ASSASSINS at East West Players

Jonas Schwartz-Owen – Theatermania The East West Players production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s brilliant, jagged pill of a musical Assassins is thought-provoking and harrowing. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way The Stephen Sondheim one-act musical Assassins has gotten mixed reviews and heated pro and con reactions since it debuted in 1990. What else would you expect … Read more

POWER OF SAIL at Geffen Playhouse

Terry Morgan  –  Artsbeat LA One of the core American principles is the right to free speech. However, this glorious principle runs into trouble when truly evil groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or Nazis wish to spread their poisonous propaganda. Read more… Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In a society that celebrates diversity and … Read more

EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE at the Ahmanson Theatre

Tracey Paleo – Broadway World It was just what we needed!” The audience response was joyous. Indeed, that was the very vocal sentiment of so many in the crowd after a triumphant opening night at the Ahmanson Theatre downtown Los Angeles….Read more… Jonas Schwartz –  TheaterMania Of course, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, since its star, Layton … Read more

A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Ahmanson Theatre

Jonas Schwartz-Owen – Theatermania The holiday season has come to the Ahmanson Theatre, where London’s Old Vic Theatre has installed its annual A Christmas Carol, with Bradley Whitford playing Scrooge. While Jack Thorne’s new adaptation does attempt to add dimension to the Scrooge character, painting childhood abuse and a misguided desperation for money as a motivation … Read more

THE BAND’S VISIT at the Dolby Theatre

Jonas Schwartz-Owen – Theatermania The enchanting musical The Band’s Visit, now at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, perfectly embodies the simplicity with which music draws even the most disparate group of people into a gentle harmony… David Yazbek absorbs the unique sounds of the Middle East, using instruments like the oud and the darbuka, to create … Read more

LIZASTRADA at Getty Villa

Jonas Schwartz-Owen – Broadway World During the opening number, the Troubadour Theatre Company, affectionately known to all as the Troubies, comment how thrilled the troupe, and the audience by extension, is to have returned to live theatre. The audience responded with glorious applause, and both the occasion and the Troubies deserve that adulation. Read more… Terry … Read more

INSIDE THE BOX at Geffen Playhouse

Jonas Schwartz – Broadway World The Geffen is hosting a game night and it’s a goofy, geeky, glorious distraction from the gloom and doom of 2020. Created and led by puzzle enthusiast David Kwong, this latest version of the Geffen Stayhouse series, Inside The Box, is a perfect way to connect with others in these isolating times. … Read more

THE BOOK OF MORMON at the Ahmanson Theatre

Jonas Schwartz – BroadwayWorld After two successful runs in Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014 at the Pantages, that smut-mouthed, but endearing musical comedy The Book Of Mormon has squatted downtown at the Ahmanson, and third time around, it has lost none of its luster, or its smut.Read more… Now running through March 29

BANDSTAND at Broadway In Thousand Oaks

Jonas Schwartz – BroadwayWorld The musical Bandstand, which is now part of the American Theater Guild tour across the country, thrives when Andy Blankenbuehler’s Tony-winning choreography is front and center. Restaged for this production by Marc Heitzman, who was Dance Captain in the Broadway production, the dances display vitality that makes audiences want to stand … Read more