Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw This is a unique production, where the sum of the parts may be greater than the show itself. There’s a lot to like about most of the elements of Jelly’s Last Jam, especially for anyone who enjoys hearing and seeing jazz performed at a high level, but Jelly Roll Morton’s … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Reefer Madness, The Musical has risen from the grave in the city where it first slayed for over 18 record-breaking months. Director and choreographer Spencer Liff and a stellar cast make this revival at the Reefer Den in Hollywood a winner, delivering an intoxicating high as potent as the original. Read … Read more
Patrick Chavis – The Orange Curtain Review Galilee, 34, doesn’t explore anything new or controversial about the long and arduous creation of the Bible, which has not been discussed about the best-selling book of all time for decades. Still, Eleanor Burgess’s comedic setup and this incredible cast of actors succeed in bringing some of these … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA So what makes this old funny girl funnier than ever before? Simply put, Katerina McCrimmon is absolutely the best Fanny Brice I’ve ever seen—and I’m old enough to have seen the original star-making turn by Babs herself before the film version cleaned her up a tad. Evoking Edith Piaf with … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Craig Lucas’s play Prelude to a Kiss is a fairy tale about the nature of true love and the insignificance of physical beauty. Now, Lucas, along with co-lyricist Sean Hartley and composer and co-lyricist Daniel Messé, has created a musicalized version that is making its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania One of the Good Ones, now making it world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse, employs the tropes of many mid-20th-century stage comedies to explore the generation gap, cultural identity, and nationalism in the Latiné community. Conventional yet charming, this play by Gloria Calderón Kellett reveals the universality of familial strife. Read … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive contains all the elements of farce: slamming doors, overheard conversations, accidents, and Chekhovian guns — both literal and figurative. While some moments of this 2022 comedy, now at the Geffen Playhouse, are inspired, they quite often fizzle … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania MJ: The Musical, which is now on tour and is playing the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles through January 28 — highlights what made Michael Jackson a legend, even if the book bites off more than it can chew. Read more Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move “MJ The … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania East West Players, the oldest Asian American Theatre in the US, has often taken Broadway musicals and given them a fresh spin. This season, the theater company has taken on the Tony-winning musical Spring Awakening, based on Frank Wedekind’s play. The production features many excellent performances, and a focus on the … Read more
Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move “How to Ruin a Relationship in One Easy Step,” is a definitive alternate title for, THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, a smart, little 80-minute, light drama written by Samuel Balm, directed by Darko Tresnjak, currently at the Geffen Playhouse, Gil Cates Theater. And I say “light” because it’s not a … Read more