Socks Whitmore – Stage Raw It’s funny, it’s furry, it’s an infamous fan favorite—The Wayward Artist presents the “Triple Crown” Tony winner for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, Avenue Q (music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty), in the cozy little theater of Santa Ana’s Grand … Read more
Socks Whitmore – Stage Raw On the tiny stage of the Hudson Guild Theatre, two lovers on the precipice of their relationship (and the top of a legendary mountain) reckon with their very nature. The Fire at the Edge of the Earth is the inaugural production of Eight Ball Theatre, a start-up collective founded by … Read more
Martίn Hernández – Stage Raw Opening on Broadway during the U.S. housing-based financial meltdown, this 2008 Tony Award winner for Best Musical deals with gentrification, yet another real estate-grounded scourge that disproportionately harms marginalized communities. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music and lyrics, an exuberant mix of hip-hop, salsa, and other energetic musical genres, and Quiara Alegría Hude’s … Read more
Harker Jones – BroadwayWorld Bernardo Cubría’s world premiere CRABS IN A BUCKET: OR HOW BITTERNESS RUINED THE FUN is a riotous satire of small minds divided by envy. Focused on literal crabs in a shucking bucket, the crabbiest crab, Amargo (Xochitl Romero), and daffy sidekick Pootz, (Anna Lamadrid), spend their days bitching about the crabs … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw For some unknown reason, Southern California is having a little theater horror boom at the moment, with at least four shows playing concurrently – Beetlejuice, Exorcistic, The Ants and Misery. As a horror fan, I intend to see them all. I previously expressed my disappointment with The Ants in my … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Broadway hit Beetlejuice, now running at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre before making more stops on its North American tour, features a delightful score and book along with hysterical performances. It’s the must-see show of the season. Director Alex Timbers and his crew have morphed the beloved film into a fun house … Read more
Martίn Hernández – Stage Raw Director Nike Doukas adds a three-piece combo and rocking beat to Shakespeare’s tale of magic, revenge, and love in a production that is part musical, part radio play, and all fun. Rather than a set that depicts the play’s island motif, Doukas and scenic designer Angela Balogh Calin strategically place … Read more
Katie Buenneke – Theater Digest Into the Woods at the Ahmanson [LA]. I have to admit, as the curtain rose on the national tour of the City Center Encores production of Into the Woods, I wondered if I needed to see the show again—I think I’ve seen more productions of Into the Woods than I … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Horror is not a genre that has traditionally worked well in theater. There are certainly some outliers such as The Woman in Black, but overall spooky fare is thin on the ground, theatrically speaking. Thus when I read that the Geffen Playhouse was producing a “horror play” called The Ants … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Power is an illusion in Will Power’s startling play Fetch Clay, Make Man, now running at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. All the characters believe they have control of their destinies, but each is desperate to break free from someone’s influence — even Muhammad Ali, marvelously played by Ray … Read more