Cary Ginell has been writing theater reviews in Ventura County since 1996. He joined the staff of the Ventura County Acorn in 2007 and since then, has written over 500 reviews. In 2013, he started his own theater arts blog, VC On Stage (www.vconstage.com), which includes reviews of musicals and plays from Calabasas to Ojai. From 2005 to 2010, Cary was Broadway project manager for Alfred Publishing, producing all of the publisher's piano/vocal songbooks. He is the author of 9 books on music, including "Broadway Musicals: Show By Show," published by Applause Books.
March 5, 2018
Sam Shepard's 1983 black comedy 'True West' comes to life with Elite Theatre Company's searing portrayal of two brothers at war with one another. One is a struggling screenwriter, the other a parasitic bully. When the two clash, their personalities merge until you can't tell one from the other. Aaron Gardner and Sean Mason star in this devastating satire of Hollywood wannabes and a dysfunctional family relationship that runs amuck.
February 24, 2018
'Kinky Boots' overcomes a formulaic, predictable storyline with energetic performances and Cyndi Lauper's outstanding score. The national tour features outstanding work from its trio of stars: Lance Bordelon as frustrated shoe factory owner Charlie Price, Jos N. Banks as enterprising drag queen Lola, and Sydney Patrick as spitfire factory worker Lauren. The show plays at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza though Sunday, February 25.
February 21, 2018
Alan Waserman plays Shakespeare super-villain Iago in Playhouse 101's production of 'Othello.'
February 12, 2018
Cole Porter's 'High Society' sparkles with wit, glamour, and music in Musical Theatre Guild's concert version of the 1998 Broadway musical.
January 28, 2018
Brian McDonald brilliantly plays multiple roles in the one-man comic fantasy 'Buyer and Cellar,' about serving as shopkeeper in Barbara Streisand's ornate underground personal shopping mall. A tour de force for McDonald and the Rubicon Theater Company.
January 26, 2018
'Motown: The Musical' is, plain and simply, Berry Gordy's revenge on 'Dreamgirls.' After getting displayed in a negative fashion in that show, Gordy decided to create his own version of his career, painting himself in noble colors.
January 22, 2018
The recent women's march and #MeToo Movement have suddenly made Alan Ball's comic-serio play 'Five Women Wearing the Same Dress' even more relevant than it was in 1993 when it made its debut. Read about how Brian Robert Harris came to direct the show at the Camarillo Skyway Playhouse.
December 26, 2017
An interview with director Timothy Reese, who discusses the process of a first read-through of 'Heathers: The Musical' - which opens January 5 at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks.
December 12, 2017
A talk with the actors who portray the Klingon equivalents of Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present in Lit Live's West Coast premiere of 'A Klingon Christmas Carol,' playing at Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley beginning December 14.
December 6, 2017
A delightful abridged version of 'Scrooge,' the Leslie Bricusse musical adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol,' is now being staged at the rustic Big Oak Theatre in Chatsworth.
December 1, 2017
Producer Kaelia Winterstein talks about Lit Live's West Coast premiere of the new play 'A Klingon Christmas Carol,' which makes its debut December 14 at Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley.
November 28, 2017
Ojai Art Center's production of 'Animal Crackers' features impeccable performances by Sean Mason (Groucho), Daniel Mitchell (Chico) and Anna Kotula (Harpo) as the Marx Brothers. Directed by John Medeiros.
November 16, 2017
Frantic, broad comedy and an attractive Spanish-flavored score highlight Musical Theatre Guild's recent staged reading of Jeffrey Lane's 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.'
November 3, 2017
The time: 1946. The place, Berlin, Germany. Esteemed German conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler, who refused to leave his post as head of the Berlin Philharmonic, despite his refusal to acknowledge the vicious Hitler regime, is interrogated by an American de-Nazification officer, who believes Furtwangler was protecting a hidden loyalty to the Third Reich.
November 1, 2017
Jukebox musical featuring Elvis Presley catalog is refreshing, funny, and has some of the most energetic, stellar choreography of the year.
October 23, 2017
5-Star Theatricals (formerly Cabrillo Music Theatre) unveils its first production, an ambitious reworking of 'Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.' Did it work? Read our review to find out!
September 28, 2017
Newcomer Miyuki Miyagi was stunning in her SoCal debut in 'Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris' and is now making her first appearance with 5 Star Theatricals with 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.' The Brooklyn transplant is an impressive singer and actress and if her past performance was any indication, she will certainly find her place in L.A.'s theater community.
September 25, 2017
The temptation to take a film classic and turn it into a Broadway musical is a road fraught with peril. How do you take something perfect and make it better? This was the question posed in 1972 when producer David Merrick decided to musicalize the uproarious 1959 farce Some Like It Hot. The result was Sugar, which enjoyed a respectable 14-month run on Broadway (505 performances) and received four Tony nominations, including one for lead actor Robert Morse, who played Jerry/Daphne. The 86-year-old Morse was on hand at the Alex Theatre in Glendale Sunday night as Musical Theatre Guild presented a rousing staged reading of the musical. Morse and the audience clearly enjoyed the show (he could be seen doing a virtual karaoke act of the score from his seat), but most of what works for the show is what worked for the film, with little new of substance added to the musical.
September 20, 2017
Nick Payne's acclaimed Off-Broadway smash 'Incognito' makes its West Coast debut with this thought-provoking production, staged at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura.
August 23, 2017
The Elite Theatre Company begins a new theatrical experiment as three high school actors not only perform, but help in writing the script for a new drama, 'At the End of the Day.'
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