LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

Beth_Malone_Readies_So_Far_for_New_York_Showing_20010101 On Saturday August 28 actress/singer Beth Malone returned to Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to try out a newer installment of her cabaret show 'in progress' So Far to an enthusiastic SRO audience. Malone is a lesbian and is totally open ab...

Pre-millenium American dreams got quickly dashed on 9/11/01, but even long before that, back to before the 80s when Howard Korder wrote Boys' Life, hopes/dreams never really sustained teenagers or college-age youth. There has always been confusion about identity - what constitutes happiness as a man...

On the weekend of August 6-8, the infamous 17,000-seat Hollywood Bowl plays host to a forcibly-scaled-up version of Jonathan Larson's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT, directed by none other than Neil Patrick Harris. Harris' challenge-besides honoring a beloved show as well as living up ...

Based on the rat pack film of the 60s of the same title with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford, Robin & the 7 Hoods is now a classy, sassy, jazzy musical, set in the early 60s... with all the glorious old standards by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, and helmed by the i...

At first glance, this Walk is a heavily dramatic discussion between a savvy Russian diplomat Andrey (Larry Eisenberg) and a novice, yet sharp American negotiator John (Fox Carney), who meet in Switzerland to develop a treaty for nuclear disarmament. Seemingly heavy drama! However, as the piece progr...

There is no denying that Mel Brooks is a comedy legend. Brooks' oeuvre--particularly his hilarious film work--harkens back to a time when getting laughs meant less cynical snark but, rather, more outlandish farce and the endless use of double-entendres and wordplay. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, Brooks' stage...

I revert to childhood when I see a Mel Brooks movie or show. The sillier the better: the sight gags, the double entendres, the more the merrier. The New Mel Brooks Musical, Young Frankenstein is a real rip-roaring hoot of a show from start to finish with a great cast and zippy fast-paced direction f...

Michele Lee brought her acclaimed night club act Catch the Light to the California International Theatre Festival @ Founder's Hall in Calabasas for one night only Saturday July 24. Although suffering from a bout of laryngitis, Lee proved the consummate trouper, doing about half of her show and subst...

Once upon a time...Rodgers and Hammerstein took a simple fairytale and made it into a captivating musical. Cabrillo Music Theatre's lovely production of their now classic Cinderella has all the right ingredients to enthrall audiences of all ages that can truthfully answer the question 'Do You Love M...

Described as a mix of Cirque and French cabaret, Beyond has music -songs and a lot of dance, aerial acts, a contortionist, beautiful girls, well-toned handsome boys and many added surprises to please the senses. Conceived by Aurelien Roulin as an international type of variety cabaret, its prime goal...

Have you ever sat around with a bunch of your smart friends and just gabbed all night about anything and everything, mostly about personal creative struggles or maybe trading a few snarky pop culture anecdotes? Well, seeing the long-awaited Los Angeles premiere of the Tony Award-nominated musical [t...

Some shows I can see again and again, especially if they're composed by Jerry Herman. Hello Dolly is one of those extra-special feel-good musicals and 3D Theatricals' production now in Santa Ana @ The OC Pavilion is wondrously delectable....

History buffs aside, most people would probably cringe at the thought of sitting through what could be-on the surface-a boring, classroom-like history lesson disguised as a stage musical that runs more than two and a half hours long.But yet, almost immediately, those fearful first impressions wonder...

There's only one mystery writer, in my book, who has managed to capture and enthrall the hearts of millions through the past century, the one and only Agatha Christie. Her plays, like the longest running play on the West End The Mousetrap as well as this early hit Black Coffee, not only keep audienc...

Raquel_Sandler_a_Hit_Sterlings_20010101 One of the top five finalists in LA's Next Great Stage Star 2010 Raquel Sandler successfully premiered her cabaret gig @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's Sunday July 11 to a packed house. This outstanding singer/character actress picked tunes that not only s...

Cumming's impish charm is undiminished. The show was 15 minutes shorter, with 12 songs instead of 15. The best anecdotes are still in, like Ann Miller's obscene comment about Eyes Wide Shut, and there are a few new ones, like about his 45th birthday tupperware party and the hilarious saga of his par...

Life Could Be a Dream @ the Laguna Playhouse, which opened Saturday July 10 with its original cast in tact and the very same creative dream team, is even stronger on a bigger stage. Opening it up for the Moulton Theatre in Laguna has not diminished one grain of its vibrant electricity. In fact, it's...

Thurgood /by George Stevens, Jr./ directed by Leonard Foglia /Geffen Playhouse /through August 8...

Every Monday at 4 pm PST on LA Talk Radio - Internet Radio - Michael Sterling and Paul Stroili co-host State of the Arts, a new 50 minute radio show that covers music, theatre and dance events in and around Los Angeles. These two gents are doing a great service to the community in bringing back the ...

Academy-Award nominated actress/singer Sally Kellerman presented her cabaret act 'Blues & Jazz!' as a sort of CD party for Sally Wednesday June 30 @ Vitello's in Studio City. What a knockout! This lady knows her way around a tune and knows how to envelop her audience. Spontaneous from the getgo, she...

Once in a while, one of the most fortunate things about west coast debuts of touring shows is when a Broadway hit finally transfers here, bringing with it some of the original stars that helped launch it. For those able to catch the Los Angeles premiere of the 2008 Tony® Award-winner for Best Music...

Cesar Chavez was a nonviolent leader, who, for many, came close to sainthood. The beauty of Fred Blanco's work is that he humanizes the legend and puts the man at arm's reach. He was, after all, a bilingual campesino, born of humble beginnings. But the asset of speaking another language worked ridic...

Truly great pop singers are a rarity these days, singers of the calibre of Elton John, Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder - all idols of Matt Zarley. No wonder Zarley turned out so good! He has an easy-going, warm style onstage that pulls you in and holds you tight. Like his grandma's idol Elvis, he becom...

n what is perhaps the most elaborately-choreographed water ballet ever set to lights, animation and music, WORLD OF COLOR rises (literally) from the waters of Disney's California Adventure park, reaching far up and wide with a dazzling display that is equal parts technical innovation and emotionally...

In a thoroughly engrossing and original piece, actor Kevin Dulude portrays Katharine Hepburn in selected highlights throughout her long career. Each segment includes a song from that time period, which though Hepburn never sang originally, adds mysteriously fascinating luster to the Hepburn mystique...