Ellen Dostal
Ellen Dostal is a Senior Editor and longtime writer for BroadwayWorld's Los Angeles region. A self-professed musical theatre geek, she also publishes two popular Southern California theatre blogs – Musicals in LA and Shakespeare in LA – and has covered jazz and classical events for the KJazz 88.1 FM and K-Mozart 1260 AM Arts and Music Blogs. She is also the LA Show writer for TheThreeTomatoes.com (The Insider's Guide for women who aren't kids). As a founding member of New Musicals Inc’s repertory company, she has developed roles in countless new works, many of which have been produced regionally and in New York. By day she works to raise money for children in need at Variety - the Children's Charity of Southern California.
Theatre in Historic Places: MACBETH at the Lummis House
Review: The Pure Joy of MUSE-IQUE?s GLOW/TOWN
Review: Recontextualizing Architecture as Art in CONDEMNED TO BE MODERN
BWW Review: CIRCUS 1903 Recreates the Golden Age of Circus at the Hollywood Pantages
BWW Review: Backstage Antics Abound in Indie Film OPENING NIGHT
BWW Review: Recontextualizing Architecture as Art in Pacific Standard Time LA/LA's CONDEMNED TO BE MODERNSeptember 15, 2017
While watching Crystal Sep lveda perform during the opening of Pacific Standard LA/LA's Condemned To Be Modern exhibit, I couldn't help but think of a quote by Frank Lloyd Wright: 'Space is the breath of art.' Poetic in its simplicity, it is an observation that is particularly eloquent when considering the way this collection of artists is recontextualizing architecture through the lens of the visual artist.
BWW Review: The Pure Joy of MUSE-IQUE's Summer of Sound: GLOW/TOWNAugust 31, 2017
It's official. I have a new favorite thing, and it is called MUSE/IQUE. You would too if you'd been in the audience for GLOW/TOWN, the third in a 3-part series celebrating Motown and its roots Saturday night at Caltech. From the structure of the program to the sophistication of the environment, Artistic Director Rachael Worby and company have created a musical experience in a class by itself.
Theatre in Historic Places: Lummis House Doubles as Scottish Castle for MACBETHAugust 24, 2017
He walked from Cincinnati to Los Angeles in 1884 and then he built a castle in Highland Park with stones from the nearby arroyo. Charles F. Lummis, first editor of the LA Times, knew how to make an entrance. Now the historic site will get a starring role in one of Shakespeare's most dramatic plays, MACBETH, for two weeks in September, when Benjamin Pohlmeier and his Junction Theatre Company mount a site-specific production using the castle as its backdrop.
New Art Book COLA 20 Celebrates Twenty Years of Artistic AchievementAugust 17, 2017
The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs celebrates the release of its gorgeous new hardbound art book, COLA 20, this Saturday night (August 19) with the help of Daedelus and friends at LA's downtown Grand Performances. The one-night-only community event is part of Grand Performances' free outdoor summer concert series on the California Plaza and will feature music by Deejay Daedelus and guests Sara Gazarek, Baths, Natasha Agrama, Mousey McGlynn, MariGo and more, reinventing electronic music live. But the real star of the show is LA's flourishing art scene, captured in the pages of COLA 20.
BWW Feature: Strong Women Get Their Due on Stage in AugustAugust 11, 2017
If you were captivated by the film Hidden Figures and its story of the women known as 'human computers' who saved John Glenn's NASA space mission, get ready for Lauren Gunderson's play SILENT SKY, opening this month at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.
BWW Review: These TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Have it Made in the ShadeAugust 9, 2017
ISC sets TWO GENTS in the 1950s, accompanied by a live band on stage playing an infectious rock 'n' roll score. Musical director Dave Beukers' arrangements are bright and sexy with a beat that's perfect for dancing (think Elvis Presley during his Sun Records days or Jerry Lee Lewis). It's a choice that admirably complements Shakespeare's early play - thought by many to be his first - and the erratic appetites of youth.
BWW Review: Backstage Antics Abound in Indie Film OPENING NIGHTJuly 30, 2017
Every theatre production comes with its share of backstage drama. One Hit Wonderland, the Broadway musical comedy depicted in Gary De Leon and Greg Lisi's indie film OPENING NIGHTis no exception. Sex, drugs, and crazy characters collide in this rousing tongue-in-cheek comedy full of splashy production numbers and entertainment in-jokes. It's a movie for, and about, theatre people - their quirks, their insecurities, and above all, their passions.
BWW Interview: Behind the Scenes with Lara Ganz's BEAUTY AND THE BEASTJuly 20, 2017
Theatre Palisades Youth invites you to 'be their guest' for a special presentation of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR.opening July 28th at Pierson Playhouse in Pacific Palisades. Forty members of the youth theatre group are getting ready to tell the tale of an adventurous young girl and a prince trapped under a spell who find that the power of love can overcome any evil. Director Lara Ganz helms the production and lets us in on the behind-the-scenes workings in this charming interview.
CAESAR To Go On After Director's Death at Kingsmen Shakespeare CompanyJuly 11, 2017
Our hearts go out to the members of Kingsmen Shakespeare Company who are mourning the unexpected death of John Slade. John was directing this summer's production of JULIUS CAESAR set to open July 21st. The show will go on with the festival's founder stepping in to bring his colleague's vision to the stage.
BWW Review: LONDON CALLING, A MUSICAL Doesn't ConnectJune 18, 2017
London Calling, The Clash's third album, is considered by many to be one of the band's greatest achievements. It is also the title of a musical that has been knocking around for the last decade, now being presented at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Using songs by The Clash, it is the story of four bandmates who share a dream of making it big. According to the program it is not based on The Clash's rise to fame but on the writers' own experiences of, 'A youth spent playing in bands, living in squats and pursuing dreams'
BWW Review: Geffen Playhouse Sets Its Course for Love in CONSTELLATIONSJune 16, 2017
What a difference one decision makes. Turn a corner, say hello, say nothing, leave - even the smallest of choices has the power to alter our future. In CONSTELLATIONS, Nick Payne's exquisite play for two, now on stage at Geffen Playhouse, we watch the various stages of a couple's relationship play out as a series of overlapping alternate realities.
BWW Review: The Theatre High of hearing John Bucchino play IT'S ONLY LIFEJune 13, 2017
I'm sorry if you missed Art-In-Relation's production of IT'S ONLY LIFE this past weekend because you missed hearing a remarkable musician play his own magnificent songs in a tiny 50-seat theater. To have that luxury is a rare occurrence, even for a city like Los Angeles. It was a breathtaking evening with the composer at the piano expressing, as only one who has written a song truly can, the most intimate nuances of a piece. For a lover of music, it was transcendent.
BWW Review: Robot Teammate's New Musical TURBULENCE! covers Fun-Loving Comic TerritoryJune 11, 2017
Set to an upbeat '80s-style pop rock score, TURBULENCE! is a screwball mash-up of Friday night SyFy comedy classics and Saturday morning cartoons with colorful characters and bright, energetic choreography. Two musical departures - a hokey country 'Hoedown Throwdown' style number (priceless) and a beautiful a cappella choral piece add variety. The friendly rough-and-tumble nature of the work is a good fit for those looking for an escape from the more cynical/slit-your-wrists drama one often finds at the Fringe. This is comical territory, bold and fun-loving. It won't tax any brain cells but the rowdy good time it delivers is all you need.
BWW Review: Can You Solve the Mystery of HOLMES, SHERLOCK, AND THE CONSULTING DETECTIVE?June 8, 2017
Unbound Productions producers Jonathan Josephson, Paul Millet and Jeff G. Rack have already proven they can create smart theatre based on classical literature. Their wildly popular Wicked Lit horror series at Mountain View Mausoleum has developed a loyal legion of fans who keep coming back year after year. Now they've taken their outdoor immersive theatre experience and expanded into the mystery genre, mounting their first major production under the moniker Mystery Lit with HOLMES, SHERLOCK AND THE CONSULTING DETECTIVE. Written by Josephson, directed by Millet, and designed by Rack, it combines three of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries into one epic whodunit.
BWW Review: Characters Defend Their Worth in UNSPOKEN: SHAKESPEARE'S PERSONAE IN PERILJune 6, 2017
Los Angeles Drama Club jumps into the controversy about rewriting Shakespeare for modern audiences in UNSPOKEN: SHAKESPEARE'S PERSONAE IN PERIL. Part II of a trilogy exploring what has become a sore subject among Shakespeare circles, it takes a strong stand and presents persuasive food for thought in this year's Hollywood Fringe Festival.
BWW Review: TITUS SHARKDRONICUS Combines Shakespeare and Sharks for the FringeJune 2, 2017
Shakespeare by way of Gilligan's Island with a cast of hammy knuckleheads is what you'll get in Fiona Austin's TITUS SHARKDRONICUS. There isn't a serious bone in this fish tale's body so leave your sophistication at the door and prepare for an hour of melodrama loosely based on the plot of Titus Andronicus, but with the addition of sharks as Tamora's sons.
Theatre in Historic Places: A Ballerina in the Desert's Legacy Lives on at AMARGOSA OPERA HOUSEMay 31, 2017
The last place you'd expect to find a ballerina is in the middle of the desert; in a bustling city center full of people to fill an audience, yes, but in Death Valley Junction population less than 20? No, in this cultural hot spot, art is found in the shifting sands and sunset-washed mountains where colors and textures create breathtaking views for but a moment and then are gone.
BWW Review: Ebony Rep's FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE is the Summer Party You Don't Want to MissMay 24, 2017
FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its successful Broadway run in an out-and-out stellar revival at Ebony Repertory Theatre in Los Angeles. It's the summer party you don't want to miss!
BWW Review: Actors Co-op's To-Die-For Musical LUCKY STIFF is Full of Quirky CharmMay 17, 2017
Before Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty teamed up for iconic works like Ragtime, Once on this Island, and their current Broadway hit Anastasia,they wrote a crazy little musical called LUCKY STIFF. It was their first collaboration and, though it never made it to Broadway, it won the pair a Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre and launched a 30-year partnership that has helped shape the genre ever since.
BWW Review: Ensemble Shakespeare Theatre Transforms Tragedy Using Theatre in LEAR'S SHADOWApril 19, 2017
LEAR'S SHADOW, a new play by Shakespeare Ensemble Theater Artistic Director, Brian Elerding, is a sensitive exploration of theatre's transformative ability to heal, even under the most devastating of circumstances. Using passages from King Lear as a tool within a contemporary storyline, it takes a thoughtful and surprisingly candid approach to the subject of loss.
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