Margaret Gray – LA Times Would you believe that in the Broadway juggernaut “Kinky Boots,” which has just arrived at the Pantages Theatre, nobody even wears boots? Of course you wouldn’t. I’m kidding. The show, which won six Tonys last year, including awards for musical, choreography and score, fulfills half of the promise of its … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania When Disney Theatricals launched an epic musical version of the 1996 animated film in Berlin in 1999, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was the first Disney production to open outside the United States. With additional songs by the original writers Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz and a book and direction by the acclaimed … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Trey Parker is best known for being one half of the duo who created the irreverent animated TV show South Park. He and Matt Stone also recently earned Tony Awards for their smash-hit musical The Book of Mormon. Working solo, Parker’s hysterically funny western spoof Cannibal! The Musical is an appealing mash-up of Mormon and South Park, … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Itamar Moses’ Completeness is chockfull of discourse about protein processes and algorithmic probabilities, and if, like myself, you’re not of a scientific bent, you could drift off amidst the disquisition and the theory. Chances are you won’t, however. As directed by Matt Pfeiffer, VS. Theatre’s current production is so smart and the ensemble … Read more
Les Spindle – Edge on the Net This fall, a string of new musicals that spoof horror films was kicked off with “Scary Musical, The Musical” and “Scream!” Those productions are now joined by ”Serial Killer Barbie,”featuring a book and lyrics by Colette Freedman, with music and additional lyrics by Nickella Moschetti. Despite its amusing title, … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers When Paul Garman (Musical Theatre West’s executive director/producer) saw “Big Fish” on Broadway last fall, it was so outstanding he called it “magical.” Indeed, he knew he had to bring it home to Long Beach. And so, being the inimitable musical theater executive that he is, this astonishing, award-winning, “magical” … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times If you weren’t already worried about the future, “Uploaded,” L.R. Gordon’s new play premiering at Rogue Machine, will give you specific reasons to fear the rise of the millennial generation. Read more… Now running through November 22.
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly A production of Shakespeare’s King Lear imported from the Globe Theatre in London stirs all sorts of expectations. Surely no one can do Shakespeare better than the Brits. And besides, the play is one of the most highly regarded works of literature in the English language. Read more… Dany Margolies – … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This play, written and directed by Javier Antonio Gonzalez, and presented as part of the Encuentro 2014 Festival, is set on a more or less bare stage, with two colorful grids painted on the floor. On the back wall and in the wings hang a multitude of costumes, and several … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Directed by Daniel Jáquez, Mariana Carreño King’s uneven one-act tells of a young woman who marries for love, only to grapple with loneliness and disappointment a few years later when her husband turns cold and withdrawn. It’s a common experience, surely as old as marriage itself, but it’s depicted with enough … Read more