Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre Bites Podcast 7.8 out of 10! Above Average! Listen here… Anita W. Harris – Long Beach Post All the songs are crisply executed by the accomplished actor-musicians in this show, including Chase Ramsey as additional Cricket Tommy Alsopp and Elizabeth Curtin as Vi Petty, the record producer’s wife, on keyboards. … Read more
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix While the story and attitudes of “42nd Street” may feel more aligned to an older generation, this production’s dazzling staging, costuming, singing and dancing—with a message of staying true to yourself and your dream—still make it entertaining today. Read more…
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Mix mobsters, doctrinarians, disco and polyester, and the last thing this farrago should produce is a story about finding one’s blissful true self. But somehow the musical “Sister Act” does just that, particularly in the hands of Musical Theatre West, under Michael Matthews’ direction. Read more… Shirle Gottlieb – … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze The curtain rises to reveal a New York stoop, as the overture blossoms into an iconic score and eight young men in jeans and tennies burst into a dance of seething frustration and endless energy. Unmistakably, this is “West Side Story.” Read more… Now running through February 28.
Dany Margolies – Press-Telegram More rain is coming down on the Carpenter Performing Arts Center’s stage through the end of this month than has been seen in Long Beach all year. Read more… Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA Perennially listed in the top films of all times, MGM’s Singin’ in the Rain is an early rarity: a … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Arts In LA Musical Theatre West accentuates everything best about the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic South Pacific. Director Joe Langworth has acquired a talented cast, enhanced the naturalistic script so that the songs emerge from the actors conversationally, and made sure the Pulitzer Prize–winning book scenes are as enticing as the enchanting songs. Read … 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
Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1993 musical adaptation of writer-director Billy Wilder’s legendary 1950 film classic Sunset Boulevard is perhaps as well known for its behind the scenes melodrama as its Gothic-flavored narrative about faded Hollywood glamour and unrequited love. Read more… Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers It’s no wonder that “Sunset … Read more
Oklahoma! by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers Written in 1943 by musical titans Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Oklahoma! was a theatrical milestone that changed the face of musical theater forever. Read more… David C. Nichols – LA Times A bright golden haze of timeless musical theater invention suffuses Oklahoma! at the Carpenter Center. It carries Musical Theatre West’s affable, fleet-footed 70th … Read more
42nd Street by Mark Bramble, Michael Stewart, Harry Warren and Al Dubin. David C. Nicols – L.A. Times Audiences craving unbridled pizazz should race to 42nd Streetat the Carpenter Center in Long Beach. Musical Theatre West opens its 60th season with the indestructible backstager, and scores a toe-tapping triumph. Read more… Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers If you’re a musical theater buff, you’re undoubtedly acquainted … Read more