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...
Review: OC's Segerstrom Center Welcomes MRS. DOUBTFIRE Musical
by Michael Quintos - October 02, 2024
As silly and nostalgic as one might expect, the stage musical adaptation of MRS. DOUBTFIRE—based on the beloved 1993 hit film—has finally arrived to say 'hellooooo' to audiences at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, where its national tour stop featuring Tony nominee Rob McClure cont...