Amanda Callas

BIG HAIR: A Rad and Wild Love Affair is a thoughtful, poignant, laugh out loud funny one woman show, a bittersweet slice of nostalgia and a heartfelt homage to the gorgeous, offbeat love story between iconic comics Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner. 

Founded in 1968, Honey Cone is like drinking sunshine. The debut of iconic girl group Honey Cone at the famed Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood on Oscars Night was unforgettable magic. Next up on their live tour is Oscar's in Palm Springs on April 11.

Broadway World talks with T.J. Wilkins and Shanice of 44, The unOfficial, unSanctioned Obama Musical, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 23rd. Actor and singer T.J. Wilkins has performed with Stevie Wonder, The Jacksons, John Legend, and Beyoncé, shined on NBC’s The Voice, and been nominated for a Grammy for his song in Disney’s The Lion King.  Shanice performed with Ella Fitzgerald at age 11, has collaborated with Kenny Loggins, Kenny Babyface Edmonds, Justin Timberlake, and Josh Groban, been nominated for Grammys for her bestselling, chart-topping albums, and starred in her own reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

44, The unOfficial, unSanctioned Obama Musical, is a comedy starring award-winning film, theatre, and TV actor and singer Chad Doreck as Joe Biden.  You can see Chad Doreck starring on Dead Ringers (recurring opposite Rachel Weisz), HBO’s Grey Matter, Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood and the hit Netflix sitcom The Upshaws.   44 runs at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City through March 23rd.  Chad Doreck talks with Broadway World about playing former president Joe Biden.

44 The Musical, is an award-winning comedy produced by Monica Saunders-Weinberg, a devoted philanthropist, international property investor, and film and theatre producer.  44 runs at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City through March 23rd.  Monica Saunders-Weinberg shares her journey producing 44 with BroadwayWorld.

Eli Bauman talks about the musical comedy he wrote, composed and directs, 44, The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical, playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 23rd.

Unconditional, A Musical Memoir is a must-see new world premiere at Skylight Theatre in Los Feliz through March 9th.  Unconditional is utterly heartbreaking, explosive with tenderness and the irresistible bittersweetness of memory.

Bacon is the West Coast premiere of a simmering new drama at Rogue Machine on Melrose running through March 30th.  Brawny, raw, savagely intimate, Bacon is a spare two-person play by Sophie Swithinbank that grabs us hard and never lets us go, even for a second.

TICK TICK...BOOM! is an inspiring hit musical at the award-winning Chance Theater in Anaheim through February 23rd.  Set in New York City in 1990, this is a poignant love letter to Jonathan Larson, composer of the Broadway mega-hit musical Rent. Surprisingly for something that is grounded in real life and in real struggle, there is so much reach-for-the-sky, genuine optimism in TICK TICK...BOOM! that it feels restorative. 

A smash hit at Rogue Machine already, many performances are already sold out.  Evanston Salt Costs Climbing is a strange, satirical, darkly funny meditation on loss, anxiety, and depression.  Among other things, it touches on our universal creeping feeling of dread, the vastness of the problems facing humanity such as climate change and environmental devastation, our struggle with our own bitter destructive natures, our fear of closeness and our desperate need for it.

Little Women Ballet is the world premiere of a charming new ballet at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Mid-Wilshire.  This is a lavish, romantic, nostalgic, family-friendly night of dance that is not to be missed.

Written by acclaimed actress and playwright June Carryl and produced by Imagine Theatre, this light-hearted, fantastical voyage through the savanna is inspired by folktales and origin stories from South Africa.  There is a charming Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland feeling of whimsy and adventure afoot in this production.

This production feels contemporary and fresh, with an edgy, f-you, punk rock rebelliousness.  Yet it also feels profoundly truthful to the original grittiness of A Streetcar Named Desire, how it was received when it premiered — its New Orleans funk and grime, its rough, perverse sexiness and sweatiness.

Vibrant, colorful, and charming, this Inland Valley Repertory Theatre production of the Academy Award winning 1989 animated Disney film is a delight.  Looking around the enthusiastic opening night audience, I see everyone from seniors and date-night couples to toddlers on laps completely enraptured by the music, dazzling costumes, and effervescent performances.

This is a small-scale, intimate human story that feels like a slice of life, entertaining, touching, and deftly told with wildly abundant, delicious humor.  Mostly Demolition is a comedy, observant, delightful, laugh-out-loud funny.  There is a thoughtful drama lingering here too — slowly, astutely, whisper-quiet, unpeeling the skin of everyday things.

The Skin of Our Teeth is an astonishing production of the classic play at A Noise Within through September 29th.  It is insatiably alive with sharp-fanged wit, whimsical thoughtfulness, and improbable wonder.  The Skin of Our Teeth is audaciously satirical, but also earnest its incandescent meditation on the eternal human cycle of apocalypse and overindulgence.

With the stars of Pascal & Julien and the theatre’s creative team, we explored what it means to deeply engage children and families in theatre, how theaters can open up to the community, working with child actors, discovering authenticity and delicious subtext on stage, and the creative journey of the play in its US Premiere.

Pascal & Julien is the US premiere of a magical play about childhood and friendship at the award-winning 24th Street Theatre in West Adams running through October 27th.  Written by Australian playwright Daniel Keene, Pascal & Julien is the tale of two quirky, annoying loners who discover the tender beauty of friendship. 

TH IR DS is the world premiere of a new dystopian drama, a messy play with a lot of interesting things on its mind. 

Memorable, entertaining and show-stopping, 3 Faces of Steve is a special treat to be savored.  The lavish, luxurious operatic voices and powerhouse emotive performances of Angelina Réaux, Michael Sokol and Bernardo Bermudez shine in the intimate, warm space of the Odyssey.