“HOLIDAY INN is like comfort food in musical theatre form, and, yes, perfectly themed to coincide with this time of the year. Don't miss your chance to bathe yourself in re-envisioned nostalgia, great singing and dancing, and a delightful story that warms the heart and fills your insides with much-needed laughter. “
Read More“Overall, "GRUMPY OLD MEN" presents itself as a curiosity of a musical—a show whose disparate elements look and feel top-notch, but its tethered storyline and its characters earn inconsistent levels and strengths of its audience's investment.”
Read MoreWhen the house lights finally came back on after the entire cast treated the appreciative audience a peppy, rain-soaked reprise of the show's title song as an encore, I turned to my friend beaming and said "I could not stop smiling the whole time!"
It is probably a safe assumption—judging from the thunderous applause of its recent opening night performance—that my happy reaction to McCoy Rigby Entertainment's joyfully buoyant new production of "SINGIN' IN THE RAIN"—now on stage at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through May 12, 2019—was not a solitary feeling I alone felt after that performance.
Read MoreAs of the writing (and perhaps publishing) time of this review, the United States government, mere weeks into 2019, continues to be shut down—an unfortunate by-product of our current combative, unwilling-to-compromise political climate that’s more about the attainment (and retainment) of party power rather than the actual pursuit of overall prosperity and goodness of the country. In the midst of these troubling times, what hardly no one can argue against, though, is the fact that thousands of livelihoods are now being negatively and perilously affected by this mess, and that, hopefully, a resolution happens very soon rather than much, much later.
Read MoreAll that hype and endless accolades and awards? Completely justified. A work of genius from start to finish “HAMILTON” will certainly go down in history not only for its incredible music and storytelling but also for its purposeful vision of depicting America's past with the faces of America's present.
Read MorePerhaps one of the most well-known detective mysteries ever published, Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” essentially became the subconscious blueprint for similar whodunnit stories that came after, particularly those that involve a confined room full of plausible suspects that are all under investigation by a brilliant sleuth.
Read MoreUnless your heart is as cold as ice, "Bright Star" will handily win you over right from the start, then make you emotional, and then even later, embrace you tightly in a great big bear hug, as if to ensure you that even in the bleakest of situations, there is always a bright light in the distance that can guide you to where you need to be.
Read MoreShocking it is to admit, my personal familiarity with the classic works of playwright Anton Chekhov is basically slim to none.
Thank goodness my lack of knowledge of his library of theatrical plays and fictional stories didn't prevent me from enjoying Christopher Durang's wildly hilarious, Chekhov-inspired “VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE,” a modern-set play that won the Tony Award for Best Play back in 2013. Apparently filled with casual allusions to past Chekhov works—from character names and one-off references to thematic motifs—the play does offer, at its core, a laugh-a-minute comedy about a dysfunctional trio of siblings trying to face the apparently troubling onset of middle age…and the possibility that they may not have done enough in their lives to deem it a satisfactory one.
Read MoreIn award-winning playwright Sharr White's intriguing 2011 psychological drama “THE OTHER PLACE,” the play's compelling central figure, 52-year-old laboratory scientist turned drug company marketing exec Juliana Smithton, narrates her own fascinating story directly for the audience.
At first, she is introduced with the poise and prominence of a seasoned TED Talk orator, with even hints of a sharp stand-up comic that's adept at self-effacing observations and commanding an audience of drunken doctors. It certainly makes sense, considering it seems to be what she does for a living, at least for the moment: getting up on stage in front of medical conventions and neurological conferences near and far to pitch her revolutionary miracle treatment to attendees in the same way Tony Robbins, Suze Orman, or even Oprah or Dr. Phil might address a room.
Read MoreTo kick off its 55th Season, Orange County's Tony Award-winning regional theater South Coast Repertory is presenting a charming new stage adaptation of the Jane Austen literary classic “SENSE AND SENSIBILITY,” which continues performances in Costa Mesa through September 29.
Winningly likable with plenty of sharp wits and appealing characters, this admirable stage iteration—adapted by UK playwright Jessica Swale and directed here by Casey Stangl—reacquaints audiences with the seemingly erratic and emotionally taxing task of landing a suitable mate in late 18th Century/early 19th Century England.
Read MoreI believe the best way to describe the sensation one gets when experiencing the Broadway stage musical adaptation of multi-platinum selling recording artist Gloria Estefan's life story is to actually use one of her very famous songs: "The Rhythm is Gonna Get You."
Read MoreWhen it comes to seeing a fresh new show with low or even non-existent expectations, nothing is more pleasurable and satisfying than walking out at the end of it with a huge, beaming smile on your face and a somewhat gobsmacked feeling of "my gosh, I can't believe I really liked what I just saw!"
Read MoreIf you've ever made your way to New York City's overcrowded Times Square, you have no doubt seen the bronze statue of a smiling George M. Cohan erected prominently at its center, surrounded by the flashing lights and loud city noises of this busy tourist destination. Below his name and the years of his birth and death is a simple etching: "Give My Regards to Broadway"—which is, of course, both the title of one of his many well-known songs as well as being an appropriate motto that fits his very existence.
Read MoreFirst, a confession.
My favorite movie of all time happens to be "The Color Purple," the deeply moving 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel directed by Steven Spielberg.
Filled with riveting performances, marvelous period music, and an absorbing, emotionally-stirring story of resilience and spirit that spans decades, the film went on to earn 11 Academy Award nominations including two nods for its brilliant stars Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg—both of whom made their big screen debuts in the film.
Read MoreKeeping much of the original stage show's inescapable excitement and joyfulness intact, McCoy Rigby Entertainment's new local production of “NEWSIES”—which continues performances at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through June 24—is a wonderfully caffeinated jolt of a stage show, highlighted by a remarkably talented and athletically-blessed ensemble that leaps and belts one show stopping number after another. That's no exaggeration—the show had so many moments when the show had to pause for enthusiastic applause.
Read MoreLike most Broadway and musical theater fans who live on the west coast without unlimited access to a jet plane or a big enough disposable income to go to New York constantly to see every theatrical offering on the Great White Way, my first exposures to new Broadway musicals are usually either by viewing short clips online or, even better, by listening to the original cast album.
So, naturally, when a very buzzed-about, Drama Desk-winning new musical from Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda finally moved from its off-Broadway home at the Public Theater to the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2015, I was more than excited to know that the cast album for this monumental project will finally be available for those of us common folk unable to snag a flight or a ticket to experience it live in New York.
Read MoreFirst, let's get some pleasantries out of the way.
There are many, very obvious spectacular things that stand out while watching “LOVE NEVER DIES,” Andrew Lloyd Webber's infamously, uh, troubled 2010 musical follow-up to his long-running global hit “THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA,” now continuing its two-week engagement at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through May 5, 2018.
Read MoreArmed with a grand, sweeping songbook from the masters of classic musical theater Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and a romantic, progressive-for-its-time book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan, it is difficult not to be continually enchanted by SOUTH PACIFIC, the groundbreaking 1949 stage musical based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Even better… sandwiched between timeless memorable songs, intensely romantic interludes, and cheeky, comedic banter is the show's surprisingly candid exploration of race relations—a topic that is, of course, still very much top-of-mind in today's seemingly more divided world.
Read MoreA gorgeously stylized rendering of a poignant and deeply moving narrative that blends bits of welcome humor, inspiring theatricality, historical context, and vibrant, magically-tinged storytelling, “LITTLE BLACK SHADOWS” is an excellent first production of this fresh new play that I predict will only continually improve as it sees new future productions on the horizon.
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