LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

The World Premiere of BIG SKY written by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and brilliantly directed by John Rando (Tony and Outer Critics Award winner for Urinetown) at the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse fits in nicely with the theme of the Geffen's upcoming 'Moments of Truth' season as revela...

In MUSICAL COMEDY WHORE, actor David Pevsner has written a most revealing musical autobiography that he performs himself, backed by the able musical accompaniment (and very funny, injecting vocal choruses) of Gerald Sternbach. Randy Brenner smartly directs Pevsner at a smooth, fast clip in this hour...

At a time when many considered women to be mentally and emotionally incapable of even voting in elections, Shaw portrayed strong, smart women with the ability to contribute to society at sophisticated levels. Shaw also explored class interactions and inspired audiences to laugh at the absurdities i...

BUMPERSTICKER: THE MUSICAL conquers the Hollywood Fringe Festival with its terrific triple threat combination making it great for people who don't like musicals and even better for those who do. It's the right show in the right venue with the right cast, and a rousing good time from beginning to end...

We meet five women in Merri Biechler's new play OCCUPATION - three mothers and two daughters - none related by blood, all connected by something larger. The United States looks completely different than it did five years ago, before the terrorist takeover by an unnamed faction. Martial law is in eff...

Besides the Hollywood Bowl's all-star concert event, THE LITTLE MERMAID also made a splash at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. This visually-gorgeous, fully-staged new production of the film's Broadway stage adaptation---produced locally by McCoy Rigby Entertainment with new staging an...

Last year at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, I discovered CAC Studios and their own unique brand of musical theatre entertainment, musically directed by Dan Sugi who also acts and sings up a storm. So when I discovered his first full length musical creation BROADWAY NOIR was having its world premier...

In Sarah Kelly's new play, WAR STORIES, we meet four of them: Chelsea (Sarah Schreiber), an actress constantly attracted to catastrophe; Sam (Clayton McInerney), a writer whose motto is 'never fall in love with an actress'; Jen (Sarah Kelly) a therapist, and sucker for a good love story; and Jake (B...

A mesmerizing second half more than compensates for a curious first in Sam Shepard's FOOL FOR LOVE, the Los Angeles LGBT Center's entry into the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival. With the four characters' relationships peeling open like layers of an onion, the last half explodes with the actors' inten...

A ridiculously talented troupe of singer/comedians totally revel and entertain in THE UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY OF THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Staged, not only on the mainstage, but in various nooks and on available bar stools of the Rockwell; director Tye Blue smoothly whips his energy-infectious cast thro...

Playwright Carla Neuss lays it all out there in this autobiographical two-hander, starring Katelyn Schiller as The Virgin and Joshua Bross as a variety of past boyfriends. Schiller narrates the largely comedic piece, which combines the framework of a slide projector presentation with flashback scene...

THE HAIRY APE at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble through July 17 tells the story of Robert 'Yank' Smith, a brutish ship laborer who searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the wealthy elite who he believes only see him as a dirty and hairy ape rather than a real human being. As head...

It's fairly common that people will compare their own circumstances with other people's lives and come up feeling short, especially in the romance or financial departments in their own relationship. But as much as we may admire what others appear to have that we do not, when we learn the truth on w...

On June 7, the Rockwell Table & Stage featured the stunning vocals of Michael Longoria. Smartly written by Longoria and his director Taylor James, Broadway standards received re-imagined, re-purposed raison-d'etre in advancing Longoria's fascinating narrative. His verbal accounts (serving as song in...

The Australian Theatre Company's stunning quartet of talented actors elevates playwright Andrew Bovell's very clever SPEAKING IN TONGUES into an entertaining puzzlement. Jeneffa Soldatic firmly directs her gifted cast in their multiple intersecting roles that asks the audience to really, really pay ...

Ibsen's Hedda Gabler steeped in 19th century realism has never been presented with more visual splendor than in Antaeus' current production. It is their last in the NoHo space before moving to a new theatre in Glendale in the fall, but that is hardly the reason to see it. It is memorable all by it...

One of the basic rights of freedom in America is the right to free speech. This allows for anyone to state an opinion or belief whether or not anyone else likes what is being said - and hopefully to not be threatened or attacked. Certainly the ability to express yourself and believe in what you wa...

It's clear that the smart and savvy architects behind Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID Live In Concert To Film, the sold out presentation of Disney's 1989 animated classic THE LITTLE MERMAID at the 17,000-seat Hollywood Bowl have indeed created a wholly wonderful experience. But it owes much of its must-...

Each of us has our own vision of what paradise looks like. It could be a city of skyscrapers or a tropical island, or perhaps a lovely wooded area as it changes colors with the seasons. Our search may take us to the far reaches of the globe, or perhaps to the small town where we were raised that no...

Steven Robman's strong hand at brisky directing his very talented ensemble at a snappy pace makes this updated 19th century classic whizz by in its two-hour-and-twenty-minute length. Who knew Hedda Gabler was such a BITCH! As beautifully limmed by Jaimi Paige, her Hedda's the original Mean Girl....

Early in May, Gustavo Dudamel—the brilliant music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic—was booed at the opening of TURANDOT at the Vienna State Opera purportedly for playing too loud. There were no such complaints when he returned to Disney Hall in Los Angeles on May 20, with a grand, finely...

Directed by B'Anca and written and starring singer Sybil Harris, the production is billed as 'a show with songs.' The latter part is certainly true....

In their inaugural collaboration with Clifton's Cafeteria, Creating Arts Studios has produced THE CLIFTON'S CANTEEN, a fitting and entertaining tribute to and for our servicemen and servicewomen during Memorial Weekend. Patterned after a USO show, each member of the troupe played a famous celebrity ...

Does Abe Burrows' now classic show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying still hold up theme-wise? Well, nepotism will always rear its ugly head and those that climb the corporate ladder will continue ruthlessly to step on those beneath them and on those by their sides as well. So, the ...

Frozen fans will be ecstatic with the way Disney has re-imagined its much-loved blockbuster film for the stage, now that the doors to FROZEN - LIVE AT THE HYPERION are open on the Hollywood backlot of Disney California Adventure. And with its stunning state-of-the-art visual technology and heart-ope...