I have to admit that I was a bit shocked to read that William Shakespeare's comedic play The Taming of the Shrew—according to a survey conducted by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2003—ranks as the second most popular of the Bard's entire repertoire.
Read MoreI wanted to love the continuation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera in the sequel Love Never Dies. I was a huge fan of the musical when it premiered at the Pantages Theatre in the 1990s starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. I went back to see the beloved musical again, when television actor Robert Guillaume replaced Crawford in Los Angeles. He was the first African-American actor to play Phantom, and was a sensation.
Read MoreAs we grapple with a 21st Century where our country is still at a significant divide and has allowed fear to take hold, experiencing an important piece like “ALLEGIANCE”—a commanding retelling of a moment when another “other” is forced into a shameful condition that is essentially a sanctioned, lawful way to discriminate solely on the basis of one’s specific ethnicity—is almost required viewing for all to see, if only to be reminded that one should not rush to judgment or make sweeping generalizations about an entire group of people, especially when such actions can significantly affect many lives and families in a terrible, inhumane way.
Is the price of security (for some) the robbing of others of their freedom? No. No it shouldn’t be. After you see “ALLEGIANCE” you’ll likely feel the same, too.
Read MoreThe world, unfortunately, is rife with truly horrific examples of inhuman atrocities throughout its recorded history—from the subjugating of entire races into slavery to the mass executions of entire populations for the sake of complete and unchallenged control. In all instances, the human pain and suffering are long-lasting and far-reaching to say the least.
Such was the case in the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia, a region that, for much of its history, has experienced a great deal of hardships and challenges, some of which even continue through today.
Read MoreTaking my teenage daughter to see The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, I had no idea this beautiful production would be such a fascinating historical love story. I thought it might enlighten her about the great painter Marc Chagall, yet soon discovered it was also about his hardship and bigotry as a Jew living through both World Wars.
Read MoreSell/Buy/Date made its world premier in 2016 at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York with Jones longtime collaborator and director Carolyn Cantor. Together they offer the audience a humanizing experience about the “oldest profession” prostitution and trafficking women.
Read MoreOverall, despite its missteps and being an imperfect adaptation, I have to say that I still found "THE GRADUATE" an entertaining piece of live theater on many levels. Ms. Griffith may draw you in out of curiosity, but I recommend staying for the whole experience not only to witness a promising newcomer's early acting work but also to see a quote-heavy Reader's Digest version of a nostalgic trip.
Read MoreWalking into the Lovelace Studio Theatre, scenic designer Francois-Pierre Couture replicates Jacqueline Kennedy’s elegant living room inside her Fifth Avenue apartment in New York City. Under a bench is the board game Risk, and children’s toys are carefully placed around the room to clue the audience that John-John and Caroline live here too.
Read MoreWhen Musical Theatre West presents a new production of a classic musical, it's pretty much guaranteed that the show will be a faithful representation of what one imagines that particular classic show might have been envisioned in its original or (at the very least) its most popular form.
Not surprisingly, that's exactly what you'll get with their latest locally-mounted revival of "GUYS AND DOLLS"—that ubiquitous Tony Award-winning 1950 musical based on Damon Runyon's short stories. This new Long Beach, CA production continues at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts stage through March 4, 2018. Buoyantly bright, unabashedly old-fashioned, and yet irresistibly enjoyable, MTW's latest show of its 65th season manages to preserve its infamous old-school charms without making it unapproachable for 21st Century audiences.
Read MoreReflective and, ultimately, achingly bittersweet, “VIOLET” surprised me with its dark, heightened subtlety but eventually it pierced my core the same way more bombastic shows have managed to do. So many other shows these days churn out their narratives in service of big musical numbers. Here, “VIOLET” allows its gravitas to spill out like molasses so that audiences can savor the slow burn, the subtle tone shifts, and its rich contextual layers.
Read MoreLatin music sets the mood for Quiara Algeria Hudes emotional journey of Water by the Spoonful. It’s the second story of a trilogy about struggling with addiction and how it can affect one’s social and family life. Each character in Water By the Spoonful has obstacles, flaws and struggles that they must confront in order to move forward.
Read MoreDriving through Los Angeles and seeing a homeless woman resting on a bus bench, I often wonder what’s her story. Everyone has a story, and playwright Martyna Majok wrote about her mother’s experience moving to America in "Ironbound", now at the Geffen Playhouse.
Read MoreWitty, enchanting, and joyously self-referential, the original film version of “SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE” fantasizes a story involving a young, virile William Shakespeare in his prime, who quells a bout of writer's block by secretly romancing an engaged lady named Viola—which apparently becomes the inspiration for the Bard's infamous star-crossed tragedy "Romeo and Juliet." The plot of the film remains fairly intact in Lee Hall's mostly delightful if slightly diluted stage adaptation, now continuing performances in a gorgeous-looking new regional production at Orange County's Tony Award-winning theater South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through February 10, 2018. This spunky love letter to the theater is chockfull of stagecraft-insider amusements and fun-to-find Shakespearean Easter Eggs that both aficionados and casual fans will appreciate. But, shockingly, despite the spectacular production values and the beguiling, gusto-bathed performances of its large ensemble cast, this stage adaptation somehow loses some of the inescapable romanticism that is so much more prevalent in the original film.
Read MoreThanks to its seemingly endless longevity, it's rather difficult to picture the ubiquitous 1966 John Kander and Fred Ebb Broadway musical classic "CABARET" staged in any other way than the brilliant, Tony Award-winning 1998 Roundabout Theatre Company revival co-directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall—which itself also served as the springboard for the newer 2014 revival that still continues to tour North America today.
Read MoreWant to see a great "Bromance" where the lead actors have each others backs? Go see Aladdin now at The Pantages. The first time I experienced Aladdin was in 1992 with my young daughter as we watched Disney’s animated film and singing every word to each lyrical song by Howard Ashman (two time Oscar winner) and Time Rice (three-time Tony and Oscar winner). The music by Alan Mencken (Tony Award and eight-time Oscar winner) was so uplifting and engaging.
Read MoreThere are certainly plenty of fascinating, true-to-life stories being shown on screens and stages on a regular basis everywhere, but Doug Wright's 2003 Tony Award-winning play "I AM MY OWN WIFE"—which was also bestowed with the Pulitzer Prize—is arguably one of the most gripping, surprisingly engrossing plays acted out by a single actor playing over 30 characters that you'll possibly ever experience in a theater.
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