Erin Conley – On Stage and Screen You cannot walk five feet in the Pantages Theatre without encountering a bunch of mini pies for sale, perfectly setting the scene for Waitress, the hit Broadway musical that opened in Los Angeles for the first time last night. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way In 2007 writer/director/actress … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze People apparently must hate another group they barely know, no matter the race, religion or financial bracket. The Judeo-Christian Bible reflects back to us myriad examples of this untethered hatred. Eastern and Western history serializes it. And it fills today’s media.Read more… Now running through June 10
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze On the surface, Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s “Provenance” will seem an unlikely story, even by theatrical standards — it’s too convenient, too cute. In its production at Little Fish in San Pedro through May 24, it could seem overacted. Give it awhile. Read more…
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze If so far you’ve enjoyed about a dozen versions of “The Marriage of Figaro,” or decided you’ve sat through your last “Ring” cycle, or even seen a production or two of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” then the West Coast premiere of “ (Le Vin Herbé)” may pique your … Read more
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
Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw The legendary Vince Lombardi once declared that, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” (Actually the slogan was first voiced by UCLA Bruins football coach Henry Russell “Red” Sanders in 1950; Lombardi probably got it from him). It has now become a venerated mantra, a toxic call to action willingly embraced … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Memorable? Yes. Thought-provoking? Yes. Worthy of a production on the treasured stage of UCLA’s Royce Hall, which has over the decades housed world-class performing arts? Yes.Groundbreaking? Not so much. Read more… Now running through May 12
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
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
Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main In 2009, Ameryka’s writer/director Nancy Keystone was perusing a catalogue,Western Amerykański: Polish Poster Art and the Western, when she spotted a 1989 poster that celebrated the first democratic elections in Poland since World War II. Read more… Frances Baum Nicholson – The Daily Breeze One of the more fascinating … Read more