LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

Noises Off/by Michael Frayn/directed by Kenneth Albers/Rubicon Theatre, Ventura/through February 23...

Over the last 12 years, the artistic team at San Pedro's Little Fish Theatre has undertaken an extensive process, this year selecting from over 600 submitted manuscripts from around the world to be included in their annual PICK OF THE VINE production. The nine plays selected this year are a theatri...

An hour and a half east of L.A. in Rancho Cucamonga, The MainStreet Theatre Company puts on a Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) season at Lewis Family Playhouse. Of that season, one of the shows is specifically chosen for the very youngest audience members and this year it's The Musical Adventures o...

Four guys who know there's nothing better than being inside a good tight chord are working their extraordinary vocal magic in Stuart Ross' Forever Plaid at Cabrillo Music Theatre. With incredible musicianship and a flawless blend, these clean-cut dapper lads are a dream for the roughly 90-minutes th...

NIGHT WATCH is one of the best productions I have seen at Theatre 40, a brilliantly written script visualized and presented by a talented production team and cast who truly understand the material and what it takes to keep you at the edge of your seat, trying to figure out just who has done what to...

The opening number 'Oh, the Thinks You Can Think' is a wonder to behold with the entire company superbly choreographed to let us know the crazy Dr. Seuss ride that awaits. And what a crazy ride it is following Horton the Elephant (David Mitrano) as he fights for the small creatures of Whoville livi...

On Sunday January 26 divine singer Nita Whitaker brought her brand new show Love 'n Stuff to Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. Looking positively stunning in a black and white pageant dress accentuated with sequins - she was Miss Louisiana in the Miss America Pageant some years ago - and displayin...

Dynamic talents, such as triple-threat Chita Rivera, rarely give up. They are having too much fun to retire. Passionate, warm, funny and forever loyal to her art, Miss Rivera has always captivated her audiences and is still very much doing so, based on her performance on Saturday January 25 at the V...

International City Theatre opened its 29th season this past weekend with the California premiere of LET'S MISBEHAVE: The Music and Lyrics of Cole Porter. The relatively new musical by Karin Bowersock (book) and Patrick Young (musical arrangements) weaves together more than thirty Cole Porter standar...

The Tony award-winning Broadway stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's famous film, THE 39 STEPS, is being presented as a slapstick romp through film noir at the Norris Center for the Performing Arts for nine performances, January 24 - February 9, directed with skillful comedic insight by Ken Parks....

When a show moves me like this one did, it's worth raving about. Minus the bombardment of glitz and flash so often shoe-horned into modern day musicals, the remount of Open Fist Theatre Company's James Joyce's THE DEAD is instead that rare production that breathes life into our hearts with its sing...

LEBENSRAUM opens in present-day Germany as the country's Chancellor, through a spasm of nightmarish guilt over the Holocaust, invites 6 million Jews to come live in Germany with a promise of 'citizenship and full benefits' in the hopes that Germany can finally heal from its dark past. The logical pr...

A Word or Two/written, arranged and performed by Christopher Plummer/directed by Des McAnuff/Ahmanson Theatre/through February 9 only...

Anything Goes/original book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and/Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse/music & lyrics by Cole Porter/directed by Ray Limon/Welk Theatre San Diego, Escondido/through March 23...

Still emotionally resonant more than a decade later, BARE - THE MUSICAL---the angst-fueled, hyper-melodramatic 'pop opera' written by Jon Hartmere Jr. and the late Damon Intrabartolo---continues its Orange County, California premiere performances at Theatre Out---the OC's Gay and Lesbian theatre com...

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas/book by Larry L. King & Peter Masterson/music & lyrics by Carol Hall/directed & choreographed by John Vaughan/Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Claremont/through February 2...

On Thursday January 16 Blake McIver showed a whole new side to his musical art when he premiered selections from his new CD at Don't Tell Mama in WeHo. Set for release in February, the CD is pop, R&B based and is a showcase for McIver's own compositions, many of which are quite poignant, some downri...

It's quite a treat to experience watching a playwright perform in his own work. While at first I was disappointed to be seeing an understudy in the main role, when it turned out it was the playwright Eric Rudnick playing the lead in his own play DAY TRADER at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles on Ja...

Carly Linehan takes charge of the stage from the moment she flies onstage as Peter Pan, enthralling the audience with her high-spirited portrayal of the boy who refuses to grow up. She made it look terribly easy to fly, sing, and throw fairy dust without a care in the world. With her boyish charm a...

In her terrific new play TRUDY AND MAX IN LOVE---now having its World Premiere performances at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through January 29---writer-actress Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks) puts an engaging millennial spin on the typical cute-boy-meets-cute-girl story. While, true, the situations--...

The World Premiere of Timothy McNeil's THE TWILIGHT OF SCHLOMO is being presented by the critically acclaimed Elephant Theatre Company through February 9. The drama explores how our simplest choices sometimes have far-reaching effects for those around us, and how redemption is always within your gr...

Jukebox musicals come in all shapes and sizes. Some find a way to integrate the songs of a particular group or singer in such a way that the end result is more than satisfying as an evening of theatre....

Grease/book, lyrics and music by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey/directed by Michael Lopez/Encore Dinner Theatre, Tustin/through March 1...

Why I Died, A Comedy/written & performed by Katie Rubin/directed by Victor Bumbalo/Echo Theatre at Atwater Village Theatre/remaining performances: Saturday: January 18; Friday: January 17/Thursdays: February 6, 13, 20...

Beautiful actress/singer Laura Benanti, Tony Award winner for Gypsy, performed at 54 Below in New York during 2013, and the live concert was recorded on Broadway Records. To celebrate the release of the CD entitled In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention, Chris Isaacson Presents booked Ben...