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BWW Reviews: Lin-Manuel Miranda Makes IN THE HEIGHTS Soar in L.A.
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...
BWW Reviews: Blanco's Chavez Rocks @ Hollywood Fringe Festival
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...
BWW Reviews: Zarley Scores Zealously @ Sterling's
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...
BWW Reviews: Disney's WORLD OF COLOR Is A Splashy Spectacular
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...
BWW Reviews: HEPBURN SINGS! @ MACHA
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...
BWW Reviews: the GROUP rep Delivers BABY
From Ain't Misbehavin' and Big, prolific team Maltby & Shire produce a Tony nominated Baby - in which three couples at various stages of life find themselves expecting a child. Sound simple? Well, in Baby 's revised, West Coast premiere, it's pretty damn complicated as life's unexpected changes do n...
BWW Reviews: Quintessential SOUTH PACIFIC Docks at Ahmanson
Quintessential_South_Pacific_Docks_At_Ahmanson_20010101
Who said film, not stage, was the director's medium? The Lincoln Center Theater Production of South Pacific is an example of just how one ingenious director's vision makes a great show even greater. The message of heartbreaking love across r...
BWW Reviews: A CHORUS LINE Tour Leaps Back to So. Cal. at Pantages Theatre
The behind-the-scenes, utterly competitive process of being cast in a show is the subject of A CHORUS LINE, one of Broadway's biggest commercial musical hits ever. The current national tour, based on the successful 2006 Broadway revival, is now playing for a strictly two-week limited return engageme...
BWW Reviews: Theatre 40's Ice-Breaker
David Rambo's The Ice-Breaker is getting its Los Angeles premiere in a handsome production at Theatre 40. Although flawed, the play has enough going for it to capture audience acclaim. Set in Arizona in present time, The Ice-Breaker has an appealing romantic quality like old-fashioned plays, in whic...
BWW Reviews: Janet Krupin is a Resounding Success @ Sterling's
Janet Krupin, the winner of LA's Next Great Stage Star 2010 performed her first cabaret Rhapsody in New on Saturday May 15 @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's....
BWW Reviews: Ruhl's Pulitzer-Nominated Clean House
Unusual and provocative best describe Sarah Ruhl's Pulitzer-Prize nominated The Clean House receiving its LA Premiere at the Odyssey. Under Stefan Kruck's consistently circular staging, the play elicits laughter through tears and is bound to be a hit with theatre lovers, especially with those who ha...
BWW Reviews: Thrifty Thrilling 39 STEPS @ Ahmanson
Hitchcock is known as the Master of Suspense. This creative team have taken a suspenseful Hitchcock film (1935) and gone a giant step further to fashion a thoroughly entertaining, high comedy cinematic suspense yarn for the stage....
BWW Reviews: NIGHTMARE ALLEY Lacks Nightmare
Where's the nightmare? Not nearly as dark as it needs to be or musically enticing enough, Nightmare Alley at the Geffen, by its very nature should be diabolically thrilling like a Kander and Ebb musical but it doesn't cut the mustard, even with its exceptional cast including James Barbour, Larry Ced...
BWW Reviews: PLAYING JORDAN GOLDMAN Better Suited to the Screen
It is difficult not to be engaged in a well-written comedy with Jewish humor. Take Woody Allen's many plays or, for example, Jewtopia, which was such a gigantic hit a few years ago. Jewish people are not afraid to admit who they are and are the first to poke fun at their own family traditions and re...
BWW Reviews: Falcon's Commercially Appealing PSYCHIC Should Have Legs
In Lenny's Back, a vibrant one-person play about the late controversial comic Lenny Bruce, Sam Bobrick and wife Julie Stein penned an unpredictably exhilarating look at a man that for many fans was the king of comedy. In Bobrick's latest comedy The Psychic, he does not choose anyone famous; on the c...
BWW Reviews: A Supreme Lady Joins the Supreme Palm Springs Follies through May
Singer Mary Wilson is the guest star with the current Palm Springs Follies show Let the Good Times Roll through May 16. At 66 this lady is beautiful and has as much dynamic energy as she did when she performed with The Supremes in the 60s , so she fits right into the Follies. All these folks look an...
BWW Reviews: Cissy Conner is a Memorable Kate Hepburn in TEA AT FIVE
Most actresses who play legendary stars have to beware of too much affectation and mimicry. Cissy Conner knows well, as she is no stranger to portraying legends. Her performance as Marlene Dietrich a few years back was nothing short of stellar and brought her an Ovation nomination as Best Actress. N...
BWW Reviews: STREEP TEASE a Gem of a Show
What a glorious little show so full of possibilities! Performed by eight men, delivering monologues made famous by Meryl Streep from many of her iconic films, there is something for everyone in this piece: comedy, drama, laughter, tears - and even audience participation. Yes, there are two quiz game...
BWW Reviews: Alexandra Billings Returns by Popular Demand to Sterling's
Alexandra Billings, my pick for Best Female Cabaret Artist of 2009, celebrated her birthday at Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's on Sunday March 28. This unpredictably outrageous comedienne/actress/singer, who can belt out a tune with the greatest of the great, never ceases to amaze me....
BWW Reviews: Reprise Theatre's Colossal FORUM
Thankfully director David Lee is giving us a presentation of Forum @ Reprise based on the 1972 Broadway revival. Why? Because it includes 2 delightful songs not in the original 1962 New York production: 'Farewell' and 'Echo Song'. These 2 numbers add that extra special touch to Lee's dynamically dir...
BWW Reviews: Sterling's Serves Up Sex, Love & Whine Plus the Unexpected
On Sunday March 14 Tamra Lamese Dozier, Dana Shaw, Sheila Ferrari and Melissa Smilow presented their show Sex, Love & Whine @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to a packed house, but half hour to curtain... all was not in their favor. During dinner, the lights went off on the entire block of Tujunga ...
BWW Reviews: Havok Theatre Tells THE STORY OF MY LIFE
Two character plays either work effectively or not at all. There's no in between. It takes a tight rapport between the actors to create a believable scenario. Chad Borden and Robert J. Townsend have such a chemistry that works divinely in The Story of My Life, a musical drama that is sweetly poetic ...
BWW Reviews: Glittering New DREAMGIRLS @ Ahmanson
Slick, sleek, glitzy best describe the brand new tour production of the 1981 runaway hit Dreamgirls. Making use of the latest technology, the sometimes glaringly bright show is in your face from the top and never eases its pace for a split second. Why the excess? Today's audiences demand it....
BWW Reviews: New Don Juan Play @ Missing Piece Theatre
The Spanish verb dispensar means to absolve or pardon; dispenso means I absolve or I pardon. It may be that Tony Tanner's slant on the Don Juan legend is just that: he forgives the man for living his life the way he did, and for that reason chose the name Dispenso for his character. Maybe. Don Juan ...
BWW Reviews: Talented Broads Sing BROADS! THE MUSICAL
I loved the four gals playing the Broads - all talented - but the show needs a major overhaul. Too many jokes are tired old cliches - and singing about side effects from medications? Audiences do not find that entertaining as many experience these very problems on a daily basis. No one was laughing ...
Videos
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The Most Happy Fella North Coast Repertory Theatre (6/03-6/28) |
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Millennials Are Killing Musicals Colony Theatre (4/30-5/17) |
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Melt : The Play The Marilyn Theatre at the Lee Strasberg Institute (6/11-6/13) |
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This Is Our Youth The Olive Branch (5/08-5/17) PHOTOS |
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Doja Cat at The Kia Forum The Kia Forum (10/22-10/22) |
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The Magic Flute Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (5/30-6/21) |
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Strange Beings The Broadwater Black Box (6/08-6/27) |
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Olivia Dean Crypto.com Arena (7/14-7/14) |
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Sierra Madre Playhouse Presents Short Comic Opera "The Maestro," a Hilarious Parody of the Music Business, 5/30 Sierra Madre Playhouse (5/30-5/30) |
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Kim's Convenience The Old Globe (5/15-6/14) |
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