LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

When Monty Python's Flying Circus first premiered on television in 1969, few could have imagined how influential the program would become thanks to the inventive minds of its six main collaborators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Known for thei...

Riveting, powerful and beautifully poignant at every step, FUN HOME—the Tony Award-winning musical based on Alison Bechdel's 2006 autobiographical graphic memoir—is one of those rare, great stage musicals that represents an astonishingly unique point-of-view that is somehow miraculously universa...

Although I never watched their program, I do remember that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were wildly known almost as much for their outrageous personalities and sartorial style as their devotion to preaching the gospel of Jesus. It is easy to see why the pair became an unlikely surrogate family for the...

ANIMAL FARM, Orwell's brilliant political satire about the corrupting influence of power, charts the fall of idealism and the rise of tyranny after the animals of Manor Farm rise up against their oppressive human owner in a struggle for rights, equality, gaining the right to make their own choices o...

Playwright Chuck Faerber should be applauded for including the many current day issues that he squeezes into this 90-minute BALL YARDS, a collection of semi-related sketches, some succeeding more than others. This world premiere comedy directed by Richard Kuhlman tackles: anti-Semitism, the Ku Klux ...

Every theatre production comes with its share of backstage drama. One Hit Wonderland, the Broadway musical comedy depicted in Gary De Leon and Greg Lisi's indie film OPENING NIGHT is no exception. Sex, drugs, and crazy characters collide in this rousing tongue-in-cheek comedy full of splashy produc...

The Groundlings' latest laugh-packed Friday & Saturday night show GARBAGE PAIL GROUNDLINGS offers a bountiful buffet of tasty guffaws and hearty chortles in the course of fourteen hilarious treats served by seven comic impresarios. Deanna Oliver smartly directs her outrageously talented cast at a pa...

Arguably one of musical theater's more enjoyable jukebox musicals, the crowd-pleasing, ABBA-centric musical MAMMA MIA! aims to entertain its audience, all while trying to provide a much more interesting way to experience the ubiquitous pop catalog of one of the most successful pop music groups of th...

To open its historic 97th season, Orange County's Laguna Playhouse is presenting an admirable new production of the Tony Award-winning 2002 hit musical comedy HAIRSPRAY, which via popular demand has now been extended through August 5. Filled with spirited performances, memorably cheeky songs, and an...

During the multimedia production, directed by Trevor Hay, Felder plays himself as well as the world-famous composer, along with a wide assortment of people from the many phases of Tchaikovsky's life. For each one, Felder completely changes his vocal patterns as well as his physical being, after tell...

The dialogue in Adam Rapp's searingly and brutally honest play NOCTURNE is so beautifully written with remarkably descriptive phrases, it will awe your imagination into immersing yourself into one man's journey after, as a teen, he unwittingly caused the death of this younger sister in a late-night,...

It is nearly impossible not to be emotionally affected by the events depicted in PARADE, the stirring, Tony Award-winning 1998 musical inspired by shocking actual events surrounding the trial of a man accused of raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl. It's certainly a heavy, morose subject to wrap ...

In Ruskin Group Theatre's world premiere of Ron Nelson's THE RAINBOW BRIDGE, Michael Myers briskly directs a concise 75 minutes of snappy dialogue led by the high-energy, powerhouse performance of Paul Schackman as the conflicted, haunted lawyer Jerry. Schackman nails Nelson's machine gun-spouting d...

Director Guillermo Cienfuegos expertly guides his talented RHINOCEROS cast with tight, sturdy reins in a truly full-length play (three acts, spanning close to three hours) now at the Pacific Resident Theatre. Eugene Ionesco originally wrote RHINOCEROS in 1959 as his commentary on the state of the po...

Worst First Kiss Productions Present DOG SEES GOOD at The Blank Theater in Hollywood, CA. Directed by Jonah Platt, the production is fresh off its run from the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Their Encore performance takes place this upcoming weekend at The Blank Theater....

In her new latest play KING OF THE YEES, now enjoying its World Premiere at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, Yee shares the tale of how her father Larry has been a driving force in the Yee Fung Toy (Yee Family Association), a seemingly obsolescent Chinese American men's cl...

Disney/Cameron Mackintosh's stage adaptation of MARY POPPINS, the closing production of Musical Theatre West's 64th season is mostly jolly good fun. Full of palpable joy, wonderfully-performed songs, and smile-inducing moments, MTW's buoyant, crowd-pleasing production of the London-set musical conti...

The Skylight Theatre Company's world premiere of THE DEVIL'S WIFE scores high on all fronts - Tom Jacobson's witty script (with a message), spot-on delivery by its talented cast of four, smooth direction by Eric Hoff, all complemented by Skylight Theatre team's first-rate technical elements. THE DE...

Back by popular demand after being a hit of the 2017 SoloFest, accomplished actress Claudia DiMartino once again shares her touching, moving and hilarious story of leaving the corporate world to pursue her acting dreams in IT'S ONLY LIPSTICK at the Whitefire Theater in Sherman Oaks on Thursday eveni...

JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS receives a first-rate mounting with a cast of powerful singer/actors, backed by a nimble four-piece musical ensemble, and directed and staged with ingenuity of movement that complement the Jacques Brel tales being performed. These Jacques Brel song...

Every once in a while, I am treated to an amazing evening of theater featuring actors who step outside of themselves and totally encompass their characters every single moment they are onstage. With performances as riveting as any I have seen, Tanna Frederick and Robert Standley are marvels to beho...

The Echo Theater Company's world premiere of playwright Bekah Brunstetter's THE CAKE brilliantly demonstrates the success of following a winning recipe for a memorable theatre production. Start with Brunstetter's witty, relationship-focused script on very timely, hot-button issues of today; generous...

Have you noticed how on most packaging, there is a short statement asking you to please write or call with any questions or concerns about the product you have purchased? That fact came to the attention of author Ted L. Nancy (aka Barry Marder) when he was eating a bag of Fritos while watching tele...

Have you been waiting for the perfect musical extravaganza to which you can take your entire family, from the youngest to oldest member? Now is your chance by experiencing SEUSSICAL the musical at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. It is such a fabulous production from its perfect cast, di...

Fittingly, as most of the world celebrates Gay Pride month, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills is presenting an absorbing, beautifully-poetic production of playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell's drama THE PRIDE, which continues its Los Angeles-area premiere through July 9...