LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

David Auburn's 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Proof receives a sturdy mounting from Noisy Nest, with Amanda Bird directing the real-time scenes with a firm grip....

A striking image hovers above the action in HENRY IV, PART ONE at The Antaeus Company. It is a partial rendering of the planets orbiting the sun which serves as a constant reminder that this is the journey of a king-in-the-making. As Prince Hal, also known as Harry, slowly transitions from party boy...

In ChicabaRENT, director/writer Shannon Sukovaty creates a clever mash-up of Chicago, Cabaret and Rent in a non-stop, in-your-face attack on your senses....

A stellar cast, led by Laurie Metcalf, gives their all in the West Coast premiere of Nick Jones' smartly written Trevor. Jimmi Simpson embodies his character of Trevor, an 11-year-old chimpanzee with a child-like humanness, not unlike a human youngster with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (...

Sisu is sheer delight for lovers of jazz, blues and soul. With a sound that is passionate and seductive, vocalist Rachel Sorsa's soft, high-pitched delivery is like that of a little girl...kittenish and erotic a la Earth Kitt. Add great musicians Andy Allen on bass, Preston A. Gould on trumpet, Gus ...

Charles Busch's one-act comedy, THE DIVINE SISTER, appearing at the Desert Rose Playhouse, in Rancho Mirage, is a divine parody of nun movies and a zany comedy. It is almost impossible to describe the over-the-top story, but the production is hilarious and well worth seeing....

CVRep's new production of LA GRINGA is brilliantly acted and brilliantly directed. The set design and other technical aspects of the production are also superb. However, Carmen Rivera's script is mediocre, because this 'comedy' is not funny....

Desert Theatreworks (DTW), one of the Coachella Valley's nonprofit theatre companies, is presenting the hilarious musical comedy, NUNSENSE: THE MEGA-MUSICAL. Dan Goggin's musical farce contains clever wordplay and groaner puns. The show as DTW presents it is silly, irreverent, and highly enjoyable....

One faces an undeniably horrendous situation that will only get worse before it gets better...and the clincher?... it is fueled by love. That's the trap created by Frawley Becker in his play Tiger by the Tail now playing at Group rep in Noho through April 19. The tender theme is made sweeter by smoo...

Kritzerland At Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal followed its successful formula of monthly themed cabarets with The Birthday Boys: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim & Andrew Lloyd Webber....

No reality exists in which an historical figure from the 17th century would end up in the present day kitchen of a realtor in Phoenix, Arizona but in the dreamtime of PROPERTIES OF SILENCE all things are possible. Here, authors Theresa Chavez, Rose Portillo, and Alan Pulner explore the imagination o...

Andrew Heffenan ably directs his capable cast of two in their machine-gun deliveries of well-written, word-heavy dialogue....

Remember when you were a child and hated to think? Or were you like JoJo with excessively brilliant thinks? No matter! Put yourself into a Dr. Seuss...ical mode and get on down to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center from Friday March 6 to Sunday March 8 only for the final weekend of performance...

Why does Iago hate the Moor? That has always been the great question in OTHELLO and one for which Shakespeare provides no definitive answer. Yes, he feels slighted when Othello promotes Cassio over him but is that enough reason to plot the general's demise? Is it because he believes that Othello has...

Inside Out/book by Doug Haverty/music by Adryan Russ/lyrics by Haverty & Russ/directed by Bruce Kimmel/The Grove Theater Center, Burbank/through March 22 Celebrating its 20th anniversary the little musical Inside Out by Doug Haverty and Adryan Russ throws a boldly bright spotlight on the positive...

Fales, a very engaging performer with sharp comic timing commands the Zephyr Theatre stage in his multi-character, 115-minute solo turn....

The first thing you notice when you step into the theater for A Noise Within's THE THREEPENNY OPERA is Frederica Nascimento's stunningly vivid set design. It's a deconstruction in which none of the elements are hidden: lighting instruments are in plain sight; pieces of scenery hang suggestively from...

A tastefully elegant production of Maltby & Shire's CLOSER THAN EVER brings the duo's beautiful and thought-provoking songs to life in the intimate performance space at Hollywood Piano in Burbank. It's a co-production between Good People Theater Company and Hollywood Piano; a partnership that means ...

When I first heard that Peter Quilter's End of the Rainbow, the story of the demise of Judy Garland during her gig in December, 1968 at Talk of the Town, London, was going to be produced at ICT, Long Beach, I remember thinking 'They'd better get a super dynamic actress. Not everyone can play Judy Ga...

In the rolling world premiere of Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea; playwright Nathan Alan Davis has vividly created strong empathetic characters; some very wise, some very witty, all someone you'd like to get to know better in your own life....

On Thursday, February 19th, Valley Performing Arts Center brought the beauty and artistry of Les 7 doigts de la main to Southern California audiences in a one-night-only performance of Sequence 8. Breathtaking acrobatics, unexpected humor, and exciting innovation are the hallmarks of this mesmerizin...

With the combined credits and awards of the playwright Louis Douglas Jacobs and director David Fofi, one would expect a particularly brilliant production of the critically -acclaimed revival 7 Redneck Cheerleaders. But even with a very game, committed cast of obviously talented performers, the almos...

Perfect mix of talents all-around combine for a well-produced world premiere of playwright Nandita Shenoy's witty Washer/Dryer. Director Peter J. Kuo whips this talented cast of five through a fast, even paced ninety-minutes of social issues served up on a tasty elixir of laughter....

Soundtracks of the '90s were epic, memorable, and unforgettable. A familiar song plays on the radio and you know that song. You can name the scene in the movie, the actors, and you're probably reciting a few lines to yourself. Cruel Intentions had one of those soundtracks....

On Sunday July 24, actress/singer Kristin Towers-Rowles debuted her one-woman cabaret A Lovely Lineage at Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to resounding success. The amazing singer, who is the grand daughter of legendary MGM musical star Katharine Grayson and Broadway veteran Johnnie Johnston, salute...