LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

Far more concerned with style over (narrative) substance, this brand new '50th Anniversary' re-staging of the 1971 musical that recounts the final days leading up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is undeniably entertaining. The palpable, intentional vibe of this new US National Tour---di...

The play explores the friendship between Gina, a self-proclaimed “wordsmith” whose liberal “activism” channels through her popular podcast and a pending book deal, and Dru, the young “Banksy of the Black Lives Matter movement”....

Some stage shows just refuse to retreat into the sunset, and one of those is MAMMA MIA!, that enduring, unapologetically giddy jukebox musical, now getting a fun, vibrant new staging at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, under the direction of T.J. Dawson. With performances continuing in...

Music and musicality run through the works of August Wilson like a sweet and impenetrable blues lick. There figures to be notes aplenty in any opus titled SEVEN GUITARS, the fifth play of Wilson’s cycle which is enjoying a muscular revival directed by Gregg T. Daniel at Pasadena’s A Noise Within...

I am not from Los Angeles. I have lived here for less than two months, and before that, had not so much as visited. Thus, though it is clearly a beloved cultural gem, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater with its kitschy, retro lobby and fizzy energy holds no sentimental value for me and cannot conjure ...

Director Amanda Weier has coordinated a well-cast and appealingly fluid production that retains Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor’s 90s generational stamp -  one of the best aspects of this dream play. ...

It's not a stretch to say that it was quite a treat to witness the undeniable talents of Kristin Chenoweth live and in-person again at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA for a one-night-only concert on October 23, 2021 in support of her most recent studio album For The ...

Saint Clare of Assisi’s story of devotion, austerity, and understanding, while at first glance not comedic, is brought to vivid and laugh-out-loud life by playwright Chiara Atik....

On October  24, 2021, Los Angeles Opera presented Wagner’s Tannhäuser live online for patrons who cannot get to the theater at this time. Director Louise Muller revived the Ian Judge production of the opera’s Dresden version. A second live streamed performance will be available from LA Opera o...

Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg (TAKE ME OUT, THREE DAYS OF RAIN) has been commissioned to write A SHOT RANG OUT: A PLAY IN ONE MAN, which continues its World Premiere production at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA through November 6. Featuring ecstatic delivery by SCR Artisti...

The show falls somewhat flat despite tight choreography, stunning set design, and some supporting star turns...

Upon entering the Dorie Theatre at the Complex Hollywood tonight and seeing an enlarged black and white image of a shirtless man on a dimly-lit stage as 90s music blared through the speakers, I turned to my friend and asked, “Did they pump this place with cheap cologne or have I been transported b...

Rimsky-Korsakov’s short opera, Mozart and Salieri, compares the work of the two musical greats. Now, Mozart and Salieri, is a fine new filmed production from Opera San José available for streaming after Sept. 30, 2021....

Renowned magician and New York Times crossword constructor David Kwong offers a sophisticated presentation of multi-layered illusion, where clues are everywhere and the surprises that happen often, can be solved by observing with a rational eye....

Based on the well-known board game distributed in North America by Parker Brothers (which was later folded into toy and game manufacturer Hasbro) that itself inspired a cult 1985 Paramount Pictures film of the same name written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, CLUE--the stage play--features the same i...

In La Voix Humaine, soprano Patricia Racette is enthralling as she engages with each twist and turn of the score as though it is an emotional punch. She created this role in several cities and in each she has pulled the audience into the immediacy of Elle’s predicament. The 40-minute musical work ...

During the opening number, the Troubadour Theatre Company, affectionately known to all as the Troubies, comment how thrilled the troupe, and the audience by extension, is to have returned to live theatre. The audience responded with glorious applause, and both the occasion and the Troubies deserve t...

Sixty minutes spent in the company of an individual this thirsty for a human connection can be a bit exhausting, but it's well worth the investment....

Lyric Opera of Chicago announced that registration is now open for audiences to secure a free link to screen its new, original film production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, made at the Lyric Opera House. Audiences can now secure a free, on-demand viewing of this verismo production. More information...

The costumes are exquisite, the score is as fresh as it was when it first premiered, and the lighting and sound are phenomenal, but there is a muted quality to the production....

While there are laughs to be had, nostalgia to be indulged and charm aplenty in Christian Lebano’s production of YaGM Charlie Brown for the Sierra Madre Playhouse, there is also a certain quotient of angst that no bright costumes or cutesy set pieces can disguise....

Producer and multi-award-winning director and choreographer Marcus S. Daniel’s rendition has magically transformed this stage musical into a hilarious, provocative, and sometimes frighteningly heightened parody that is filled with deliciously unsavory archetypes and caricatures. ...

The Hollywood Bowl audience, filled with theatre aficionados and people with an appreciation for great singing, got their money’s worth and much more with a full-bodied, whole-hearted concert performance by the incredible Cynthia Erivo. Cynthia’s powerful vocals backed by her raw, genuine emotio...

How is it that siblings can be absolutely superficial with one another?  Seemingly not care, have time, or energy, or desire to go deep and really hear what the others are saying?  Is, not knowing enough about one another, or knowing too much that creates the barrier to intimacy?...

Denied membership in the American Red Cross during WWII, 180 black women of the 32nd and 33rd WAAC companies were reluctantly accepted into the Army, assumed their duties at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and went on to contribute an important chapter to America's history....