Leslie Stevens News

n 1998 when Jason Robert Brown won a Tony Award for the score of this unusually provocative musical Parade, the opulent Broadway production closed to critical acclaim, but due to excessive costs, the show remained inaccessible until the Donmar Warehouse resurrected it and produced a tight - minus the frills - mounting at the Mark Taper Forum in 2009. 3-D Theatricals, who are becoming increasingly known for their superlative skill with producing big musicals, have decided to put back many of the frills of the original and double the cast to its original size - 36, in order to enhance and give the musical the big, full-voiced chorus sound it deserves. And, in my mind, this bigger hybrid version surpasses the Taper's for its grande musical elegance and the presence of a perfectly cast lead actor in the role of Leo Frank, Jeff Skowron.

The long awaited revival of Jason Robert Brownand Alfred Uhry's gripping Tony Award-winning murder mystery musical PARADE as presented in 2013 at Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium by 3-D Theatricals (3DT) of Los Angeles and Orange County, comes to two Southern California main stage theatres through June 10 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and June 15 - 24, 2018 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

The long awaited revival of Jason Robert Brownand Alfred Uhry's gripping Tony Award-winning murder mystery musical PARADE as presented in 2013 at Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium by 3-D Theatricals (3DT) of Los Angeles and Orange County, will once again take a bow at two Southern California main stage theatres beginning June 1 - 10 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and June 15 - 24, 2018 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

The long awaited revival of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's gripping Tony Award-winning murder mystery musical PARADE as presented five years ago at Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium by 3-D Theatricals (3DT) of Los Angeles and Orange County, will once again take a bow at two Southern California main stage theatres beginning June 1 - 10 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and June 15 - 24, 2018 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Broadway's JEFF SKOWRON*, RUFUS BONDS JR.* and DAVIS GAINES* lead many returning cast members of the original 2013 3DT production.

Jolie Holland to Release Compilation Album Benefit Post-Harvey Recovery

Frantic, broad comedy and an attractive Spanish-flavored score highlight Musical Theatre Guild's recent staged reading of Jeffrey Lane's 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.'

The famed Musical Theatre Guild performed a staged reading on November 12 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale of the musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Based on the 1988 film of the same name by Pedro Almodovar, the book for the musical is by Jeffrey Lane and the music by David Yazbek. When the show played in New York about 5 years ago, it was problematic. Mounted first at Lincoln Center it gradually moved to the Belasco and closed within a couple of months, due to critics and audience who claimed they found the plot difficult to follow.

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will continue their 22nd Anniversary season with the West Coast professional premiere of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, the stage musical version of the Academy Award nominated film of the same name. The one-night-only concert will take place at Glendale's historic Alex Theatre on Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM.

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will continue their 22nd Anniversary season with the West Coast professional premiere of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, the stage musical version of the Academy Award nominated film of the same name. The one-night-only concert will take place at Glendale's historic Alex Theatre on Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM. Full casting has just been announced!

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will continue their 22nd Anniversary season with the West Coast professional premiere of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, the stage musical version of the Academy Award nominated film of the same name. Musical Theatre Guild's production will feature Los Angeles native and original Broadway cast member Nikka Graff Lanzarone in the role of Candela.

Brundibar returns to Monmouth County in Count Basie Theatre's new production led by Eli Villanueva and Jason Tramm August 19 & 20

3-D Theatricals of Los Angeles County and Orange County is pleased to present Monty Python's Tony Award-winning musical comedy SPAMALOT August 4 - 13 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center (with an official press opening of August 5); and August 18 - 27, 2017 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

A celestial romance and true story of discovery, Silent Sky by acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson opens at International City Theatre on August 25. Two low-priced previews take place on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24.

When Oklahoma! was first produced on Broadway in 1943 it became the first smash hit for  the newly formed collaborating team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and was also the first real book musical, preceded only by Showboat. It was a breakthrough musical, which when given a first-class production, is still, some 74 years later, without question, one of the greatest American musicals ever written. 'The Farmer and the Cowman' truly represents the philosophy of what America is all about, a unity and pride that is unmistakable. Oklahoma! is currently onstage in Redondo Beach, directed byT.J. Dawson, artistic director of 3-D Theatricals. He has beautifully succeeded in reimagining Oklahoma! for the 21st century. In the 40s it was not appropriate to portray racism onstage the way it clearly existed. Modern audiences, however, demand that musicals go a giant step further and explore life in all its complexities. I can thruthfully state that this Oklahoma! is quite unlike any production you have ever seen....and that means you should put it at the top of your must-see list. Our country has always been referred to as a melting pot culture. The expression rings in this produciton of Oklahoma! There's Ali Hakim (Drew Boudreau), the traveling pedlar, who sets his eyes on Ado Annie (Kelley Dorney). He is Persian. And in this production Jud Fry is African American (played by Rufus Bonds, Jr.). His hidden affections for Laurey (Julia Aks) are not only difficult for her to accept because of his low class, rough and cruel behavior, but being black in 1906 made you ... intolerable. Casting Fry as black adds a whole other dimension to the story. Fry seems beleaguered by previous war inju

Leslie Stevens is having some devilish fun playing Lola in San Diego Musical Theatre's current production of DAMN YANKEES! Catch her as Lola in DAMN YANKEES at San Diego Musical Theatre through June 18th at the Spreckles Theatre

Known for stylish award-winning productions and their signature flair for bringing to the stage thoughtfully reimagined interpretations of musical theatre spectaculars, 3-D Theatricals of Los Angeles and Orange County takes on Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!... with a new point of view.

San Diego Musical Theatre (SDMT) announced today the complete cast and creative team for its upcoming production of Damn Yankees.

On Saturday, May 13, 2017, following the 2 p.m. matinee performance of Fiasco Theater's "Into the Woods" at the Ahmanson Theatre, Center Theatre Group will throw a cast party for all the Bakers and Witches, Cinderellas and Princes, Milky Whites, et al., who have ever appeared in a production of "Into the Woods."

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle is proud to announce a new special award to be presented at its upcoming awards ceremony on March 20: The Gordon Davidson Award for distinguished contribution to the Los Angeles theatrical community. The award is sponsored by the Center Theatre Group, where Gordon Davidson served as the founding Artistic Director from 1967 to 2005, and will be presented this year to Pro99.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) has announced its nominations and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles, Orange County and Ventura County theatre for the year 2016 (Dec. 1, 2015 - Nov. 30, 2016).