiastic opening night audience, I see everyone from seniors and date-night couples to toddlers on laps completely enraptured by the music, dazzling costumes, and effervescent performances.

This is a small-scale, intimate human story that feels like a slice of life, entertaining, touching, and deftly told with wildly abundant, delicious humor.  Mostly Demolition is a comedy, observant, delightful, laugh-out-loud funny.  There is a thoughtful drama lingering here too — slowly, astutely, whisper-quiet, unpeeling the skin of everyday things.

The Skin of Our Teeth is an astonishing production of the classic play at A Noise Within through September 29th.  It is insatiably alive with sharp-fanged wit, whimsical thoughtfulness, and improbable wonder.  The Skin of Our Teeth is audaciously satirical, but also earnest its incandescent meditation on the eternal human cycle of apocalypse and overindulgence.

With the stars of Pascal & Julien and the theatre’s creative team, we explored what it means to deeply engage children and families in theatre, how theaters can open up to the community, working with child actors, discovering authenticity and delicious subtext on stage, and the creative journey of the play in its US Premiere.

Pascal & Julien is the US premiere of a magical play about childhood and friendship at the award-winning 24th Street Theatre in West Adams running through October 27th.  Written by Australian playwright Daniel Keene, Pascal & Julien is the tale of two quirky, annoying loners who discover the tender beauty of friendship. 

TH IR DS is the world premiere of a new dystopian drama, a messy play with a lot of interesting things on its mind. 

Memorable, entertaining and show-stopping, 3 Faces of Steve is a special treat to be savored.  The lavish, luxurious operatic voices and powerhouse emotive performances of Angelina Réaux, Michael Sokol and Bernardo Bermudez shine in the intimate, warm space of the Odyssey.

In the sublime tradition of the madcap screwball comedies of the 1930s and the great farces of the stage by writers like Molière and Aristophanes, Human Error has dazzling, brilliant writing. 

A smash hit at Hollywood Fringe, Patient 13 follows Gail Thomas on her journey with cancer, mental health, and becoming the subject of a medical study about the clinical use of magic mushrooms.  

Merrily We Roll Along is that rare gem, a grown-up, subtle, perceptive musical that can delight both audiences love musicals and audiences who hate them.  This production by the Inland Valley Repertory Theatre, with brilliant direction by Frank Minano, is complex, bittersweet, funny, heartfelt, ultimately joyous and inspiring.

Based on playwright and lead actor Tom Alper’s real life experiences, this is a boiler room tale of telemarketing and desperation.  For something that is fiercely realistic and edgy, with a New York fighter’s indie heart, The Pitch is also hilarious, life-affirming, and an insanely good time.  It’s a sold-out smash hit at the Odyssey Theatre.

Tartuffe: Born Again is an imaginative, hilarious, delightful adaptation of the classic Molière play running at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum through October 13th. Tartuffe: Born Again is an absolute gem, a sheer, show-stopping delight, and you do not want to miss it.

A glamorous, pansexual, queer 1930s romp through the world of artists, playwrights, interior decorators, and their lovers, Design for Living was an instant hit with the sold-out audience on the afternoon I attended, who loved every minute of it.