BWW News: Los Angeles Editors Pick SUMMER STAGES

Grey Gardens/Ahmanson Theatre/July 6 - August 14, 2016
Based on the 1975 documentary film of the same name, the story recounts the fall from uppercrust society of mother and daughter Edith Bouvier Beale, eccentric cousins of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who lived in poverty in East Hampton, New York. This is the long-awaited west coast premiere of the Tony winning musical, and it will star Rachel York as "Little Edie" and Betty Buckley as "Big Edie". www.centertheatregroup.org

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical/Pantages Theatre/June 22 - July 17, 2016
See below in Ellen Dostal's Picks for details.

Oye Mi Canto/GMCLA/Alex Theatre, Glendale/Saturday June 25 at 8 pm/Sunday June 26 at 3 pm
Oye Mi Canto (Hear My Song) will feature the driving rhythms and captivating melodies from Cuba that include salsa, mambo ad Afro-American jazz. GMCLA is helping to break down barriers for LGBT people in Cuba, amplifying the voice of equality and proudly showcasing the talents of Mano a Mano, Cuba's Gay Men's Chorus, here in the US. www.gmcla.org

Fool for Love/LGBT Center, Hollywood @ the Davidson/Valentini Theatre/June 3 - June 26 as part of the Hollywood Fringe
Sam Shepard's two character one-act play focuses on two former lovers seeking love, parental acceptance and life's purpose, as in his other famous play True West. http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/3751

Baby Doll/Fountain Theatre/July 17-August 28
Brand new stage adaptation ­by Pierre LaVille and Emily Mann, based on Tennessee Williams' screenplay. A west coast premiere directed by Simon Levy and starring an award-winning cast including John Prosky and Karen Kondazian. www.fountaintheatre.com

Ellen Dostal's Picks:

Richard III
June 25 - July 24, 2016
Independent Shakespeare Co.
The Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival opens with my favorite Shakespearean villain of all and it looks as though ISC is going to reinvent this Richard as a guitar-wielding rocker. The show features an original score played live, with Melissa Chalsma directing and David Melville stepping into the shoes of the "poisonous, bunchbacked toad." This modern take promises to be a delicious night of theatre under the stars with LA's favorite theatre company. www.iscla.org

Thug Tunnel
June 9 - 20, 2016
Hollywood Fringe Festival - Sacred Fools Theater
On the Fringe front, Robot Teammate & The Accidental Party returns with the world premiere of their second scripted musical, an epic dystopian musical comedy. Somewhere in the not-so-distant-future, greed, pollution, and The Ancient Fire of Death and Despair has made Earth's surface uninhabitable, forcing the human race to survive underground in a criminal society known as Thug Tunnel. When two rebels decide to break out and return to the surface, anything can, and does, happen.http://hff15.org/3671

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
June 22 - July 17, 2016
Hollywood Pantages Theatre
I wore out my Carole King albums growing up and, when this national tour reaches the Hollywood Pantages later this month, I'll be right there in musical heaven. With songs like "Up on the Roof," "So Far Away," "I Feel the Earth Move," and "You've Got a Friend," plus a behind-the-scenes story of what went into the making of a superstar, this new musical has it all. I can't wait. www.hollywoodpantages.com

A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor
July 1, 2016
Hollywood Bowl
Tales of Lake Wobegon will never sound more bitterseet than on this night when Garrison Keillor plays the Bowl for one last time. This appearance is part of his farewell tour as host of the longtime radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. It will be a night of storytelling, music and comedy to remember.www.hollywoodbowl.com

Broadway Under the Stars
Celebrating Dreamgirls 35th Anniversary
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Ford Amphitheatre
For one night only, original Dreamgirls stars Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, and Jennifer Holliday reunite at the newly-renovated Ford Amphitheatre for an evening of conversation and song in this special event by Chris Isaacson Presents. Hearing those voices in that lovely outdoor setting will be nothing short of heavenly. All you've got to do is dream, baby, they'll be there. www.ChrisIsaacsonPresents.com

A CHORUS LINE @ Hollywood Bowl
Directed and choreographed by Baayork Lee, who appeared as Connie Wong in the original Broadway production and choreographed the Broadway revival in 2006. A Chorus Line will be conducted by Patrick Vaccariello and have choreography adapted and re-staged by Baayork Lee, from the original by Michael Bennett.
A Chorus Line will have three performances at the Hollywood Bowl this summer - Friday, July 29, at 8 PM, Saturday, July 30, at 8 PM and Sunday, July 31, at 7:30 PM.

La Cage Aux Folles @ East West
The East West Players' latest production,LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, most successfully communicates the heart and humor of Tony Award-winners Harvey Fierstein (for Book in 1984) and Jerry Herman (for Lyrics & Music in 1984), injecting an Asian flavor as only East West can do. Still set in St. Tropez, France; the La Cage Aux Folles nightclub's now predominately decorated in Chinese reds and golds, with dragons, kimonos, tassels and mandarin hats tossed in.

Three stand-out HYS-terical moments: When the characters go to Georges and Albin's living room, the Cagelles transform into live still-life mannequins that the characters act somewhat inappropriately with. Brilliant! Then, during Georges' lessons in butching up Albin in "Masculinity," Watanabe serves up comedy gold! As the Dindon's try to figure out the erotic artwork on the hors d-oeuvres plates they're handed, the go-go studs Cipriano and Uy act out the various 'wrestling' poses and then, playfully and suggestively leapfrog across the stage mirroring the drawings on the plates. So hilariously inspired! Thru June 26, 2016

Boy From Oz @ Celebration Thru July 2, 2016 with possible extensions.