BRONCO BILLY – THE MUSICAL at the Skylight Theatre

Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw If you haven’t seen the 1980 movie Bronco Billy with Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke (or can’t remember if you did), don’t worry. With a book by Dennis Hackin (who also wrote the novel and the movie’s screenplay), and music and lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres, with additional lyrics … Read more

JULIUS WEEZER at the El Portal Theatre

Terry Morgan  –  Talkin’ Broadway To quote an obscure Elizabethan playwright, “we lucky few” have been privileged to enjoy the work of the Troubadour Theater Company for 25 years now. Its trademark — combining a play (often Shakespeare) with the music of a famous artist, then adding its own blend of anarchy and witty topical … Read more

A Conversation with Matt Walker and Beth Kennedy, the King and Queen of Troubie Land

Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld When it comes to developing a loyal fan base, Troubadour Theater Company has found the secret: do outstanding work, stay true to your aesthetic, and give the people what they want – a great time at the theater. Artistic Director Matt Walker started the troupe and, with the help of longtime … Read more

CATS at the Pantages Theatre

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Do you invent a new cuss word every time your phone insists you install a slight update? Do you glare at products in the grocery store whose labels boast “improved” when you know they’re not. Chances are, then, you’ll feel the same about this “new Broadway production” of “Cats,” … Read more

WITNESS UGANDA at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Presumably expelled by his New York City church for being gay, Griffin Matthews gathered his earnings from his then-unfruitful acting career and headed to Uganda for a six-week stay to help build a school. He changed lives there. The Ugandans he met changed his. And from this real-life journey … Read more

SWEENEY TODD at South Coast Repertory

Ellen Dostal – Musicals in LA Done right, the first notes of a musical will tell you exactly what kind of world you’re stepping into. When it comes to the masters, Stephen Sondheimdoes it better than just about anyone.For Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, all it takes is one crashing dissonant organ chord … Read more

HELLO, DOLLY! at the Pantages Theatre

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Put on your Sunday clothes and get down to the Hollywood Pantages Theatre because there’s a new matchmaker in town, and her antics are bound to warm even the coldest of hearts. The Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival of Hello Dolly! is currently making its Los Angeles debut as part … Read more

COME FROM AWAY at the Ahmanson Theatre

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen On paper, it feels a bit wrong to call a musical about September 11th, 2001 “uplifting.” It is easy to wonder how that could possibly be true…until seeing Come From Away, a true marvel of a show that manages to take a large story everyone knows about one … Read more

THE WOMAN WHO WENT TO SPACE AS A MAN at Son of Semele

Ellen Dostal – Musicals in LA Maureen Huskey’s new one act play with music takes place wholly in the moment before death. Conceived as a 90 minute suspension of time in which Alice B. Sheldon (Betsy Moore) watches her life pass before her eyes, it blends music, movement, sound, and text to create as enigmatic a … Read more

MUTT HOUSE at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could talk to dogs? For Eddie (Ryan McCartan), the main character in Mutt House, a new musical now in its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, this is his reality.   Read more… Ellen Dostal … Read more