LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

Thomas Dunne (Brian Dennehy) was historically speaking the Chief Superintendent of the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) and a Catholic loyal to the British crown, responsible for maintaining the established order in a time of revolution....hardly an easy position for one to find himself in 1932 when...

Four Clowns Jr.'s foursome packs a lot of punch into its 45-minute original family show about one clown's journey to a planet 'somewhere like earth.' This is pure interactive fun - the kind you can have while sitting in your seat without worrying you'll be dragged up onstage to suffer some horrifyin...

White Christmas, always a treat on film (1954), creates a unique and refreshing glow on stage. The touring and original Broadway productions, which played Los Angeles only once at the Pantages, in 2005 were gloriously directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Randy Skinner, who turned the secon...

Bette Midler and Sue Mengers. Two iconic Hollywood female personalities of the last fifty years. Midler scored with her first movie The Rose in 1979, after many successful years in New York, on and off-Broadway. She was and has remained an iconic performer for the Gay community, and with strong choi...

What happens when you combine a nameless boy, a ship called Neverland, a duplicitous Pirate and some rope? Theatrical magic. And that is exactly what happened when 'Peter and the Starcatcher' opened last night at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles....

On Tuesday December 3 sublime singer Spider Saloff appeared at Rockwell Table and Stage for an evening of Cool Yule accompanied by electric jazz pianist Richard Eames. I say sublime, as there are a rare few like Saloff who can really sing, wrapping their heart around the lyrics of a song and then ...

GCT's all new version of their annual holiday hit A Christmas Carol has Dickens' heartwarming classic story, incorporating the atmosphere, texture and mood of dingy, poverty-stricken London of the 19th century with great set pieces and costumes, music, dance and some pretty amazing special effects. ...

Singer Henry Prego wanted to produce a staged Christmas show that is reminiscent of the nostalgic 60s TV specials at the Hollywood Palace with himself as host singing Frank Sinatra holiday favorites and introducing some talented guest star acts. Well, that he has achieved with A Sinatra Christmas cu...

Todd Robbins classifies Play Dead as a spooky entertainment; it may or may not scare you. I am vulnerable and open, but not that readily frightened and certainly not squeamish at the sight of blood; many are, however. And...Play Dead's stylish theatricality, off-color and fun stories, great intense ...

On Sunday, December 1 Kritzerland Records presented its 40th show and annual Christmas presentation entitled A Kritzerland Christmas III at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal with special guest star Terri White. It was a beautiful evening of mostly familiar Christmas music with a few lesser known bu...

Whimsical, poetic, and surprisingly clever, TOTEM---the latest touring Cirque du Soleil spectacular to hit Southern California---is currently performing under a large tent erected at the Orange County Great Park's Festival Site through December 29 (the traveling troupe of 46 will then move to the Sa...

The McCallum Theatre has given the Coachella Valley another reason to be thankful this holiday weekend by presenting the stellar national tour of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET through December 1. As anyone who has read my previous reviews knows, I am a big fan of Mitch Gershenfeld and The McCallum Theatre ...

Tom Dudzick's Miracle on South Division Street is an eclectically funny holiday comedy whose characters could easily be your next door neighbors, if you live in a small city like Buffalo, NY on the East Coast, where in a cockeyed way it seems almost politically correct to be ethnic, intolerant, and ...

The Lion King/book by Roger Allers & Irene Mecchi/music & lyrics by Elton John & Tim Rice/additional music & lyrics by Hans Zimmer, Lebo M. Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, and Julie Taymor/directed by Julie Taymor/Pantages Theatre/through January 12, 2014...

No matter how you feel about the vast number of liberties Matthew Bourne takes in creating his scenario for The Sleeping Beauty, you must admit the end result is vibrantly imaginative, magical and fascinating to watch. Now at the Ahmanson Theatre for two weeks only through December 1, Sleeping Beaut...

Side Show/book & lyrics by Bill Russell/music by Henry Krieger/directed by Bill Condon/La Jolla Playhouse/through December 15...

Barrymore/by William Luce/directed by Janet Miller/Good People Theatre Company (GPTC)/Greenway Court Alliance Theatre/through December 1...

Presented by Upright Cabaret (led by Chris Isaacson) which brings the best of Broadway and pop once a month to GLEH (Gay Lesbian Elder Housing) on Ivar in Hollywood in the form of a charitable concert to raise awareness of GLEH through song....

While watching the opening night performance of Musical Theatre West's lively (haha) regional premiere of Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, something struck me almost immediately: I'm laughing hysterically. Though previous productions have certainly entertained in the past, much of the jokes and silly...

On Monday evening November 11 striking actress/singer Sandy Bainum presented a concert and launch party for her new CD Simply. This album, as well as her last one from 2012 One Christmas, were both produced by Bruce Kimmel's Kritzerland Records. It is difficult to think of Bainum simply. She is a ta...

L.A. Theatre Works' Radio Theatre Series will air KINDERTRANSPORT written by Diane Samuels, directed by Jeannie Hackett and featuring Jane Kaczmarek, Susan Sullivan and Molly Quinn. The broadcast can be heard locally in Southern California on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 from 7-9 pm on KPFK 90.7 FM in Lo...

After 23 years of entertaining the world, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will be closing their doors May 18, 2014 after completion of this their last season The Last Hurrah!...

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Creditors/by August Strindberg/a new version by David Greig/directed by David Trainer/Odyssey Theatre Ensemble(OTE)/New American Theatre/at the Odyssey/through December 15...

In California Shakespeare Ensemble's latest production, director Brian Elerding has adapted the text from three of Shakespeare's plays and crafted an episodic production starring three of his more complicated villains: Macbeth (Russ Bain), Shylock (Jeremy Radin), and Tybalt (Shahaub Roudbari)....