Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper News

5-STAR THEATRICALS (formerly Cabrillo Music Theatre) continues its 2018-2019 season with the Thousand Oaks premiere of ROALD DAHL'S MATILDA, adapted by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin (Groundhog Day), musical direction by Jennifer Lin, choreography by Heather Castillo and directed by Lewis Wilkenfeld.  ROALD DAHL'S MATILDA opens on Friday, March 22, 2019 and runs through Sunday, March 31, 2019 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.  

Admittedly, after experiencing South Coast Repertory's potent and captivating new production of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, I'm hard pressed to remember the last time I was both this deeply moved and this excitedly riveted by Stephen Sondheim's macabre tale of a murderous barber hell-bent on exacting revenge. A curiously odd but strangely engrossing show peppered generously with dark humor, tragically-romanticized notions, and contrasting serious overtones, SWEENEY TODD's latest iteration in Orange County---now on stage in Costa Mesa through February 16, 2019---is a thrilling, quite distinctive new reinvention, that feels like a fresh pop-up play put on by a traveling Vaudevillian troupe that time-travelled from the past to give us modern audiences a live cautionary reenactment of a Penny Dreadful story that may just be too strange not to be true.

Nearly 40 years ago, Stephen Sondheim's bent-on-revenge barber, Sweeney Todd, sliced his way into the canon of musical theatre. The multi-award-winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is next up on the Segerstrom Stage at South Coast Repertory, Jan. 19-Feb. 16. Kent Nicholson directs the production. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

Playwright Peter Quilter's END OF THE RAINBOW packs a powerful punch in the gut under director Michael Matthews sure-handed guidance of his talented cast. Two moments of RAINBOW rate as the must, MUST-see moments for any Judy Garland aficionados - when the astonishing Angela Ingersoll totally morphs into Judy Garland singing 'The Man That Got Away' and, when Ingersoll channels Judy Garland in 'Over the Rainbow.' Ingersoll has Judy Garland down pat.

Rubicon Theatre presents a timely and trenchant production of Shakespeare's tragedy KING LEAR as the centerpiece of the company's 20th Anniversary Season. Directed by Co-Founder James O'Neil, the production features a 20-member cast led by acclaimed actor and company member George Ball, who has starred in previous Rubicon productions of All My Sons, Man of La Mancha, and Jacques Brel… (New York, L.A., and international companies of the latter).

Rubicon Theatre presents a timely and trenchant production of Shakespeare's tragedy KING LEAR as the centerpiece of the company's 20th Anniversary Season. Directed by Co-Founder James O'Neil, the production features a 20-member cast led by acclaimed actor and company memberGeorge Ball, who has starred in previous Rubicon productions of All My Sons, Man of La Mancha, and Jacques Brel… (New York, L.A., and international companies of the latter).

Rubicon Theatre today announced casting for KING LEAR, the centerpiece of the company's 20th Anniversary Season. Timely and trenchant,LEAR is the story of a narcissistic ruler who craves adulation, casts out those who doubt his decisions, and neglects those on the fringes of society. Considered by many to be Shakespeare's greatest masterpiece, KING LEAR is a haunting and epic saga of love, greed, family strife, and civil war.

Witty, enchanting, and joyously self-referential, the original film version of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE fantasizes a story involving a young, virile William Shakespeare in his prime, who quells a bout of writer's block by secretly romancing an engaged lady named Viola---which apparently becomes the inspiration for the Bard's infamous star-crossed tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet.' The plot of the film remains fairly intact in Lee Hall's mostly delightful if slightly diluted stage adaptation, now continuing performances in a gorgeous-looking new regional production at Orange County's Tony Award-winning theater South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through February 10, 2018. This spunky love letter to the theater is chockfull of stagecraft-insider amusements and fun-to-find Shakespearean Easter Eggs that both aficionados and casual fans will appreciate. But, shockingly, despite the spectacular production values and the beguiling, gusto-bathed performances of its large ensemble cast, this stage adaptation somehow loses some of the inescapable romanticism that is so much more prevalent in the original film.

Romance, mistaken identities, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics served up with a generous dash of comedy are at the heart of Shakespeare in Love, adapted by Lee Hall from the Oscar-winning film written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, with music by Paddy Cunneen. South Coast Repertory Artistic Director Marc Masterson directs the production on the Segerstrom Stage, Jan. 13-Feb. 10. Tickets are now on sale: www.scr.org.

Romance, mistaken identities, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics served up with a generous dash of comedy are at the heart of Shakespeare in Love, adapted by Lee Hall from the Oscar-winning film written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, with music by Paddy Cunneen. South Coast Repertory Artistic Director Marc Masterson directs the production on the Segerstrom Stage, Jan. 13-Feb. 10. Tickets are now on sale: www.scr.org.

North Coast Repertory has extended its run OF MICE AND MEN through November 19th, adding five more performances due to demand. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

For its second play of Season 36, North Coast Rep is reviving John Steinbeck's classic drama novella-turned play, OF MICE AND MEN.

For its second play of Season 36, North Coast Rep is reviving John Steinbeck's classic drama novella-turned play, OF MICE AND MEN.

Though the Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of writer/director John Carney's well-liked indie film ONCE is a musical that this reviewer has liked quite a bit from past productions, it took seeing South Coast Repertory's brand new regional production---now on stage in Costa Mesa through September 30---for this reviewer to not only like it, but to truly adore it. From casting to staging and everything in between, SCR's enjoyable new mounting, under the astute direction of Kent Nicholson, is somehow much more emotional, thoughtful, and remarkably riveting than past touring productions. And though, yes, it is essentially the same source material, SCR's exquisite new iteration of this small, but genuinely endearing musical is by far the gold standard of how this show should look and feel in any and all future productions.

For its second play of Season 36, North Coast Rep is reviving John Steinbeck's classic drama novella-turned play, OF MICE AND MEN.

A testament to the transcendent power of love and music takes center stage as South Coast Repertory opens its 2017-18 season with the multi-award-winning Once. The musical-book by Enda Walsh; music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova-is based on John Carney's Academy Award-winning indie film of the same name. Kent Nicholson will direct Once on the Segerstrom Stage, Sept. 2-30, 2017. Tickets are available online at www.scr.org.

Rubicon Theatre Company, in association with Music2Life, presents a new weeklong series of events in Ventura, California, May 8 - 13, 2017, called MUSIC FOR CHANGING TIMES: LOOKING BACK/MOVING FORWARD.

South Coast Repertory continues its Theatre for Young Audiences series with Flora & Ulysses. The play, based on the popular illustrated novel, has been adapted for stage by John Glore. Casey Stangl directs the world premiere on the Julianne Argyros Stage,Feb. 3-19. Tickets are on sale now: www.scr.org

South Coast Repertory continues its Theatre for Young Audiences series with Flora & Ulysses. The play, based on the popular illustrated novel, has been adapted for stage by John Glore. Casey Stangl directs the world premiere on the Julianne Argyros Stage,Feb. 3-19. Tickets are on sale now: www.scr.org

North Coast Repertory Theatre, which mounted a monster hit last year with Neil Simon's Chapter Two, is now staging LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR, the playwright's love letter to his early career as a writer for Sid Caesar's 'Your Show of Shows.'  Described by Variety as 'a battery of yuks that barely lets up,' the play recounts his writing, fighting and wacky antics during the days of live television when he cavorted with such comedy legends as Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks as they tried to please their terrifyingly demanding boss. Tickets are certain to be flying out the window for this wildly hysterically funny romp, so order early to avoid disappointment.