Ellen Dostal

LYSISTRATA UNBOUND at the Odyssey Theatre

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Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld John Farmanesh-Bocca directs the world premiere of a bracing new version of Eduardo Machado‘s LYSISTRATA UNBOUND, starring Brenda Strong (Supergirl, 13 Reasons Why)as Lysistrata, in a collaboration between Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble. Set in Ancient Greece to the cadence of a modern text, the 90-minute one-act play uses Farmanesh-Bocca’s … Read more

HENRY IV at the Japanese Gardens on the West L.A. VA campus

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Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Tom Hanks as Falstaff, Joe Morton as King Henry IV and a solid supporting ensemble add up to half a dozen good reasons to see director Dan Sullivan’s staging of Henry IV,….Read more… Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld Director Daniel Sullivan‘s adaptation of HENRY IV, Parts 1 & 2 may only be playing in … Read more

THE COLOR PURPLE at the Pantages Theatre

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Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen How is it possible that a musical based on a book written nearly 40 years ago feels more timely than ever today? The tour of the Tony-winning Broadway revival of The Color Purple just opened at the Pantages Theatre, and its messages of female empowerment in the face of … Read more

WOOD BOY DOG FISH at the Garry Marshall Theatre

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Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld Puppets and monsters and freaks, oh my. Shoreside has an abundance of them in WOOD BOY DOG FISH and they don’t play well together at all… The story is a spin on Pinocchio but it in no way resembles the Disney fairy tale most people are familiar with so don’t bring … Read more

THE TEMPEST at the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center

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Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld A gaunt Leon Russom conjures up more pathos than normal as the aged Prospero in the Porters of Hellsgate’s production of THE TEMPEST. Whether it is due to the fact that the actor has been battling pneumonia, which took him out of the show opening weekend mid-performance, or that his interpretation of the … Read more

SOFT POWER at the Ahmanson Theatre

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Ellen Dostal – Musicals in LA It takes an incredible amount of work to create a new musical, and to dream up one that is different from any other musical already written is an even more complicated developmental process. The blood, sweat, tears, and years that go into it are not for the faint of … Read more

SCHOOL OF ROCK at the Pantages Theatre

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Margaret Gray – LA Times In one of the most entertaining numbers in the musical “School of Rock,” which opened Thursday at the Hollywood Pantages theater, a substitute teacher rallies his 10-year-old students to “stick it to the man” by ignoring their stuffy prep-school curriculum and forming a rock band. It’s fun to watch the … Read more

ICE at 24th Street Theatre

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Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main ICE, Leon Martell’s family friendly play, takes place in 1988 and follows the misadventures of two undocumented immigrants: Chepe (Jesús Castaños-Chima), an avid baseball fan who dreams of making a fortune selling gourmet tacos; and his cousin Nacho (Tony Dúran), whom the beleaguered Chepe summons from Mexico to assist … Read more

BLUES IN THE NIGHT at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

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Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld Somewhere in a cheap hotel in Chicago, circa late 1930s, three women are singing the blues. Two have been around the block and seen it all. One is woefully wise beyond her years. All have been burned by the flames of desire and lovers who have done them wrong.Read more… Deborah … Read more

SOUTH PACIFIC at La Mirada Theatre

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Jonas Schwartz –  TheaterMania The overture fades in with the woodwinds as the strings wistfully play the motif of “Bali Ha’i,” the lush music that transports audiences to the magical islands of South Pacific. Just beyond the breeze and the luster of the sand, the entire world has clashed violently, and fascism has drawn most of mankind … Read more