Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move Preview night stood on no ceremony whatsoever as Ortega delivered her Magnum Opus performance, AM I ROXIE? – an autobiographical, comedic lullaby to her Peruvian mother who lived her last years and died with Alzheimers. Very Highly Recommended. Read more… Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania The Geffen Playhouse is … Read more
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix While some of us can multitask, others — like Francis Henshall (Kasey Mahaffy) in “One Man, Two Guvnors” — find it inexplicably and hilariously challenging. Richard Bean’s 2011 take on Carlo Goldoni’s 1746 Italian “The Servant of Two Masters” re-sets the story to 1960s Brighton, England, complete with skiffle … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Audiences will have “Heaven on Their Minds” during the Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar, running through August 3. The classic rock opera fills the whole Bowl with an energy that’s astounding and intoxicating. Read more…
Edward Hong – The Nerds Of Color With the promise of Center Theatre Group‘s Hamlet (both adapted and directed by Robert O’Hara) being bold and daring for the new generation, it is odd to say that despite a very able & entertaining cast and some novel ideas, this production could do without the first half … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania There are tweaks to be made to Regency Girls before it makes a leap to Broadway, some tightening up of numbers particularly, but the book and score’s sentiments are genuine, the spirit is enchanting, and the cast is delightful. Read more…
Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move OLD FRIENDS, a musical review of Stephen Sondheim’s greatest hits starring Bernadette Peters opened last night at the Ahmanson Theatre. And what a treat! Read more… Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA There simply could not be a more fitting living tribute to the brilliance of Sondheim, the most … Read more
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix The play thus offers many lenses through which to challenge notions of race and gender—including a hilarious science-based plot twist near the end—successfully inverting what we might think of as true and fixed. It’s a refreshingly lighthearted way of sending up those concepts, though a more substantive story … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania When one thinks of the brash musical La Cage Aux Folles, gritty does not usually come to mind. The bare-bones production at Pasadena Playhouse lacks the gaudy, bawdy luster promised in the title song, and instead leans into tackiness. Read more… Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre Bites Podcast 9.3 out of … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania When something unique is presented to you, you can either reject it, or absorb its sumptuous foreign flavors. Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Pacific Overtures, so heavily influenced by Japanese culture and Kabuki theater techniques, is a tantalizing treat in which a country is the main character. The East West Players’ … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania The ageless classic Fiddler on the Roof has bottle-danced its way into Los Angeles’s La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts with an incandescent re-creation, complete with Lee Martino’s restoration of Jerome Robbins’s Tony award-winning original choreography. Led by Jason Alexander, the cast is impeccable, fulfilling the joyousness and pain of … Read more