LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

Filled with catchy, pop-infused songs, engaging characters, vibrant choreography, and a not-so-subtle message of female empowerment and self-confidence, LEGALLY BLONDE - THE MUSICAL is back in SoCal in a brand new, awesomely-entertaining, Broadway-caliber regional production at the La Mirada Theatre...

Now ten years old, HAMILTON—which was birthed during a more welcoming time when such a creative, innovative endeavor felt like a step in necessary progress—still lives up to its initial hype, but also now feels more groundbreaking and particularly poignant than ever before....

Corktown ’39 is a new play that feels like a classic, the kind of intelligent, thought-provoking drama that you can imagine a playwright like Aaron Sorkin or Henrik Ibsen might have written....

LOST CELLPHONE WEEKEND takes a clever premise – the reimagining of Billy Wilder’s 1945 film THE LOST WEEKEND, replacing it with cellphone/internet addiction and setting it to music – and has a lot of fun with the endeavor...

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of two groundbreaking, iconic musicals CHICAGO and A CHORUS LINE, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in association with Spot-On Entertainment presented a one-nigh-only star-studded concert featuring the music of John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Marvin Hamlisch. The line...

What did our critic think of SCHOOL OF NIGHT'S HELLAS IN A TRIUMPH OF STYLIZED STORYTELLING at The Broadwater MainStage?...

With a notable career that spans stage and screen, musically-gifted actor Cheyenne Jackson delivered a wonderfully charming, wickedly hilarious OC solo debut set during his three-night run at Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theatre from April 10-12, 2025. Backed by the superbly talented Will...

Poignant, hopeful, sardonic, jubilant, and hilariously wicked, YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO THE END OF THE WORLD! is a brilliant new World Premiere play that revels in its eccentricity yet, thankfully, doesn't quite shield you from genuine, gut-wrenching emotions that tug at your heart strings. Buoy...

While a complicated and creative adaptation, the production ultimately suffers from a lack of energy and a tonal inconsistency that is hard to reconcile....

For Musical Theatre West's new, winning large-scale production—now on stage at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach through April 13, 2025—director Kari Hayter and a company of terrific performers have revived the musical in an expected, true-to-the-classic staging, bursting with t...

BIG HAIR: A Rad and Wild Love Affair is a thoughtful, poignant, laugh out loud funny one woman show, a bittersweet slice of nostalgia and a heartfelt homage to the gorgeous, offbeat love story between iconic comics Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner. ...

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from experiencing RENT - IN CONCERT—a symphony orchestra-backed concert version of Jonathan Larson's iconic musical which recently played to a full-capacity crowd for a one-night-only performance on March 15, 2025 at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa—...

Scott Thompson and Fred Barton plumbed legendary composer Harold Arlen’s catalog to create the dazzling world premiere jukebox musical ONE FOR MY BABY playing now at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood....

Whether thanks to Cavanagh’s approach or director Shawna Lucey’s reinventions, the opera never seems to warrant excuse or apology. Justin Austin and Anthony León never miss a chance for silliness, strutting about the stage with ridiculous levels of machismo to match their preposterous mustache ...

For his debut OC cabaret engagement, Broadway actor Claybourne Elder—who recently played Andy in the Tony Award-winning 2021 revival of Stephen Sondheim's (mostly) gender-bent COMPANY—brought his witty charm and sublime musicality to Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theater for three perf...

Founded in 1968, Honey Cone is like drinking sunshine. The debut of iconic girl group Honey Cone at the famed Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood on Oscars Night was unforgettable magic. Next up on their live tour is Oscar's in Palm Springs on April 11....

It is evident that Christ and Stole have been performing this show for a while: it is a well-oiled machine. Though still playful with each other, Christ tees up punchlines and gags perfectly which Stole is always able to nail home....

BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL is smart, silly, and full of heart. Its expansive and inclusive ideas are not preached, they are sown. And it is another home run from the ever-reliable Open Fist Theatre Company....

John Cameron Mitchell’s cabaret show exhibited his demented, impish persona through a series of high-energy numbers. Of course, the crowd was most invested in his renditions of songs from Hedwig and the Angry Inch....

Fresh off her final set of performances in the L.A. transfer of the new Broadway revival of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, the two-time Tony Award winning stage and screen star recently returned to Orange County, CA for a one-night-only sold out concert at the Irvine Barclay Theatre accompanied by music dire...

Chay Yew’s production for East West Players - improbably the play’s L.A. premiere seven years after its debut at South Coast Repertory – is as raw and raucous as it is timely. Yee urges us to remember the past, be watchful of the future and enjoy the holy hell out of the process....

This CURSED CHILD is a banquet of magical delights that also happens to be a crackling good story, which should delight series neophytes and Potter-lovers alike....

With a superior level of artistry in terms of performance, composition, and design, the reality of the Japanese American concentration camps is relayed to contemporary audiences....

Unconditional, A Musical Memoir is a must-see new world premiere at Skylight Theatre in Los Feliz through March 9th.  Unconditional is utterly heartbreaking, explosive with tenderness and the irresistible bittersweetness of memory....

What did our critic think of TWELFTH NIGHT at Antaeus Theatre?...