BRONCO BILLY – THE MUSICAL at the Skylight Theatre

Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw If you haven’t seen the 1980 movie Bronco Billy with Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke (or can’t remember if you did), don’t worry. With a book by Dennis Hackin (who also wrote the novel and the movie’s screenplay), and music and lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres, with additional lyrics … Read more

JULIUS WEEZER at the El Portal Theatre

Terry Morgan  –  Talkin’ Broadway To quote an obscure Elizabethan playwright, “we lucky few” have been privileged to enjoy the work of the Troubadour Theater Company for 25 years now. Its trademark — combining a play (often Shakespeare) with the music of a famous artist, then adding its own blend of anarchy and witty topical … Read more

THE SECRET GARDEN – 3-D Theatricals at Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts

Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld When 3-D Theatricals artistic director T.J. Dawson tells you during the curtain speech to read his program note before THE SECRET GARDEN begins, take him at his word. It will go a long way toward helping you understand the feverish dream sequence that lays the foundation for Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman’s dark, … Read more

DANIEL’S HUSBAND at the Fountain Theatre

Terry Morgan  –  Talkin’ Broadway It’s always a nice moment when a work of art surprises me in a positive way. It reminds me of one of the reasons I love theater in the first place: the primal pull of story. It’s the delight of seeing something new when one was expecting something else.Read more… … Read more

DIANA OF DOBSON’S at Antaeus Theatre Company’s Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen It is rare to see a play written in 1908 that can be described as feminist, but Diana of Dobson’s, currently playing at Los Angeles’s Antaeus Theatre Company in a rare production, is a delightful surprise.Read more… Now running through June 2

A Conversation with Matt Walker and Beth Kennedy, the King and Queen of Troubie Land

Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld When it comes to developing a loyal fan base, Troubadour Theater Company has found the secret: do outstanding work, stay true to your aesthetic, and give the people what they want – a great time at the theater. Artistic Director Matt Walker started the troupe and, with the help of longtime … Read more

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT at the Edgemar Center for the Arts

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen If you find the page count or the dense subject matter of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment too intimidating, Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus’s award-winning stage adaptation might be more palatable. Clocking in at a cool 90 minutes and featuring only three actors, this version boils the classic tale down … Read more