LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov directed by Andrew J. Traister translation by Paul Schmidt @ Antaeus Company through April 15...

On Sunday evening March 4, Bruce Kimmel presented the 19th Kritzerland show, the third and final one at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's. Commencing April 1, Kritzerland will continue at Sterling's in its new venue Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal. Sunday's show was a salute to the lyrics of Ira G...

There is much to like about Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show, which played at the beautiful McCallum Theatre for three sold out performances on March 2 and 3. Like so many others, I would have loved to have had the chance to witness the "real" Rat Pack hold court in the world famous Copa Room some fif...

A recent critical hit in New York as well as in its stop in Los Angeles last year, the Montreal-based TRACES is a sensational e-ticket thrill ride of a show that mixes extraordinary circus feats with the easy-going vibe of urban cool. A refreshing, high-energy cross between Stomp! and, yes, Cirque d...

Produced by L.A. troupe Moving Arts from a concept by Paul Stein, THE CAR PLAYS is seriously one of the most thrilling theater experiences you will ever witness--or rather, get stuck in (and in a good way). A unique, site-specific theatrical offering that truly lives up to the idea of riveting, in-y...

The SHOW at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa is definitely the finest concert venue in the Coachella Valley and arguably the finest concert venue in Southern California. It is aesthetically spectacular, state of the art in every way and, for its size at over 2000 seats, incredibly intimate. It wa...

The McCallum Theatre is on a roll this season, bringing treasure after treasure to the desert's finest theatrical venue. Last Friday was no exception. Film, Television and Broadway comic icon, Andrea Martin, brought her current one woman show FINAL DAYS … EVERYTHING MUST GO! to the desert and del...

With two impressive lead stars--Davis Gaines and Lesli Margherita--at the forefront of a fresh, dynamic re-staging of a classic work, Musical Theatre West's brand new production of the 1965 Tony Award-winning musical MAN OF LA MANCHA is, hands down, one of the most complex, beautifully-rendered musi...

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley's latest one-act The Jacksonian is a no-holds-barred look at the decadent middle-class values of the residents of Jackson, Mississippi in 1964. Now in its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, the complicated nature of The Jacksonian may shock or jolt ...

Lee Blessing gives us a three-dimensional look at baseball legend Ty Cobb in his fiercely honest one-act Cobb now onstage at Group rep in NoHo. Superbly staged by Gregg T. Daniel and gloriously acted by an ensemble of four, Cobb is represented at the beginning, middle and end of his life by three ac...

Noel Coward's wit is timeless. Many do not realize the extent of his repertoire, which includes comedy, drama and musicals. His works are irresistible, especially his now classic Private Lives that works to perfection when properly cast. In the latest revival by Table For Two at GTC Burbank, Jules A...

After seeing Andrea Martin's brand new, laugh-filled, autobiographical one-woman-and-a-pianist show ANDREA MARTIN: FINAL DAYS! EVERYTHING MUST GO!, it's quite clear to see why the ever-so-funny Tony- and Emmy-winning actress has had such a rich and storied career in entertainment. A born chameleon w...

While watching 3D Theatricals' largely pleasing stage production of the enduring Rodgers/Hammerstein Broadway classic THE SOUND OF MUSIC--now playing at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, CA through February 26--one can't help but be reminded of just how great the more popular, Oscar-winning movie...

The humor of Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein: The Musical" follows that of the original 1974 film, but adds just enough new punch lines to make the show fresh for the younger generations unfamiliar with the movie. The comedy of show even sometimes exceeds that of the film, which follows the grandson...

As many times as I have seen Man of La Mancha, I relish the music and high dramatic moments of this classic piece of theatre... being, naturally, that the production of it is top notch, with the right actors and skilled direction! MTW's current revival is top of the line, creme de la creme....

What a wonderful thing it is to spend an evening in the theatre and have your expectations exceeded. The McCallum Theatre is presenting quite an impressive and varied array of theatrical offerings this spring, but I believe last night's CY COLEMAN'S BROADWAY might have been the unexpected "jewel" i...

While laughing fairly consistently throughout Molly Smith Metzler's funny new American play ELEMENO PEA--now having its West Coast premiere engagement at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through February 26--you'll probably feel like you're sitting in a live studio taping of a fresh new sitcom ab...

Singer/dancer/showgirl Josephine Baker (born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906) tintillated audiences worldwide with her banana dance and became the sensation of Paris, France, her permanent home once she renounced her American citizenship in 1937. Her life in the US was hardly an easy one, victimized ...

Joe Orton's insanely insane world is no better displayed than in his What the Butler Saw now onstage at the Odyssey Theatre. A terrifically energized cast make the play soar under the astute guidance of director Alan Patrick Kenny through March 11....

It's the year of The Artist and a return to the era of silent film in all its glamor, glory and art. Yes indeed, it's fun to look back and appreciate the way things were. Now onstage at the Macha Theatre in WeHo Sharon Michaels' Whodonit Sidetracked takes us back to the early 50s and the Golden Era ...

It seems eerie yet fitting that the Los Angeles stop of Cirque du Soleil's MICHAEL JACKSON: THE IMMORTAL WORLD TOUR took place over the weekend at none other than the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It is, after all, the very same venue where Jackson held rehearsals for his planned 2009 World Tour 'T...

As I watched Yasmina Reza's fine play Art for the fourth time, now in an excellent production at the Pasadena Playhouse directed by David Lee, I realized that seeds for her God of Carnage were firmly planted in Art. The male friends mention the term deconstruction several times, referring to the cha...

Tanya Saracho's El Nogalar means The Pecan Orchard in English, so its similarity to Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard rings a bell even before one sees the play. There are differences between the two, of course. Saracho has taken out most of Chekhov's male characters and leaves but one: Lopez (Just...

Bruce Norris deservedly won the 2011 Pulitzer for his brilliant study of human nature Clybourne Park, which picks up where Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun leaves off. Now at the Mark Taper Forum, Park's director Pam McKinnon holds tight reins over an outstanding ensemble, all of whom play ...

Playwright Joan Beber's concept of Roy Cohn in her intriguingly nightmarish Hunger: In Bed with Roy Cohn, now onstage at the Odyssey Theatre, comes off a self-indulgent, spoiled, gluttonous, untrusting child monster, which certainly does not add up to a positive view of his humanity. In Angels in Am...