TROUBLE IN MIND, the scathingly funny and thought-provoking backstage drama about interracial politics by pioneering African American playwright Alice Childress, is currently enjoying a brilliant revival at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum in Malibu thanks to director Ellen Geer's vision of the grou... (more...)
The glamorous passenger train Twentieth Century Limited, which ran between New York and Chicago between 1902 and 1967, is the main setting for the musical screwball comedy ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY now playing through August 27 at the Pan-Andreas Theatre, 5119 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038. Ba... (more...)
From the award-winning Celebration Theatre, producers Nathan Frizzell and Tom DeTrinis, whose hilariously twisted minds brought you Go-Goy Boy Interrupted, comes the hilarious solo show SO LONG BOULDER CITY, a satire of the almost-Best Picture winner LA LA LAND. Its genesis began when co-writer/sta... (more...)
Now playing at Theatre of NOTE is the west coast premiere of WELCOME TO THE WHITE ROOM, written by Trish Harnetiaux and directed with constant, attention-getting movement by Megan A McGuane. In the small, black box theater, we discover Ms. White (Sierra Marcks), Mr. Paine (Chris Gardner), and Jennin... (more...)
Byron Lane has written a brilliant tour de force for Tom Lenk as Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton. As cleverly written by Lane, sharply directed by Tom DeTrinis, and played to perfection by Lenk; the heightened reality of Tilda Swinton graces the Celebration Theatre (landing from her home Jupiter) to rese... (more...)
With UMPO BRIDESMAIDS, executive producer Kate Pazakis continues her unbroken string of audience-pleasing musical parodies of pop culture flicks. Tony winner Marissa Jaret Winokur ably takes the directorial reins with Christopher Youngsman leading the triple-threat talents through a fast pace, high-... (more...)
For those who have never attended THE PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS live show or its sister event THE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS in Laguna Beach, you are missing a wonderful treasure of not only art but theatrical spectacle during which historical works of arts are brought to life with real people stepping in to... (more...)
Each summer, the Torrance Theatre Company opens its season with a musical production at the James Armstrong Theatre. This year, it's SISTER ACT, the feel-good musical comedy smash based on the hit 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg as disco diva Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses a murder and is pu... (more...)
ISC sets TWO GENTS in the 1950s, accompanied by a live band on stage playing an infectious rock 'n' roll score. Musical director Dave Beukers' arrangements are bright and sexy with a beat that's perfect for dancing (think Elvis Presley during his Sun Records days or Jerry Lee Lewis). It's a choice t... (more...)
When Monty Python's Flying Circus first premiered on television in 1969, few could have imagined how influential the program would become thanks to the inventive minds of its six main collaborators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Known for thei... (more...)
Riveting, powerful and beautifully poignant at every step, FUN HOME—the Tony Award-winning musical based on Alison Bechdel's 2006 autobiographical graphic memoir—is one of those rare, great stage musicals that represents an astonishingly unique point-of-view that is somehow miraculously universal an... (more...)
Although I never watched their program, I do remember that Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were wildly known almost as much for their outrageous personalities and sartorial style as their devotion to preaching the gospel of Jesus. It is easy to see why the pair became an unlikely surrogate family for the... (more...)
ANIMAL FARM, Orwell's brilliant political satire about the corrupting influence of power, charts the fall of idealism and the rise of tyranny after the animals of Manor Farm rise up against their oppressive human owner in a struggle for rights, equality, gaining the right to make their own choices o... (more...)
Playwright Chuck Faerber should be applauded for including the many current day issues that he squeezes into this 90-minute BALL YARDS, a collection of semi-related sketches, some succeeding more than others. This world premiere comedy directed by Richard Kuhlman tackles: anti-Semitism, the Ku Klux ... (more...)
Every theatre production comes with its share of backstage drama. One Hit Wonderland, the Broadway musical comedy depicted in Gary De Leon and Greg Lisi's indie film OPENING NIGHT is no exception. Sex, drugs, and crazy characters collide in this rousing tongue-in-cheek comedy full of splashy product... (more...)
The Groundlings' latest laugh-packed Friday & Saturday night show GARBAGE PAIL GROUNDLINGS offers a bountiful buffet of tasty guffaws and hearty chortles in the course of fourteen hilarious treats served by seven comic impresarios. Deanna Oliver smartly directs her outrageously talented cast at a pa... (more...)
Arguably one of musical theater's more enjoyable jukebox musicals, the crowd-pleasing, ABBA-centric musical MAMMA MIA! aims to entertain its audience, all while trying to provide a much more interesting way to experience the ubiquitous pop catalog of one of the most successful pop music groups of th... (more...)
To open its historic 97th season, Orange County's Laguna Playhouse is presenting an admirable new production of the Tony Award-winning 2002 hit musical comedy HAIRSPRAY, which via popular demand has now been extended through August 5. Filled with spirited performances, memorably cheeky songs, and an... (more...)
During the multimedia production, directed by Trevor Hay, Felder plays himself as well as the world-famous composer, along with a wide assortment of people from the many phases of Tchaikovsky's life. For each one, Felder completely changes his vocal patterns as well as his physical being, after tell... (more...)
The dialogue in Adam Rapp's searingly and brutally honest play NOCTURNE is so beautifully written with remarkably descriptive phrases, it will awe your imagination into immersing yourself into one man's journey after, as a teen, he unwittingly caused the death of this younger sister in a late-night,... (more...)
It is nearly impossible not to be emotionally affected by the events depicted in PARADE, the stirring, Tony Award-winning 1998 musical inspired by shocking actual events surrounding the trial of a man accused of raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl. It's certainly a heavy, morose subject to wrap ... (more...)
In Ruskin Group Theatre's world premiere of Ron Nelson's THE RAINBOW BRIDGE, Michael Myers briskly directs a concise 75 minutes of snappy dialogue led by the high-energy, powerhouse performance of Paul Schackman as the conflicted, haunted lawyer Jerry. Schackman nails Nelson's machine gun-spouting d... (more...)
Director Guillermo Cienfuegos expertly guides his talented RHINOCEROS cast with tight, sturdy reins in a truly full-length play (three acts, spanning close to three hours) now at the Pacific Resident Theatre. Eugene Ionesco originally wrote RHINOCEROS in 1959 as his commentary on the state of the po... (more...)
Worst First Kiss Productions Present DOG SEES GOOD at The Blank Theater in Hollywood, CA. Directed by Jonah Platt, the production is fresh off its run from the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Their Encore performance takes place this upcoming weekend at The Blank Theater.... (more...)
In her new latest play KING OF THE YEES, now enjoying its World Premiere at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, Yee shares the tale of how her father Larry has been a driving force in the Yee Fung Toy (Yee Family Association), a seemingly obsolescent Chinese American men's cl... (more...)
BWW Review: Provocative TROUBLE IN MIND by Alice Childress Gets Timely Revival at Theatricum Botanicum
Review: Laugh Your Way Through a Musical Screwball Ride ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Review: In SO LONG BOULDER CITY, Jimmy Fowlie Hysterically Presents the Background Story of LA LA LAND'S Mia Dolan
Review: WELCOME TO THE WHITE ROOM to Step Inside Your Imagination
BWW Review: Tom Lenk IS Tilda Swinton in Byron Lane's Hysterical TILDA SWINTON ANSWERS AN AD ON CRAIGSLIST
BWW Review: THE UMPO BRIDESMAIDS Totally Sings You Up the Musical Aisle to Hilarity
Review: The 2017 PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS Takes Audience on The Grand Tour of Europe
Review: Torrance Theatre Company's SISTER ACT is a Sparkling Musical Tribute to the Universal Power of Friendship
BWW Review: These TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Have it Made in the Shade
Review: 3-D Theatricals SPAMALOT Brings Stunning Broadway Caliber Production to Local Audiences
BWW Review: Beautifully Poignant FUN HOME Tour Moves Into OC's Segerstrom Center
Review: BORN FOR THIS Boldly Reminds Us to Choose Faith and Family Over the Excesses of Fame
BWW Review: George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM Speaks Directly to the World's Current Political Turmoil
BWW Review: BALL YARDS Fumbles
BWW Review: Backstage Antics Abound in Indie Film OPENING NIGHT
BWW Review: Hysterical GARBAGE PAIL GROUNDLINGS - So Much Tasty Laughter You Need a Doggy Bag
BWW Review: Nettles and Cameron Lead an Exuberant MAMMA MIA! at the Hollywood Bowl
BWW Review: Laguna Playhouse Welcomes Adorably Plucky HAIRSPRAY
BWW Review: Hershey Felder Dazzles Audiences as OUR GREAT TCHAIKOVSKY
Review: Adam Rapp's Pulitzer Prize Nominated and Award-Winning Play, NOCTURNE, Brilliantly Acted by Jamie Wollrab
BWW Review: Chance Theater presents Emotional, Intimate Staging of PARADE
BWW Review: Ruskin Group Constructs A Sturdy RAINBOW BRIDGE On The Road to Hilarity
BWW Review: A Thrilling Ride On A Well-Mounted RHINOCEROS
BWW Review: Teens Prove Talent Is Ageless As They Bring DOG SEES GOD To Hollywood
BWW Review: THE KING OF THE YEES Playwright Lauren Yee Shares Her Father's Story in an Innovative World Premiere Staging
VIDEO: Grande & MacFarlane Deliver 'LITTLE SHOP' Classic
VIDEO: You'll be a Newfoundlander! COME FROM AWAY Cast Performs on GMA
