Michael Lamont
Ellen Dostal – Broadway World
Somewhere between its opening of SWEET CHARITY in late June and the end of July, Reprise 2.0 postponed its second scheduled production of its inaugural season, VICTOR/VICTORIA. In its place, the company has mounted a revival of Kander & Ebb’s musical revue, THE WORLD GOES ‘ROUND…….Read more…
Now running through September 16
Michael Lamont
Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen
At one point in the musical Sweet Charity, the main female characters sing “there’s gotta be something better than this.” While they are singing about their disappointing lives, this line also speaks directly to the extremely problematic messages this dated show perpetuates regarding sexual and gender politics. Read more…
Ellen Dostal – Musicals in L.A.
When Reprise! Broadway’s Best closed its doors in 2012, musical theatre lovers heaved a collective sigh. The resident company at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse had gained a reputation for producing outstanding performances of classic musicals featuring stars from the worlds of live theatre and television, similar to those done by Encores! in New York. Everyone felt the loss. …Read more…
Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw
If you didn’t know any better, it would be easy to forget that Sweet Charity, now playing at UCLA, is a musical from the 1960s.
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Now running through July 1
Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter
As long as I have attended the theater, I have been an adherent of Peter Brook and for nearly 50 years have never missed any available opportunity to experience his work. Since he split his over 70-year career between London and Paris, that has meant for me only those productions that have been exported to the U.S. (around a dozen, most prominently Marat/Sade, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Mahabharata) and the nine feature films distributed here (including Lord of the Flies, Marat/Sade, King Lear and Moderato Cantabile). He has long mastered the technique of penetrating flamboyance, yet his progress has inexorably trended toward that of a patient, exacting teacher of the most profound relationship of art to the spirit.
Now running through April 19.
Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A.
The world premiere of a new musical, When You Wish: The Story of Walt Disney—celebrating the life and career of the legendary animator/mogul Disney (1901-1966)—seems well-timed to the upcoming release of a holiday season film, Saving Mr. Banks. The eagerly awaited movie starring Tom Hanks as Disney is set during the making of his studio’s movie classic Mary Poppins in the mid-1960s. Meanwhile, this biographical stage tuner, co-produced by 1960s-era singing idol Pat Boone and Dean McClure (book and score writer) is apparently wishing upon a star of its own……