Thousand Oaks Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Hillcrest Center For The Arts
by Cary Ginell - December 26, 2025

A delightful way to kick off Christmas week weas this offbeat radio play production of Charles Dickens' classic short story....

Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Rubicon Theatre Co.
by Cary Ginell - October 27, 2025

Musically superb, a faulty book prevents 'Million Dollar Quartet' from being one of the best rock musicals of all time. Four musicians perform as Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash in a shows inspired by an impromptu Memphis recording session in December 1956....

Review: HAIRSPRAY at Scherr Forum Theatre
by Cary Ginell - October 13, 2025

What did our critic think of HAIRSPRAY at Scherr Forum Theatre? 5-Star Theatricals' production of Hairspray, which opened October 10 at the Scherr Forum Theatre in Thousand Oaks, is the bubbly, effervescent morality tale about civil rights in Baltimore in the early ’60s that won Tony awards for best...

Review: CABARET at Scherr Forum
by Cary Ginell - March 23, 2025

5-Star Theatricals uses low-angle lighting to highlight the decadence of pre-Nazi era Berlin, but the performances are not as bold as previous productions of 'Cabaret' have been. Sean Samuels plays The Emcee as if he were a Chippendale's dancer while Emily Goglia channels Glynis Johns rather than Li...

Review: PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL: A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS at Scherr Forum Theater
by Cary Ginell - December 15, 2024

What did our critic think of PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL: A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS at Scherr Forum Theater?...

Review: OLIVER! at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center
by Cary Ginell - October 26, 2023

What did our critic think of OLIVER! at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center? As the earliest Broadway musical ever to feature children playing major roles, Oliver! usually bristles with youthful excitement. But despite being marketed as a family-oriented musical, Oliver! is really inappropriate f...

Review: GOLDIE HAWN at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center
by Cary Ginell - September 24, 2023

What did our critic think of GOLDIE HAWN at Bank Of American Performing Arts Center?...

Review: CINDERELLA at 5-Star Theatricals
by Cary Ginell - July 17, 2023

What did our critic think of CINDERELLA at 5-Star Theatricals?...

Review: The San Diego Symphony Opens Summer Season at San Diego's Rady Shell
by Ron Bierman - July 03, 2023

Pacho Flores is a winner of the top prize in the world’s most prestigious trumpet competition, the Maurice André International, and the list of contemporary composers writing for him is impressive and growing. The San Diego Symphony has now performed two of the results. Last season it was Paquito D'...

Review: RAGTIME at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center, Thousand Oaks
by Cary Ginell - March 29, 2023

A superb production marks the 25th anniversary of the Broadway debut of 'Ragtime.' One weekend remains for this outstanding performance by 5-Star Theatricals in Thousand Oaks....

Review: 5-Star Theatricals' THE ADDAMS FAMILY at Kavli Theatre
by Cary Ginell - October 16, 2022

With TV star Teri Hatcher ('Desperate Housewives,' 'Lois & Clark') leading the way, 5-Star Theatricals' production of 'The Addams Family' is a gag-filled laughfest, with great tunes, a cemetery full of puns, and even a wardrobe malfunction. It's real, and it's spectacular!...