LOS ANGELES THEATER REVIEWS

It's no surprise that Bruce Kimmel's monthly Kritzerland series (this is show #38) has gained such a loyal following at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. For true musical lovers it is the rare opportunity to hear beautiful, funny and surprisingly touching songs from musicals you may never get to s...

Amir Khalighi's directorial debut RUMINATION is 50 minutes of bliss. Using the teachings of the 13th century poet Rumi as its center, the collaborative original work takes the audience on an inward journey - a spiral, if you will - to the center of one's self; to a place where peace exists and the s...

Ah, Wilderness!/by Eugene O'Neill/directed by Thom Babbes/Actors Co-op, Crossley Theatre, Hollywood/through October 13...

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On Sunday September 29 at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal, Los Angeles theatre actor/singer Will Collyer presented Will Collyer in Concert directed by Mandy Kaplan and with musical direction by Brett Ryback. The 75-minute set featured guest appearances from Kaplan and Melissa Lyons. Collyer is an...

The Normal Heart/by Larry Kramer/directed by Simon Levy/Fountain Theatre/through November 3...

What do you do for an updated stage adaptation of arguably one of cinema's much-beloved motion pictures of all time? Well for theater impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber and director Jeremy Sams, you populate the show with over-the-top, more cartoonish characters and snarky, audience-winking dialogue. Oh...

There is no doubt that the HENRY VIII is a triumph for Rakata. Most productions view Henry's reign through a very English lens and Rakata brings a uniquely Spanish perspective to the story. It is an interpretation that makes sense given that Henry's divorce from the much-beloved Queen Catherine of A...

Frank V. Furino's world premiere play Marilyn MADNESS & Me, like the film My Week with Marilyn, puts a lesser known character in the lead and Marilyn is seen through his eyes, eyes filled with more than just lust and obsession...with real love for Norma Jean. Now at the El Portal Monroe Forum, the ...

Lorenzo Pisoni is such a damn agile and talented clown that the 90-minute set goes by in a flash, replete with tricks, virtuoso displays of ultimate precision and a lesson or two about the ups and downs of life learned from a father... that many, many can relate to....

Woo-Hoo! Thanks to OC's 3-D Theatricals, Southern California wasn't deprived of a revival of FUNNY GIRL after all. And, gosh, to top it off, they've even managed to find a Fanny Brice audiences can genuinely admire: Broadway and MAD TV alum Nicole Parker. This admirable new production of the classic...

After almost a year of touring North America, the Roundabout Theatre Company's buoyant Tony Award-winning revival of ANYTHING GOES has finally docked its madcap ship of lunatics at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for a shamefully-short one-week engagement through September 29. Featu...

Tall and sexy 'matinee idol' handsome Broadway and London West End actor/singer Jeremiah James performed at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal Sunday September 22 with his all-new show Choose Love. As special guest star, James made a wise choice with his high school friend the beautiful Cherish Lee....

Awake and Sing!/by Clifford Odets/directed by Larry Eisenberg/Group rep/through November 3...

Sweeney Todd/book by Hugh Wheeler/music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim/directed by Chuck Ketter/Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Claremont/through October 13...

A thoughtful vision by director Richard Israel, heartfelt performances, and seductive mountain music that will carry you away are what you'll find in The Burnt Part Boys...

Cue the traveling music and pack up the suitcases, Prince Pericles is going on an adventure. But as Shakespeare's protagonist will soon find out, this grand tour is not destined to be full of thrilling adventures. In the search for a bride he discovers unspeakable horror, flees for his life, and is ...

The Wizard of Oz/adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams/music by Harold Arlen/additional music by Andrew Lloyd Webber/lyrics by E.Y. Harburg/additional lyrics by Tim Rice/directed by Jeremy Sams/Pantages Theatre/through October 6...

Just as opera singer Caruso valued music as the highest form of art, playwright Daniel Beaty creates his Breath and Imagination as a perfect theatrical gem, overflowing with simplicity and wisdom. Now onstage at the Colony Theatre, in its West Coast premiere, Breath and Imagination soars with a bril...

Now onstage at Encore Dinner Theatre in Tustin, Fiddler is a beautiful reminder of the true meaning of family and making one's way through life's shaky journey. This production, directed by Michael Lopez, is lovingly conceived from top to bottom....

On September 15th, 1 host, 12 singers, 2 musical directors, 1 comedian, and a packed house of friends and invited guests celebrated Michael Sterling's birthday at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. The night, appropriately titled A Sterling Affair, was a sparkling tribute to the man whose name has ...

Little Shop of Horrors/book & lyrics by Howard Ashman/music by Alan Menken/based on the film by Roger Corman, screenplay by Charles Griffith/directed & choreographed by Michael-Anthony Nozzi/music direction by Joshua Eli Kranz/Kentwood Players at Westchester Playhouse/through October 19...

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change/ book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro/music by Jimmy Roberts/directed by Gary Lee Reed/musical director: William A. Reilly/Crown City Theatre/through October 20...

You will not find a more impassioned version of Shakespeare's Hamlet than the one Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company is currently offering at the Odyssey Theatre. And with the very real possibility that this may be the company's final work comes the necessity of experiencing what these dedicate...

To kickstart its 50th Season, Orange County's Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory is presenting a newly-envisioned local revival of the classic 1949 Pulitzer Prize-winning play DEATH OF A SALESMAN, featuring an outstanding performance by veteran stage and screen actor Charlie Robinson in the ti...