Our Los Angeles Critics
View All »
.jpg?format=auto&width=100)
BWW Reviews: David Burnham is a Sensation @ Sterling's
On Sunday October 2 handsome Broadway tenor David Burnham brought his class-A style and overflowing charisma to an evening called Mostly Broadway at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's. The evening was mainly to celebrate Burnham's newest CD One Day, on which he and musical director extraordinaire Mark...
BWW Reviews: Glendale Centre Theatre Presents Rare Revival of 'SEVEN BRIDES'
Tuneful and breezy with an avalanche of exuberant dancing could not better describe the family-oriented Seven Brides for Seven Brothers currently receiving a fast paced, energetic production at Glendale Centre Theatre under the expertise of Robert Marra and Lee Martino. From MGM in 1954 the film sta...
BWW Reviews: I LOVE LUCY LIVE ON STAGE is Appealing Entertainment
No one can duplicate the brilliance of Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Desi Arnaz and William Frawley, the original stars of I Love Lucy on CBS from 1951-1957; they are irreplaceable. But...oh what fun it is to see what they did and a glimmer of how they did it at the Desilu Studio in 1952 as presented ...
BWW Reviews: PULLING LEATHER is Quite Interesting Fare at Actors Forum
Don't be deceived by the title Pulling Leather! It does not take place in a leather bar. Yes, it does involve sex, but most likely not in the way you think. It is actually an examination of the various aspects of love as experienced through three very different relationships. An original two-act pla...
BWW Reviews: Cirque du Soleil's IRIS Pays Homage to Old Hollywood
Hypnotic and gorgeous from start to finish, Cirque du Soleil's thrilling IRIS: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF CINEMA turns celluloid beauty into living stage art. It is arguably the Montreal-based troupe's most artistic rendering of a single thematic motif to date, and is absolutely the perfect show...
BWW Reviews: Cirque du Soleil's Brilliant IRIS Premieres at Kodak Theatre
Cirque du Soleil's
Iris
written & directed by Philippe Decoufle
Kodak Theatre
until 2021...
BWW Reviews: TSARINA The Musical - Full of Potential
I usually choose not to review workshop productions, but, in regard to Deborah Johnson's Tsarina, breaking the rule proved worthwhile. The show has such great potential. It's incredible to think that other composers have not seized the opportunity to write a musical play about this most vibrant time...
BWW Reviews: Rocky Horror Revival Rocks Old Globe, San Diego
Judging by opening night at the Old Globe, San Diego, fan reaction to Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show is every bit as over-the-top silly as the attention paid to the 1975 cult film retitled The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Rocky Horror is a 1973(London)/74(LA)/75(Broadway) sendup of early sci ...
BWW Reviews: Macha Revives Fascinating GARBO's CUBAN LOVER
Celebrating its 10th anniversary Odalys Nanin's Garbo's Cuban Lover, in its third revival, currently at the Macha Theatre in WeHo, still copiously exudes the passion of Cuban writer Mercedes de Acosta (in Hollywood from 1931 until her tragic illness & death in 1968) for her art and the supposed love...
BWW Reviews: A Definitive Falsettos at Third Street Theatre
Winner of the1992 Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score of a Musical, Falsettos should also have walked away with honors as Best Musical. The show has it all: beautiful music by William Finn, great storytelling by Finn and James Lapine and a message for the ages about love, in all of its forms. Is...
BWW Reviews: Thought-Provoking POOR BEHAVIOR at Taper
Like God of Carnage before it, ever ready to expose raw emotions to the very core, Poor Behavior, a world premiere by Theresa Rebeck is a starkly real, sometimes funny and thought-provoking play bound to create controversy. Morality, now there's the rub. Whether 'tis better to live one's life compla...
BWW Reviews: Reprise's Definitive & Traditionally Brilliant CABARET
Perhaps Kander and Ebb's best musical, apart from Chicago, Cabaret has it all: a finely detailed book, deliciously diverse characters, dynamite music and a subtext that will not quit. The subtext being: either compromise or get out if you value your life, the latter, to be sure, the wiser. This is B...
BWW Reviews: Albee's Brilliant SEASCAPE at Theatre West
Edward Albee won a Pulitzer for Seascape in 1975, and it is no surprise. Concerned with uneven communication in relationships - like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A Delicate Balance before it - Seascape shows a married couple at odds on how to spend their retirement. Not nearly as dysfunctiona...
BWW Reviews: Mike Burstyn Inhabits Al Jolson at the Winter Garden
Vaudeville is a bygone era. Much of its music is forgotten. Seems a pity, since it provided the roots of musical theatre as we know it. Bill Castellino and Mike Burstyn have created Al Jolson at the Winter Garden not only to pay homage to the great entertainer but to keep the memory of this time per...
BWW Reviews: Peter Mac Becomes JUDY
Female impersonators dress in drag and sing or tell jokes, and that's the show. Jim Bailey sings. Charles Pierce was funny in a dress with a joke or anecdote. Peter Mac is much more. His impersonation becomes theatre with a mission. Becoming Judy allows him to portray Judy Garland and also to sing a...
BWW Reviews: Kritzerland at the Gardenia Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
On Wednesday September 7 Bruce Kimmel's Kritzerland at the Gardenia celebrated its first anniversary honoring the work of Frank Loesser. Loesser, if you recall, wrote Guys and Dolls, considered by many to be one of the most perfect musicals of all time. He also wrote music and lyrics for 1962's Puli...
BWW Reviews: WEST SIDE STORY Reboot Brings Gang Warfare to the O.C.
A near-perfect blend of story, lyrics, score and movement, the terrific 2009 Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY--now playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County through September 18--bursts forth with a kind of style and intelligence that arguably reiterates its place as one of t...
BWW Reviews: Stephen Schwartz's MY FAIRYTALE, An Enchanting New Musical
There have been many theatrical re-imaginings of fairy tales, but hardly a more enchanting one than Stephen Schwartz's new musical My Fairytale now receiving its US premiere in Solvang. A PCPA production which first previewed in Santa Maria, My Fairytale is charming, brilliantly creative fare brough...
BWW Reviews: Cody Henderson's Topical Premiere Wonderlust Is Engrossing Fare
Let me say right up front that I am a teacher, have been for thirty+ years, and so any play having to do with education definitely strikes my fancy. Such was the case with Sex and Education. Biology, however, was never my strong point, but I can certainly appreciate the efforts of a new science teac...
BWW Reviews: Rubicon Presents Reliable STEEL MAGNOLIAS
After three decades, Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias remains a treasure, a cherished tale of the endurance of female friendship. Now on stage at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, Magnolias has slick and sturdy direction from Jenny Sullivan and a magnanimous cast, and above all, it stands the test of ...
BWW Reviews: Justin Tanner Premieres Day Drinkers at Odyssey Theatre
Witnessing a Justin Tanner play is kind of like watching a soap opera; at one moment you cannot believe what you are hearing and seeing and in the next you'll exclaim, 'I know them!' Whereas Del Shores gives us Southern white trash, Tanner keeps his trash more local; both playwrights have somethin...
BWW Reviews: David Fairchild Debuts Heart of a Man @ Sterling's
On Sunday August 28, actor/singer David Fairchild debuted his show Heart of a Man @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. Cabaret is a first for him. It is admirable to make a new start at any age, especially in show biz in LA, so I give Fairchild a hearty round of applause. 'It's never too late' is a mo...
.jpg?format=auto&width=220)
BWW Reviews: Melody Hollis Melodious in Melodyland
On Wednesday August 10 thirteen year-old triple threat performer Melody Hollis debuted her one-woman show Melodyland @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to a packed house of enthusiastic fans. Produced and directed by Bruce Kimmel, Melodyland is perhaps the only cabaret show for a talented young lady ...
BWW Reviews: Fierstein, Winokur Bring Fun 'HAIRSPRAY' to the Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl's gigantic, often star-studded outdoor summer musical has through the years been one of the most anticipated annual concert events in Southern California. And this year, with their rousing revival of HAIRSPRAY, the hype actually delivered on its promise--for the most part. Genuine...
BWW Reviews: Chance Theater Stages Racy JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA
Long before the stage saw puppets having sex and Ugandans confronting Mormons, there was JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA, a joyously foul-mouthed stage musical that's as much of a hilarious guilty pleasure as its title suggests. The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills is the latest American regional theater t...
Videos
|
The Most Happy Fella North Coast Repertory Theatre (6/03-6/28) |
|
Melt : The Play The Marilyn Theatre at the Lee Strasberg Institute (6/11-6/13) |
|
Millennials Are Killing Musicals Colony Theatre (4/30-5/17) |
|
Sunset Boulevard Women's Theatre Collective (5/01-5/24) |
|
Clue Ahmanson Theatre (9/08-9/12) |
|
Joke Hold Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre (6/06-6/27) |
|
The Eaves: A Supernatural Thriller The Nocturne Theatre (5/08-5/24) |
|
Cindy Is Right Now The Broadwater Black Box (6/06-6/28) |
|
The Spongebob Musical Youth Edition The Phantom Projects Theatre at La Habra Depot (7/10-7/26) |
|
17th New Media Film Festival Culver City Theatre (6/03-6/04) PHOTOS VIDEOS |
| VIEW ALL SHOWS ADD A SHOW | |
Get Los Angeles's #1 Theatre Newsletter
Get the best news & discounts for Los Angeles Shows & beyond.
