LOS ANGELES INTERVIEWS

Already in previews, Center Theatre Group’s Associate Artist Phylicia Rashad directs Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Mark Taper Forum, with opening night April 13th. Set in 1930’s Harlem, the cast includes Joe Holt, Nija Okoro, Dennis Pearson, Greg Alverez Reid and Kim Steele. I...

Clinton Leupp brings his celebrated alter ego drag legend Miss Coco Peru back to the Renberg Theatre at Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center for three performances of his latest show Bitter, Bothered & Beyond the weekend of April 29, 2022. I got a chance to get s...

Garry Marshall Theatre kicks off their 2022 season in their new GMT outdoor stage with Impro Theatre’s Jane Austen Unscripted April 16,2022.   Sara Mountjoy-Pepka co-directs (with Paul Rogan) Impro Theatre company members and live musicians as they mingle amongst the audience having afternoon te...

Author/ stand-up comedian/ magician Judy Carter presents her semi-biographical, part-stand-up, part-magic show A Death-Defying Escape! live at the Hudson Guild Theatre beginning April 2, 2022, with online streaming available starting April 9th.  Lee Costello directs Judy alongside Kevin Scott Al...

Written by and starring Holland Taylor, Ann is an inspiring and hilarious look at the life of celebrated Texas Governor, Ann Richards. Taylor is now set to present the West Coast premiere of Ann at the Pasadena Playhouse. Ann, directed by Benjamin Endsley Klein, runs from March 22 through April 24....

The Group Rep presents producer/director/writer Bruce Kimmel’s L.A. Now and Then, a brand new musical revue celebrating the City of Angels opening April 1, 2022. Cast features the vocals talents of Bita Arefnia, Lottie Arnold, Lisa Dyson, Harrison Fahn, Liz Grannis, Tim Hearl, Haruna Kajino, Marce...

West Coast premiere of Lucas Hnath’s A Public Reading of An Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney opens March 26, 2022 at the Odyssey Theatre. Peter Richards directs the cast of Kevin Ashworth, Brittney Bertier, Thomas Piper and Cory Washington. Peter allowed me to probe into the ...

One of Broadway’s favorite leading ladies Kelli O’Hara will be appearing with SiriusXM Radio staple Seth Rudetsky for a one-night concert at The Wallis April 2, 2022 as part of The Wallis Broadway @ concert series. Kelli was gracious enough to carve out a little time to answer a few of my theatr...

Marisa Matthews and Ashley Moniz produced their first edition of their monthly cabaret Broadway at The Bourbon Room last month with their second edition Songs of Sondheim playing March 28, 2022, at (of course) The Bourbon Room. Got a chance to throw out a few questions to B@BB’s musical director e...

Emmy-winning composer Jim Dooley teams up with Troubies’ founder Matt Walker to world premiere the ‘dynamic plot-concepted’ The Revue at the Colony Theater opening March 17, 2022. Matt directs the cast of himself with Rick Batalla, Katie DeShan, Tiffany Daniels, Isaac Robinson-Smith and Travis...

Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group and Microsoft Theater will launch their new five-year partnership of presenting a Cirque du Soleil touring production within L.A. LIVE annually with their high-energy, high-acrobatic spectacular OVO opening March 16, 2022. I had the opportunity to field a f...

Open Fist Theatre Company returns to live performances with Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, or the vibrator play opening March 18th at Atwater Village Theatre. Lane Allison directs the cast of Bryan Robert Bertone, Spencer Cantrell, Stephanie Crothers, Monazia Smith, Dionna Veremis, Alex Wells and...

Multi-million selling recording artist Sam Harris debuts his latest show Sam Harris: Openly Gray on the West Coast at the Catalina Bar & Grill March 25th and 26th. I had the opportunity to pose a few questions to this popular and very talented cabaret performer/writer....

Playwright Benjamin Benne’s Alma (already in previews) will world premiere March 13, 2022, at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre, produced in cooperation with American Blues Theater. Juliette Carrillo directs Cheryl Umaña in the title role with Sabrina Fest as her daughter Angel. I ha...

East West Players has resumed LIVE performances with Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins (already opened). East West Players’ producing artistic director Snehal Desai directs the cast which includes Trance Thompson, Gedde Watanabe, Adam Kaokept, Joan Almedilla, Max Torrez, Christopher Chen, George Xavi...

The Musical Theatre Guild will be presenting for one-night only A Sondheim Birthday Celebration Live! Laugh! Love! on Stephen Sondheim’s birthday March 22nd at The El Portal Theatre. Jason Graae hosts the Celebration featuring Musical Theatre Guild members with special guest, Stephen Sondheim vete...

The critically acclaimed The Lehman Trilogy opens March 6, 2022, at the Ahmanson after its successful runs on Broadway and the West End. Multi-award-winning Sam Mendes directs Simon Russell Beale and Adam Godley reprising their Broadway roles, with Howard W. Overshown who understudied in the Broadwa...

Geffen Playhouse’s next live production in their Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, Lindsay Joelle’s TRAYF opens March 10th (with previews already in progress). Maggie Burrows directs the cast of Ilan Eskenazi, Ben Hirschhorn, Louisa Jacobson and Garrett Young. For those unfamiliar with the term �...

LA Opera’s next production St. Matthew Passion will open March 12, 2022, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. LA Opera’s music director James Conlon conducts with choreographer John Neumeier staging Johann Sebastian Bach’s scared masterpiece with members of the Hamburg Ballet. The always busy Mae...

Theatre 40’s next production of their current season - Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky - opens March 17, 2022.  Ann Hearn Tobolowsky directs the cast of Marie Broderick, Dalen Carson, Tammy Mora, Abigail Stewart and Amy Tolsky. I had the chance to throw out a couple of questions to Abigail....

Skylight Theatre Company and Playwrights’ Arena join creative forces to present their second world premiere offering, Boni B. Alvarez’ APARTMENT LIVING opening March 12, 2022, live at the Skylight Theatre. Jon Lawrence Rivera directs the cast of Gabriel Leyva, Geri-Nikole Love, Charrell Mack...

24th Street Theatre and The Wallis world premieres Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny’s RAPUNZEL ALONE March 5, 2022, with live performances alternating between 24th Street Theatre and The Wallis. I had the chance toss a few questions to Mike across the ocean on RAPUNZEL ALONE, as well as...

Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) presents the third show of its 2021-2022 season live on stage, David Cale’s LILLIAN starring Nancy Travis. Previewing on March 3rd, LILLIAN opens March 5th at The New Vic in Santa Barbara. I had the chance to ask the ever-popular, always working television star about...

Heartbeat Opera’s tour of FIDELIO lands at The Broad Stage February 26th and 27th. Heartbeat’s artistic director Ethan Heard directs Beethoven’s 1814 masterpiece re-imagined and re-orchestrated for the era of Black Lives Matter. I had the chance to throw a few queries out to Ethan on his timel...

The Road Theatre Company returns to live performances with the world premiere of Bernardo Cubria’s THE PLAY YOU WANT March 1, 2022; the first of three plays performing in repertory. Michael John Garcés directs the cast of Peter Pasco, Chelsea Gonzalez, Natalie Llerena, Jonathan Nichols, Roland R...