THOUSAND OAKS THEATER REVIEWS

The five-time Tony Award-nominated hit classic has returned to its roots on Hollywood Blvd. with an immersive theatrical and dining experience at a specially built performance venue and nightlife destination named after the venue at the center of the show, The Bourbon Room. And with 6 years on Broad...

The current production presented by the performing arts department at California State University at Channel Islands is the retelling of the tragic hate crime involving an Out student at a Wyoming university, two bigoted young townspeople, and the small town of Laramie that was affected by the incid...

An innovative immersive production, in which orchestra musicians step on stage to perform with the cast and an in-the-round configuration, highlights Rubicon Theatre Company's evocative, atmospheric production of 'Big River.' With a score by country music's Roger Miller, 'Big River' won 7 Tonys in 1...

Anna Kotula shines as poet Emily Dickinson in William Luce's Tony-winning play, 'The Belle of Amherst.' Kotula plays Dickinson as a young girl and celebrated recluse in a performance that brings alive one of the most brilliant poets in American history. Produced by the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ven...

Led by stars Brandon Keith Rogers (Tony) and Giselle Torres (Maria), 5-Star Theatricals' production of 'West Side Story' features scintillating new choreography by Karl Warden, including some stunningly visual interpretations of the story. Dynamic performances all around, this is a MUST-SEE producti...

'The Book of Mormon' came a-callin' to Thousand Oaks with its national tour - a fast-moving, crude but hilarious satire of those white-shirted, clean-cut missionaries. The clever score was written by the creators of 'South Park.' Audiences flocked to see the performance at the Thousand Oaks Civic Ar...

Concepts of madness and racial prejudice cross paths in this tense trialogue drama by English playwright Joe Penhall about an incarcerated patient in a London psychiatric hospital and the tensions between his two doctors as to whether he should be released....

'Vanities' traces the lives of three Texas high school cheerleaders, as their personalities diverge in five-year increments, ending in 1974....

'Avenue Q' uses 'Sesame Street' as a framework to deliver hilarious lessons on friendship and identity, with actors/puppeteers manipulating Muppet-like characters....

A story about a murdered dog turns into a character study of a teenager with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), brilliantly portrayed by 19-year-old Benjamin Colby Wilson. This play will warm your heart as it shows Wilson's honest and sympathetic portrayal of a boy in search for comfort and acceptance ...

Pasadena Playhouse's vibrant re-thinking of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's masterpiece, 'Ragtime' is a triumph of innovation and imagination. The show has been extended until March 7....

I had the pleasure of attending two performances from two opposite ends of the professionalism spectrum. One being a student directed, high school musical (well produced and performed, by the way) and the other a dramady produced by a well-respected theatre company chock-full of industry professiona...

Musical Theatre Guild revived an oldie but not so goodie last Sunday at the Alex Theatre. 'Minnie's Boys' purported to be modeled on 'Gypsy,' using a meddlesome, domineering mother to get her progeny, the four Marx Brothers, into show business. Unfortunately, a tepid book and uneven score made this ...

William Shakespeare's comedy 'As You Like It' plays through March 10th at Camarillo Skyway Playhouse.. A story of love and the rocky road to union, reunion, and redemption. Duke Senior (the versatile Mary Comstock) has been banished and her rule usurped by her brother Frederick (the ever- present Ch...

Joe Spano and Ovation-Award nominee Faline England portray two lost souls who meet in a London Underground station and embark on an unlikely May-December romance. The story takes unexpected twists and turns that results in a life-affirmation display of how walls need to be broken down, and not built...

A brilliant cast and production highlights McCoy Rigby Entertainment's '1776,' with bravura performances from Andy Umberger (John Adams), Peter Van Norden (Benjamin Franklin) and John Barbour (Edward Rutledge)....

The national touring company of 'The King and I' (based on the Tony-award winning Lincoln Center production) arrived in Thousand Oaks for a brief, one-weekend run. Angela Baumgardner shines as governess Anna Leonowens, with a luxuriant production of rich costumes and marvelous vocal performances fro...

The Rubicon Theatre Company brings back a Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, 'South Pacific,' in a uniquely intimate two-piano version, featuring stellar performances and a ravishing set design. This one will be talked about for years to come....

A stellar cast highlights William Inge's classic play about loneliness on the expansive prairie and a desolate diner on a highway outside of Kansas City. Hayley Georgeanne Cariker and Michael Wayne Beck turn in exemplary performances as the low-grade saloon singer and the wild, untamed cowboy who al...

What do you do after suffering a debilitating stroke? Write a one-woman show, of course! On December 20, character actress Farley Cadena suffered an ischemic stroke, which left her unable to speak clearly, sing, or read. But she fought back, with this self-penned show helping in her rehabilitation. ...

Musical Theatre Guild's production of 'Mame' wowed a Sunday evening audience with its broad comedy, Jerry Herman's tuneful score, and winning performances from its cast. The staged reading included full costumes, choreography, and some wonderfully funny moments, thanks to Lewis Wilkenfled's skillful...

'I Dig Rock And Roll Music' celebrates the folk-rock era of the '60s and '70s utilizing a six-person band, three of whom were featured in the successful theatrical concert 'Lonesome Traveler.' The show includes hit songs from the folk-rock movement, including protest songs like 'Ohio,' 'For What It'...

A dark horse candidate with little political acumen lacking in smarts is battling to become the Republican candidate for president, while keeping silent one in a series of illicit affairs. Sound familiar? In 'Fifteen Men In a Smoke-Filled Room,' playwright Colin Speer Crowley focuses on the candidac...

The 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, is dissected in this riveting anatomy of a hate crime, and how it affected the residents of that small town. Elite Theatre Company's production is well-acted and directed by Morgan Keough for Lit Live Theatre....

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