Michael Quintos - Page 5

Exuding pure joy, blissful camaraderie, and high-energy theatrics, this exuberantly performed new SoCal production of IN THE HEIGHTS—continuing through June 26, 2022 at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts—feels like such an emotionally amped-up, escapist antidote to the divided times we currently must live with in our daily lives.  

What did our critic think of Tootsie in Costa Mesa? Despite a still problematic central premise, the non-equity national tour of the stage adaptation of TOOTSIE---now playing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 12, 2022---is, for the most part, a funny but flawed musical sprinkled with lots of funny lines, rapid-fire humor, and amusing shenanigans.

Funny, outrageous, and surprisingly thought-provoking beneath all its biting sarcasm, Mike Lew's reverberating satire TIGER STYLE!---now on stage at OC's South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through June 5, 2022---shines a light on the merits of a controversial parenting style and whether it results in happy, well-rounded adults (um, likely not).

Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1938 three-act play OUR TOWN has a superb new iteration now performing at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA through June 4, 2022. Directed by Beth Lopes, the show employs a wonderfully diverse cast, as it re-stages its seemingly ordinary but ultimately impactful vignettes of everyday life.

After a two-year delay due to COVID, this long-awaited So. Cal. production of NEWSIES---currently on stage at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts through May 29, 2022---marks the much-anticipated live and in-person return of 3-D Theatricals. The wait, as the saying goes, was worth it.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC's built-in charm and charisma is indeed very much present in McCoy Rigby Entertainment's latest stage iteration of this classic stage production, now playing at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through May 15, 2022. Filled with visually-captivating production values, a gorgeous-sounding orchestral sound, and an overall, infectiously winning spirit, this new production is a fun, pleasantly nostalgic throwback to the old-fashioned Broadway book musical.

Now having its Orange County premiere performances at Chance Theater in Anaheim through May 1, 2022, CRY IT OUT is a poignant slice-of-life that takes an eavesdropper's look at the hopes, fears, and lessons that come with new motherhood in our current times, and just how different each new mother chooses to handle the balancing act.

Now on stage through April 10, 2022 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Christine Quintana's searing, bilingual two-character play CLEAN / ESPEJOS is a riveting drama showcasing how two different women of different cultures cope with past trauma.

Even without dazzling special effects and spectacular theatrics, or histrionic high drama, THE BAND'S VISIT---the Tony Award-winning stage musical now on stage at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through April 3---still provides a powerful show that is quietly poetic in its precious, slow-burning delivery.

Playwright Pearl Cleage's WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS---now on stage at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through March 19, 2022---takes place during the historic win of Atlanta's first black mayor in 1973 and focuses on a romantic triangle between a young campaign staffer and two much older men she works with at the election HQ.

Accompanied by her music director Matt Hinkley, Broadway and West End theater favorite Caissie Levy's lovely, powerful, stunning vocals were live and on display for her rapt audience, who were treated to an acoustic, no frills, intimate, candlelit show that was essentially a musical résumé of her past work--from RENT and LES MIS to GHOST and FROZEN

What better way to ease ourselves back (again) to live theater than with a tried-and-true bonafide hit like the musical WICKED, the 19-year-old global stage phenomenon now back for a nice, long stay in Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through March 6, 2022. Still as vibrant, as thrilling, and as emotionally satisfying as ever, the show boasts a pair of impressive leading ladies that give fresh new life to these memorable characters. Lovely bonus: a trio of Broadway vets are along in supporting roles, too!  

While most Southern California theatergoers are likely more aware of the 'big deal,' direct-from-Broadway production of Charles Dickens' classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL now playing in Los Angeles featuring big star names in its roster, many should not necessarily bypass the other, less star-studded mounting now entertaining audiences in Costa Mesa through December 26, 2021---that's more subtle in its grandeur, but still just as enchanting and timeless at its core. SCR's 41st annual production now features Richard Doyle in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Originally scheduled back in September, the wait was worth it to hear Laura Benanti sing selections from her roles on Broadway and a few tracks from her 2020 self-titled studio album in her debut Cabaret at the Center which was part uproarious stand-up comedy act, and part beguiling Broadway/Jazz concert. Continues through November 13, 2021.

Far more concerned with style over (narrative) substance, this brand new '50th Anniversary' re-staging of the 1971 musical that recounts the final days leading up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is undeniably entertaining. The palpable, intentional vibe of this new US National Tour---directly imported from the well-received 2016 Regent's Park Theatre London production helmed by director Timothy Sheader that won the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival---is to emphasize the show as a series of high-decibel, highly-stylized Big Musical Production Numbers where the 'story' acts as merely a way to organize the songs in a linear order. Overall, it's a fascinating hybrid of a rock opera arena concert, a Sunday morning modern-hipster MegaChurch service, and some, I suppose, after-thought musical theater-izing that mesmerizes the audience not with its central story but with high-budget music video production values, beautiful modern choreography, and bombastic vocal stylings from an extremely talented cast.

Some stage shows just refuse to retreat into the sunset, and one of those is MAMMA MIA!, that enduring, unapologetically giddy jukebox musical, now getting a fun, vibrant new staging at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, under the direction of T.J. Dawson. With performances continuing in the city of La Mirada, CA through Sunday, November 21, this infectiously peppy show---featuring a book by playwright Catherine Johnson that wraps around songs made famous by ABBA---is certainly an invigorating way to welcome theatergoers back for live, in-person performances, especially those looking for a silly, non-serious respite from our current realities. If you're looking for some cute laughs paired with some terrific singing and dancing, this show should fit the bill.

It's not a stretch to say that it was quite a treat to witness the undeniable talents of Kristin Chenoweth live and in-person again at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA for a one-night-only concert on October 23, 2021 in support of her most recent studio album For The Girls---a tribute to some of her favorite female singers of all time. In front of a full house of masked and (hopefully, thoroughly screened) vaccinated audience members, the Tony and Emmy-winning star of stage and screen sang, belted, and entertained with a solid 90-minute set filled with familiar, Girl-powered favorites, sprinkled with plenty of wit, humor, and heart in between. Her frequent musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell joins her again for this concert.

Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg (TAKE ME OUT, THREE DAYS OF RAIN) has been commissioned to write A SHOT RANG OUT: A PLAY IN ONE MAN, which continues its World Premiere production at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA through November 6. Featuring ecstatic delivery by SCR Artistic Director David Ivers, this one-man extended lecture-slash-monologue disguised as a play is dense in meandering thoughts and good intentions, but sorely lacking in theatrical bang.

Based on the well-known board game distributed in North America by Parker Brothers (which was later folded into toy and game manufacturer Hasbro) that itself inspired a cult 1985 Paramount Pictures film of the same name written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, CLUE--the stage play--features the same infamous names and, yes, weapons and rooms synonymous with the classic whodunnit game. Writer Sandy Rustin, along with additional writers Hunter Foster and Eric Price, have revived the same colorful characters and personalities of the film and have transposed them into a madcap, 90-minute puzzle that's mostly silly and engagingly fun. The comedy's West Coast Premiere production continues at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through October 17, 2021.

There are certainly plenty of movie-to-stage adaptations that have appeared (and continue to pop up) on Broadway, but few can boast being one of the most jubilant and unabashedly open-minded as the gloriously glam 2012 hit KINKY BOOTS, the Tony Award-winning stage musical adaptation of Geoff Deane and Tim Firth's 2005 independent cult film inspired by actual true events. The critical and audience favorite---which features memorable music from Grammy-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper and a book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein---enjoyed a healthy run on Broadway and in several national tours that followed, spreading its genuinely heartwarming yet cheekily-delivered message of acceptance and empathy. Now back in Southern California for its flashy, beautifully remounted West Coast regional premiere for 3-D Theatricals, KINKY BOOTS---now continuing performances through March 1, 2020 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts---is just as fun and fabulous as ever.