Los Angeles Theater Reviews Page 2

Review: ONE OF THE GOOD ONES at Pasadena Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - March 29, 2024

A second cousin once removed to William Rose’s GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER, ONE OF THE GOOD ONES finds the highly assimilated, upper middle class Gomez family losing their collective sanity when their daughter, Yoli, brings home Marcos, a man who, to her parents’ minds at least, qualifies as an “ot...

Review: A FROGGY BECOMES at Open Fist Theatre Company
by Harker Jones - March 27, 2024

Writer Becky Wahlstrom imbues A FROGGY BECOMES with an absurdism that is only complemented by the absurdism of the ’80s with the neons and the poofy hair and the synthesized music....

Review: MJ - THE MUSICAL Moonwalks Into OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - March 23, 2024

An overall resounding triumph despite its insistence on side-stepping some of the more salacious scandals associated with its subject, pop star Michael Jackson—MJ - THE MUSICAL is a genuinely entertaining and nostalgic show that purposely aims to celebrate the creative, if misunderstood genius behin...

Review: A SHAYNA MAIDEL at Laguna Playhouse
by Amanda Callas - March 23, 2024

This acclaimed play by Barbara Lebow is beautifully produced by the award-winning creative team at the Laguna Playhouse, with great sensitivity, rich texture, and mature brilliance in the direction by David Ellenstein....

Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center Kavli Theatre
by Amanda Callas - March 20, 2024

5-Star Theatricals does superb work capturing the charisma and characters of these great rock and country legends, and the music and energy of the show is breathtaking, jubilant and infectious.  Million Dollar Quartet has one extraordinary songbook.  You don’t want to miss this show....

Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Lewis Family Playhouse
by Amanda Callas - March 19, 2024

The marriage of ballet and Disney musical is a delightful one. Beauty and the Beast was a sold-out smash hit at the Lewis Family Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga March 2nd through 10th.  A joint production of the Candlelight Pavilion and the Inland Pacific Ballet, this Disney musical was lavish and ent...

Review: Grammy Nominee Jane Monheit Makes OC Return at Irvine Barclay
by Michael Quintos - March 19, 2024

Returning to Orange County, CA for a one-night-only concert at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, Monheit stunned the audience with her incredible talents, offering fresh live performances of superb tunes—including many from the Broadway stage—that are slated for her upcoming new studio album releasing thi...

Review: THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT at Pacific Resident Theatre
by Amanda Callas - March 17, 2024

You wouldn’t expect a bittersweet, haunting tale to be this laugh-out-loud funny, but it is.  There is so much charm and sensitivity in this Pacific Resident Theatre production.  The Bespoke Overcoat is almost unbearably poignant, a drama of humanity and rare tenderness. You don’t want to miss this ...

Review: THE ALLSTORE at Theatre Of NOTE
by Evan Henerson - March 16, 2024

Whether or not he has personally ever put himself through this, Evan Marshall has imagined life from the floor of a big box store and infused it – literally – with poetry. Part love story, part workers unite-inspired corporate dramady, ALLSTORE hits some satisfying beats. ALLSTORE – like much of thi...

Review: CONEY ISLAND LAND at the Theatre 68 Arts Complex
by Harker Jones - March 13, 2024

Braun’s script is never stagnant, the characters always in action, whether in a delightful literal dance party or a metaphorical pas de deux, always getting close to connecting before pulling away — or being pulled away by outside forces....

Review: FATHERLAND at The Fountain Theatre
by Harker Jones - March 07, 2024

FATHERLAND is an unsettling reminder of how an average person can tip from sane to insane all in the name of good ol’ American patriotism, crossing ethical, moral, and legal lines with nary a hesitation....

Review: REDWOOD at La Jolla Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - March 06, 2024

In REDWOOD, a new musical by Kate Diaz, and Tina Landau partially conceived by Idina Menzel and enjoying a visually arresting if somewhat simplistic world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, Menzell confronts something even more formidable than encroaching yuppie cyber cafes, enraged Oz...

Review: FANNY at Elysian Theatre
by Andrew Child - March 01, 2024

The success of Fanny doesn’t lie in the nuance or perspective the straightforward script lends to this historical figure, but rather in the eclectic smattering of talents artfully gathered and showcased by the piece....

Review: EISENHOWER: THIS PIECE OF GROUND at Rubicon Theatre
by Amanda Callas - February 27, 2024

Watching Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground, I literally forgot I was watching a one person show.  Tony award winning, Broadway and Hollywood star John Rubinstein is a fascinating and charismatic actor, with uncannily perfect comedic timing.  Compelling, thought-provoking, moving, and surprisingly fun...

Review: BLACK CYPRESS BAYOU at Geffen Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - February 23, 2024

Part mystery, part cathartic family drama ruminating on legacies of evil and forgiveness, director Tiffany Nichole Greene’s production grips us tightly from the outset and does not easily let us go. Thankfully, along this 80-minute journey, we also get to laugh as well as exhale....

Review: SWEENEY TODD at A Noise Within
by Andrew Child - February 20, 2024

In classic ANW style, Rodriguez-Elliott has simplified everything, returning to the text and highlighting elements of the (mercifully and artfully) truncated libretto. Without a drop of stage blood, she has crafted lasting images of violence that grip us and carry the narrative....

Review: MIDDLE OF THE WORLD at Rogue Machine
by Amanda Callas - February 21, 2024

At its heart, Middle of the World is something of an unexpected love story between a fallen socialist leader from Ecuador and a young, driven Black finance executive. Middle of the World feels like an elegy, evoking the bittersweet, numbing ache of loss and betrayal. It invokes a sense of loss of an...

Review: Musical Theatre West Revisits Classic 42ND STREET in Long Beach
by Michael Quintos - February 13, 2024

For the most part, MTW's brand-new, admirably plucky 2024 production—now on stage through February 25—succeeds as an entertaining, visually cheerful show, filled with strong performances, a rousingly robust orchestra, and dynamic, zestfully tap-tastic dance numbers. Despite its lack of any real, ser...

Review: BRUSHSTROKE at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
by Evan Henerson - February 12, 2024

John Ross Bowie’s Cold War comedy BRUSHSTROKE considers the role of 'art' from a bunch of different angles and fashions a very nifty play around it....

Review: Bold Staging of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Rocks Chance Theater
by Michael Quintos - February 09, 2024

Featuring a humorous yet surprisingly poignant original story from John Cameron Mitchell and piercing, high-octane tunes from composer Stephen Trask, the gloriously ribald glam-rock musical HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is currently flipping its wigs out in a brand new extremely engaging production at t...

Review: CRIMINAL LIVE: TENTH ANNIVERSARY TOUR at United Theatre On Broadway
by Andrew Child - February 08, 2024

The live show, which celebrates ten years of Judge’s popular podcast Criminal,  was appropriately filled with stories whose hook introductions took many unexpected twists and turns before resolving in ways often contradictory to the well-trodden paths of narrative....

Review: Disney's THE LION KING Rules Once More at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - February 06, 2024

Now in its 27th year, Disney's game-changing, Tony Award-winning global megahit THE LION KING has once again taken over OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for another month of performances that continues through February 25, 2024. Even today, the show still manages to elicit genuine w...

Review: ROMEO AND JULIET by New Adventures at Center Theatre Group
by Andrew Child - February 05, 2024

Matthew Bourne has certainly crafted a “New Adventure” under the title Romeo and Juliet. Purists may come up empty-handed if they mine the kaleidoscopic geometry of the mesmerizing opening sequence for any semblance of “Two households, both alike in dignity”....

Review: LA COCINA at Loft Ensemble
by Evan Henerson - February 02, 2024

The high wire act that is Tony Meneses’ play LA COCINCA is a feat that companies of greater capabilities than Loft Ensemble might not pull off. There are 19 performers barreling across that stage, dispatching orders, picking up plates, whisking, saucing, grilling and doing all the other things that ...

Review: GOMBURZA's Fate Remains a Burning Protest
by Jude Cartalaba - January 31, 2024

Until Friday, February 2, films from different genres from the 49th annual Metro Manila Film Festival in the Philippines, will be screened during the inaugural Manila International Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard....