Jason Niedle News

Joyful, dazzling, and an all-around delight, this fresh, smile-inducing new production---now on stage through June 25,2023---is a wonderful, pleasant surprise to say the least… and has easily become, hands down, this reviewer's absolute favorite iteration of this musical theatre staple ever.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT is currently presenting the final show of its season, the Tony Award-winning musical sensation, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.  The musical director & conductor is Jennifer Lin, and the director & choreographer is Gerry McIntyre. Check out production photos here!

Presented by McCoy Rigby Entertainment, this beautiful, mesmerizing, Broadway-caliber production of THE KING AND I has all the ingredients of a great revival done right, from its dazzling visual and technical components to the vibrant musical magic created by both its rousing orchestra and the talented artists that make up its superb ensemble cast.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT is presenting Paul Nakauchi as the “King,” Anastasia Barzee as “Anna,” and Joan Almedilla as “Lady Thiang,” along with a cast of 41, coupled with the recent Broadway revival’s lavish sets and costumes, in a sumptuous new production of the Tony Award-winning musical THE KING AND I. Check out photos here!

An admirable, absurdly funny first full production of a brand new musical, WALTER PAISLEY, is perhaps one of the most enjoyable work-in-progress shows this reviewer has seen in a long time. This delightful world premiere production---filled with madcap antics and a humorously pulpy plot---continues in La Mirada through April 2, 2023.

The World Premiere of the “beatnik” horror comedy musical, DID YOU SEE WHAT WALTER PAISLEY DID TODAY? with book, music & lyrics by Randy Rogel, produced by Kevin Bailey/MB Artists, Inc., with musical direction by Andrew Orbison, musical supervision by Kimberly Grigsby, choreography by Connor Gallagher, and developed and directed by BT McNicholl opens tonight, March 18th, and will run through Sunday, April 2, 2023 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Check out the photos here!

Laguna Playhouse presents the fourth show of its season, the Tony Award-winning musical ONCE, book by Edna Walsh. See photos from the production.

Welcome to the Rose Center Theater, Orange County's premier civic performing arts venue and the home of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Friday and Saturday February 18 and 19 marked the opening of the highly anticipated live theater production, and we're giving you a first look at this spectacular show.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE presents Rita Rudner in STAGED, written by Martin Bergman & Rita Rudner and directed by Martin Bergman. STAGED, currently in previews, opens on Sunday, January 29 at 5:30pm and performs through Sunday, February 12 at the Laguna Playhouse. Check out the photos here!

Despite outdated, cringe-inducing tropes, McCoy Rigby Entertainment's new production of this ubiquitous rock-and-roll stage musical---now on stage at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through February 12---manages to still entertain thanks mostly to the superb musical numbers energetically performed by its talented cast.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment have released production photos from their upcoming “electrifying” musical GREASE, with book, music & lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, musical direction by Ryan O’Connell, choreography by Christopher M. Albrecht and directed by Kari Hayter. Check out the photos here!

Undeniably compelling but also, at times, comfortably predictable, Aaron Sorkin's A FEW GOOD MEN is, for all intents and purposes, really a showcase for enthralling live acting performances. The McCoy Rigby Entertainment production continues at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through November 20, 2022.

La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts & McCoy Rigby Entertainment have released production photos for the second show of their 2022-2023 season, the rarely produced and widely acclaimed military masterpiece A FEW GOOD MEN, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Casey Stangl. Check out the photos here.

JoBeth Williams and Peter Strauss star in the upcoming World Premiere production, based on the 1975 ABC Theatre Presentation that starred Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier, of the wonderfully romantic LOVE AMONG THE RUINS. Check out photos here!

A.J. Holmes stars as the hilariously eccentric Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Overall--especially in this tighter, revised version lifted from London’s West End production that’s much zippier than the original--there is no denying that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a witty, super funny, and genuinely enjoyable musical comedy that earns plenty of laughs and smiles along the way.

La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts & Mccoy Rigby Entertainment will present the first show of their 2022-2023 season, the Southern California premiere of the newly-revised, London version of Mel Brooks’ YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. See photos from the production here!

Laguna Playhouse presents the hottest musical of the Summer, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, based on the Paramount/RSO Picture and the story by Nik Cohn, adapted for the stage by Robert Stigwood in collaboration with Bill Oaks, musical arrangements and orchestrations by David Abbinanti, featuring songs by The Bee Gees, musical direction by Ricky Pope and directed & choreographed by Karen Babcock Brassea. 

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to present one of the greatest and most celebrated musicals of all time, A CHORUS LINE, conceived and originally directed & choreographed by Michael Bennett, book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, musical direction by Ricky Pope and directed and choreographed by Luis Villabon.

Apart from the infectious, wall-to-wall music, which is rousingly played live on stage by all the actors, what makes Million Dollar Quartet a crowd-pleaser is the interpersonal dramas driven by the egos of four pop music pioneers.