Review: Musical Theatre West Presents Spirited AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'
by Michael Quintos - October 23, 2024
Structured as a non-stop song-and-dance revue without any dialogue, the Fats Waller tribute musical relies on its spunky live band and its crazy-good, five-person cast to sing a songbook filled with (mostly) joyful and (some) sorrowful jazz tunes. The show continues through Nov. 3, 2024 at the Carpe...
Review: SHIPPING: A MUSICAL at Elysian Theatre
by Andrew Child - October 20, 2024
It’s hard to succinctly describe Shipping, a new musical by Jen Jackson and Louisa Kellogg with music by Brian Heveron-Smith. On one hand, it’s a scrappy little treat— a cobbled-together weave of local comedy talents that filled the Elysian Theatre with non-stop laughs from beginning to end....
Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Hollywood Pantages Theatre
by Andrew Child - October 20, 2024
The show is vibrant and candy-colored, featuring an earnest cohort of character actors perfectly placed into their roles, but with a stirring score by Jeanine Tesori and witty book by David Lindsay-Abaire, the piece is an instant classic of contemporary musical theatre....
Review: AMERICAN IDIOT at Mark Taper Forum
by Evan Henerson - October 16, 2024
With a packed Taper house, a stage full of hot young singer/dancers performing, signing and middle fingering their hopes and disillusionments into an iconic rock score; yeah life doesn’t suck too much. Neither does this production, although ironically, here’s wishing that that the experience could h...
Review: RENT at Jaxx Theatre
by Harker Jones - October 16, 2024
The beloved story of dreamers and lovers in late ’80s New York is marred by poor sound and a band that drowns the players out....
Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center
by Melissa Heckscher - October 14, 2024
While the show’s darker ending may leave younger audiences a bit shell-shocked, there’s no denying the infectious energy of this production. The songs, the performances, and the fun all come together in a show that will have you humming 'Bop sh-bop' long after the final curtain....
Review: Chance Theater Presents OC Premiere of Dark Comedy GLORIA
by Michael Quintos - October 11, 2024
Offering a sharp and multi-layered commentary on modern workplace culture, unchecked ambition, and the public-stoked commodification of trauma, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' intriguing play GLORIA—a riveting new dark comedy that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize—is currently having its OC p...
Review: BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL at Morgan-Wixon Theater
by Evan Henerson - October 10, 2024
From the second we enter the Morgan-Wixon, ushered in by black cowl-clad members of the Cult of Bat Boy; from the moment we see that pointy-eared effigy strung up to the rafters, we’re primed for two plus hours of four alarm horror camp....
Review: South Coast Repertory Presents LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
by Michael Quintos - October 04, 2024
For SCR's impressive, must-see local revival, the show gets a hyper-hybrid treatment that combines nostalgic elements inspired by the original but infused with 21st-century sass and sensibilities. Alongside its visual splendor, the show also features a superb ensemble cast, resulting in a blissfully...