LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

Sibling rivalry between brothers goes back to the Bible story of Cain and Abel, with one pitted against the other due to jealousy, often resulting in a deadly game of one upmanship. Such is the case between Lee and Austin, two estranged brothers at the center of Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST, who reunite...

The Fountain Theatre, in association with East West Players, soundly mounts the California premiere of Jiehae Park's HANNAH AND THE DREAD GAZEBO with a solid acting ensemble, complemented by vividly effective video visuals. Jennifer Chang ably directs her talented cast of six as they weave through t...

The Torrance Theatre Company's production of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST features a live twelve-piece orchestra conducted to perfection by Bradley Hampton, and a cast of 44 actors from all over Southern California, who donate their time and talent to bring high-quality theatrical performances to T...

The Groundlings' current Friday/Saturday night show GROUNDLINGS TREASURE HUNTERS continues The Groundlings' tradition of making their audiences laugh - and laugh hard! Tony Cavalero, in ten of the seventeen sketches and improvs, maximized his presence on The Groundlings stage with his sharp comedic ...

As the final show of its 10th Anniversary Season, 3-D Theatricals is revisiting the hilarious SHREK - THE MUSICAL, the stage musical adaptation of the hit 2001 Dreamworks animated film, itself an adaptation of William Steig's 1990 novel. Witty, silly, and, at times, surprisingly full of heart, SHREK...

William Shakespeare's rollicking and ever-popular comedy of mistaken identity, TWELFTH NIGHT, brings its magical combination of mischief, madness and romance into the outdoor amphitheater at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum this summer where it plays in rep through September 28. Written in 1601 and ...

FEFU AND HER FRIENDS, a surreal dramedy by Maria Irene Fornés, known as an early feminist giant of the avant-garde, challenges modern audiences in that the play is plotless except for the fact eight women with very different agendas, personalities, and sexual orientations have gathered in the count...

Chris Mann took the Feinstein's at Vitello's stage last Friday night and OWNED it! Within minutes of hitting the Feinstein's at Vitello's stage, Chris dropped the 'f-bomb' with a mischievous twinkle in his eye - and the audience knew we were in for a fun and raucous night! Chris' easy stage demeanor...

The world premiere of playwright Vince Melocchi's ANDY WARHOL'S TOMATO receives a solid mounting at the Pacific Resident Theatre. Dana Jackson directs this fictionalized two-hander on the possible beginnings of pop artist icon Andy Warhol, with a deft hand and a meticulous eye for character developm...

July 25, 2019 The best and most satisfying way to beat the heat and be delightfully entertained on a boiling hot summer day in the San Fernando Valley is to head to Marina del Rey, to Burton Chase Park on a designated Thursday to see and hear an exciting orchestra play, take in the lovely surroun...

The 2019 NOW Festival is creatively stimulating, thought-provoking, and inventively inspiring. Don't miss Week 3 this week Thursday, August 8-Saturday August 10. Get your tickets NOW: https://www.redcat.org/festival/now19...

This universally appealing play is bound to be a hit thanks to the sure-fire comedic direction by Howard Storm, an A-List comedian early in his career who subsequently became one of the busiest directors of television comedy, on a single a?oehome during renovationsa?? set by Jeff G. Rack which repre...

Christian Rodrigo first professional theater project was as an Assistant Director of John Malkovich in 2003 and 2004 when he directed the play Hysteria in Barcelona and Madrid. The Spanish actor, producer, director and member of The Actors' Gang credits include Snatch (Season 2), No Way Out, Wings a...

Emmy nominated and Drama Desk award winning writer Eugene Pack, who is also the creator of the hit show 'Celebrity Autobiography' which made its Broadway debut last year, is generating tons of fun and laughter on Tuesday nights at theaters around Los Angeles with THE PACK, his monthly reading series...

When Billie Holiday died in 1959, she left this world a true Jazz icon, revered for her ability to create stage magic as she expressed deep personal, emotional hurt which governed her entire existence and in turn, spoke to millions worldwide. Known as perhaps the first female vocalist to use her voi...

One heck of a blast was had at 'RENNIE HARRIS FUNKEDIFIED,' a funk-filled celebration of breakers, lockers, poppers, and kick-ass musicians doin' their thing, outside at the Ford Theatre, under the moonlight on a gorgeous summer eve up against the hills of Hollywood as the backdrop. This particul...

An inspired choice of a show, the Hollywood Bowl has decided to present an effervescently buoyant new production of the Tony Award-winning 1986 musical INTO THE WOODS, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's much beloved twisted take on traditional fairy tale stories mashed together with witty charm, to...

First recorded in 1969, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT with music and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, finally opened Off-Broadway in November 1981 and then moved to The Great White Way in January 1982 where the production received six Tony Award nominations, includ...

Currently docked at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through July 28 is Musical Theater West's wonderfully vibrant new regional production of THE LITTLE MERMAID, Disney's Broadway stage adaptation of their hit 1989 animated classic, which itself was adapted from the Hans Ch...

Powerhouse vocalist/actress Emma Hunton (onstage for many a UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY OF...  show) switches gears, exhibiting her directing prowess in her inaugural directorial UMPO production of A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN. Hunton keeps the punchlines, the pop songs, the sweet moves coming at you in a...

Director Stephanie Shroyer's innovative staging and updating of Bertolt Brecht's 1944 THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE (using the translation of Alistair Beaton) features a solid ensemble using old-time, theatre magic to fascinate the audience with its tales of World War II tragedies....

The extremely charismatic Hugh Jackman wowed the sold-out Hollywood Bowl crowd of 17,500 adoring and appreciative fans on the first of his two-night tour stop in Los Angeles! Utilizing his spectacular combo of sturdy vocals, fancy footwork and multi-watt charm, Jackman owned the Bowl stage, giving h...

A sweeping, grandiose, and emotionally-searing stage musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's expansive 1975 novel, RAGTIME is a gripping, multi-character, and multi-story theatrical experience that uses era-authentic specificity to depict America's past during a time when its increasingly diverse popu...

Even if, like me, you have never seen an episode of the TV series, no doubt the fame of the real-life actors on the show, each of whom celebrate their fame in song during "The One Where We Make a Million Dollars an Episode," makes this show an exceedingly fun time thanks to the skill of the talented...

I have a special appreciation for artists who really learn their craft; that surround their entire lives dedicated to observation, listening, learning, searching then discovering, creating, improving, perfecting and twerking it a bit to make it organic and unique. When you have experienced performer...