LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

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....

STOP ME IF I TOLD YOU THIS is the touching, funny, off-beat multimedia musical memoir of prolific voice-over actor Cam Clarke who began his career in short pants and knee socks in 1965 as one of the youngest members of TV's "The King Family Show" - all 39 members in an environment where Mormonism an...

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...

Like The King and I, Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific is a heartbreaking, yet uplifting story told across racial borders ... with an elegant score. The look in its rich set design with an incredible, dreamlike Bali Ha'i in the background, setting the romantic tone for the entire show, adds lo...

Back in the early 70s I was enthralled by the majestic overture of Jesus Christ Superstar and by the gripping power of the lyrics.This is operetta at its best, where the entire story must come to fruition through the singing. When done well, these Bibilical characters come off the pages as real huma...

As my eyes panned across the Geffen Playhouse stage before the opening of Conor McPherson's The Night Alive, I could not help but notice the large poster of the film The Great Escape on the wall of Takeshi Kata's set of the dingy Edwardian house in Phoenix Park, Dublin that is the home of Maurice, n...

The national tour of MEMPHIS features superb choreography and musical direction, as well as top-notch singing, dancing, and acting by the supporting case. However, despite the show's considerable strengths, the lead actors turn in mediocre performances, reducing the touring version's overall appeal...

Anderson Davis directs his kick-ass cast of triple-threats like a racing car pro on a NASCAR speedway allowing the audience no time to breathe between all the applauding, the laughing, and the singing along....

Aficionados of epic scenery chewing could find much to enjoy in this over-acting, diva spewing, high camp ninety minutes. Audiences looking for laughs and more conventional entertainment may possibly need to find another destination....

Groundlings Dead or Alive, Groundling's latest Friday & Saturday night show makes you howl in their successful mix of improv and scripted skits of their snapshots of some absurd and some very real life situations....

For John Lloyd Young's special Valentine's weekend cabaret concert titled 'My Turn'---which continues at the Samueli Theater on the campus of Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 14---the Tony Award-winning star of JERSEY BOYS presented an hour-long set of love songs, both...

Enter Laughing - The Musical/book by Joseph Stein/music & lyrics by Stan Daniels/directed by Stuart Ross/Lovelace Studio Theater of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hills/through March 1...

A charming, fun-filled musical comedy performed with cheery, infectious gusto, 3-D Theatricals' top-notch regional production of SEUSSICAL - THE MUSICAL is a laugh-out-loud, smile-a-minute spectacular for all ages! Featuring Cathy Rigby reprising her Broadway/National Tour role as The Cat In The Hat...