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... (more...)
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... (more...)
'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... (more...)
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.... (more...)
'Vanities' traces the lives of three Texas high school cheerleaders, as their personalities diverge in five-year increments, ending in 1974.... (more...)
'Avenue Q' uses 'Sesame Street' as a framework to deliver hilarious lessons on friendship and identity, with actors/puppeteers manipulating Muppet-like characters.... (more...)
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 ... (more...)
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.... (more...)
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... (more...)
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 ... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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).... (more...)
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... (more...)
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.... (more...)
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... (more...)
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. ... (more...)
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... (more...)
'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'... (more...)
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... (more...)
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.... (more...)
The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company will kick off its 22nd year with its first staging of 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' under the direction of a newcomer to the festival who has nearly 40 years of experience.... (more...)
It contains possibly the last words William Shakespeare ever wrote and chances are you've never seen a production of it. THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN was written around 1613 but not published until 1634, and is attributed to both Shakespeare and John Fletcher, the man who would succeed him as resident play... (more...)
Real-life partners Jennifer Ridgway and Kevin Ellis play perpetual adulterers George and Doris in Bernard Slade's timeless comedy 'Same Time, Next Year' at Oxnard's Elite Theatre Company.... (more...)
BWW Review: THE BELLE OF AMHERST at Rubicon Theatre Company
BWW Review: WEST SIDE STORY at 5-Star Theatricals
BWW Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
BWW Review: BLUE/ORANGE at Beacon Theater Company
BWW Review: VANITIES at Elite Theatre Company
BWW Review: AVENUE Q at Conejo Players Theatre
BWW Review: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME at Fractured Actors Theater Company
BWW Review: RAGTIME at Pasadena Playhouse
BWW Review: AMERICA ADJACENT and MAMMA MIA at Skylight Theatre Company and Agoura High School
BWW Review: MINNIE'S BOYS at Musical Theatre Guild
BWW Review: AS YOU LIKE IT at Camarillo Skyway Playhouse
BWW Review: HEISENBERG at Rubicon Theatre Company
BWW Review: 1776 at La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts
BWW Review: THE KING AND I at Fred Kavli Theatre
BWW Review: SOUTH PACIFIC at Rubicon Theatre Company
BWW Review: BUS STOP at Elite Theatre Company
BWW Review: STROKE OF LUCK at El Portal
BWW Review: MAME at Alex Theatre
BWW Review: I DIG ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC at Rubicon Theatre Company
BWW Review: FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKE-FILLED ROOM at Elite Theatre Company
BWW Review: THE LARAMIE PROJECT at Elite Theatre Company
BWW Review: OTHELLO at Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival
BWW Feature: THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN at Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival
BWW Review: Kingsmen's TWO NOBLE KINSMEN Proves Honor Has Value and Chivalry isn't Dead
BWW Review: SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR at Elite Theatre Company
