Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA This hit Broadway musical has the feel of “Oklahoma!” meets “Hee-Haw”—with a little blatant “Music Man” ripoffs thrown in, but I was surprised to find I loved it, even if it is about as sophisticated as an expanded Minnie Pearl routine. Read more…
Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move I’m not sure why Antonio Jaramillo chose THE WOOL GATHERER as the vehicle to showcase himself and his real life partner Ashley Alvarez. But it sure did bring me back to all the worst things about the 1970s. Sure, it’s a love story. But there is so much … Read more
Edward Hong – The Nerds Of Color & Juliet, now performing in Los Angeles at the Center Theatre Group Ahmanson Theatre on their national tour, is a bombastic jukebox musical combo of Shakespeare and 90’s & 2000’s pop music that will leave a gigantic smile on your face when you leave the theatre. Read more… … Read more
Terry Morgan – ArtsBeatLA Gone are the days of yore when sex farces frolicked across the theatrical landscape like so many smarmy bunnies, slamming doors and likely featuring partial nudity, if one lived in a part of the country that didn’t frown upon such things. ’Twas truly a golden age, when… Oh, wait – most … Read more
Don Shirley – Angeles Stage The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals,’ ‘Some Like It Hot,’ ‘A Beautiful Noise,’ ‘The Fantasticks’, “Bridges of Madison County,’ ‘Seagull:Malibu,” ‘The Opposite of Love,’ ‘Berta, Berta,’ ‘Reel to Reel,’ ‘Menage a Quatre’ Read more…
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Audiences will have “Heaven on Their Minds” during the Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar, running through August 3. The classic rock opera fills the whole Bowl with an energy that’s astounding and intoxicating. Read more…
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix The stellar cast makes Chance Theater’s “Spring Awakening” a moving, must-see theatrical event. Just brace yourself for teens who have little else to think about, feel or do besides their own bodies, anguish and “The Bitch of Living.” But maybe some things never change. Read more…
Harker Jones – BroadwayWorld It’s provocative and profound, and in the end is a moving exploration of masculinity, brotherhood and how one commonality can erase race, age, and socioeconomic lines to find connection. Read more…
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA There’s obviously been no expense spared in the creation of this quintessential musical reinvention yet, unlike so many other productions taking on a project of this size and scope, none of it gets in the way of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s enchanting score and the truly excellent storytelling. Read … Read more
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw The Fantasticks, the longest running musical in history, goes back so many years and has gone through so many iterations—including a critically ill-received 2000 film—that you would think material this familiar wouldn’t pack the same emotional punch of a first viewing. You would be wrong. Read more… Amanda Callas … Read more