LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

Popular across the country for many years, Always Patsy Cline celebrates country/pop singing superstar Patsy Cline, her music and her warm down.to.earth persona. Endearing from the get go, the show's success depends on the right casting. Its two actresses must be perfect fits for their roles. Loui...

Rob Mersola has written a wonderfully witty, realistic, totally shocking 'family drama' in the world premiere of his Luka's Room. Two major surprises in plot you will not see coming. But after theses 'surprises,' you realize Mersola has previously set up the plot points to make total sense. A brilli...

If, for some inexplicable reason one didn't know, the world premiere of Citizen: An American Lyric  will make it a point to educate you that racism exists. The multi-awarding winning book of poetry of the same name by Claudia Rankine, on which Stephen Sachs has adapted, will reinforce the many inst...

In our modern dating world, there is no real way to know when a relationship has the potential to last longer than a one night stand. In THE PORCINI TEST, a contemporary play written and directed by Laureen Vonnegut, three long-time friends with hidden truths and concealed weapons banter back and f...

Definitely one of this current millennium's funniest stage shows, the world-famous Hollywood Bowl certainly chose wisely in its decision to stage the hit musical comedy Monty Python's SPAMALOT as this year's all-star annual summer stage musical spectacular, which was welcomed with plenty of sustaine...

Hollywood Bowl succeeds again with their most entertaining, head-shakingly pun-ny, visually stimulating production of Monty Python's Spamalot. Director BT McNicholl keeps his talented cast soft-shoe-ing, high kicking, horse-riding, sword lifting and just laugh-inducing at a steady, 'can't catch my b...

Last Monday, Rockwell played host to the incredibly entertaining performers The Skivvies, the duo of Lauren Molina and Nick Cearley aptly named because they perform stripped down versions of recognizable songs in their... well, skivvies....

Baby boomers don't normally show their approval at the theater by leaping to their feet and giving standing ovations during a performance… unless they happen to be seeing A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN at Pasadena Playhouse. The power of remembrance combined with the powerhouse performances of Mary Bri...

Like modern soap operas, THE FALSE SERVANT centers on a love triangle between two women and one man. Each plans to marry him, but he is only interested in which woman can bring him the best financial arrangement. And we are told from the beginning that if your mind has room for reason, there is no r...

A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for over 40 years, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is a timeless work set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally-known series of events but seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Performed on the intimate thrust stage with no scener...

When Bent first premiered in 1979 its persecution of gays in Nazi Germany was a real eye opener. This was before the onset of AIDS...in the first scene, the depiction of Max's (Patrick Heusinger)one night stand and his gay relationship with a dancer could have been taken right out of contemporary ...

In its California premiere The Fabulous Lipitones by John Markus and Mark St. Germain sounds like a silly promo for an overrated sexual enhancement product and with its initially corny lines could easily fall into the category of 'sitcom onstage' comedy, but thank heavens it rises far above and be...

From the moment you enter the Group rep theatre and see a warmup football practice onstage, the tone for the play is set. You are about to watch, breathe, eat and sleep football. At least that is what Vince Lombardi did as head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959-1968. Now onstage at the theatr...

Bravo to Chance Theater for taking on this mainstream hit and making it actually feel like a fresh, awesome little indie. Now playing through August 9, the latest offering from Orange County's bold, award-winning regional theater company is their own 'intimate' theater re-staging of HAIRSPRAY, the 2...

The talented five-member cast, directed by Alan Shearman, certainly must be commended on their commitment and enthusiasm as they interact with the audience as second-rate circus artists and plow through their intentionally bad vaudeville routines. Just as a clown must know the correct techniques to ...

Written by James Reach, adapted from the 1955 teleplay by Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame, PATTERNS, takes an insightful look at corporate politics, examining just how much it takes for an individual to crack in order to succeed financially. Directed with great skill and insight into human foibles...

Couerage Theatre Company mounts a fine-tuned production of Failure: A Love Story, playwright Philip Dawkins' fresh, unique take on a ill-fated family in the early 1900s. Michael Matthews smoothly directs and inventively stages his large talented, triple-threat cast as they sing, dance and act out th...

OC's award-winning regional theater company 3-D Theatricals' latest effort is a remarkably admirable, visually-stunning iteration of Disney's TARZAN® THE MUSICAL that defiantly dazzles and entertains despite the inherent, unavoidable shortcomings of its licensed source material (a problematic book ...

As the cliche goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That is perhaps partly the philosophy behind the rather faithful stage adaptation of the gloriously wonderful movie musical SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, now once again charmingly replicated in a smile-inducing local production at Musical Theatre West tha...

Folklore tells us The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost ship that can never make port and is doomed to sail the oceans forever. Amiri Baraka's thought-provoking play DUTCHMAN, directed with a sure hand by Levy Lee Simon at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, takes this concept into ...

The touring company of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA performed a magnificent self-produced cabaret titled OSCAR UNMASKED, consisting of performances from Oscar winning songs and scores. In addition, audience members had the chance to bid on three items in a live auction. The cabaret raised about $10,000 ...

On Sunday, July 19 pop/ rock/soul balladeer Mark Arthur Miller brought his uber entertaining show Soul Searching to an SRO crowd at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. The man tells his story about growing up on the south side of Chicago in the 60s via the tunes that shaped him, notably those of...

THE MUSIC MAN with Book. Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson continues to be one of the most-loved American musicals of all time, regularly performed on stages across the country. What really makes the Aerospace Players production a joy to behold is the intricate and extremely varied choreography ...

As an attempt to increase its cultural relevance, involve the community, and expand its audience base, Shakespeare Orange County's ROMEO & JULIET is an admirable venture. Directors Mike Peebler and John Walcutt have integrated several hometown groups to appeal to its neighboring communities: the Vie...

The best scripted comedy drag troupe in Los Angeles, Chico's Angels lives up to its stellar reputation with Chico's Angels 3: Chicas in Chains. From the crazy, lightning-quick minds of Kurt Koehler and Kay Sedia, Chico's Angels' third episode mashes up high school mean girls with tough prison bitche...