Review: BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL at Hollywood Pantages
by Evan Henerson - November 12, 2024
Is there some sort of formula for roping in both fans of a hit movie and stage hounds, to catch lightning in a new medium? Judging by what the musical's book writer Bob Gale, director John Rando and the musical team must have been thinking, the answer is you slavishly remake the movie on stage....
Review: South Coast Repertory Presents World Premiere Play JOAN
by Michael Quintos - November 11, 2024
Featuring a remarkable, gutsy performance by Tessa Auberjonois as the legendary comedienne, JOAN is an absorbing and hilarious new work that also feels like an on-going work-in-progress. The world premiere production continues performances at South Coast Repertory through November 24, 2024....
Review: THE STREETCAR PROJECT / A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Multiple Warehouse Spaces
by Amanda Callas - November 05, 2024
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 sweatin...
Review: HADESTOWN at Segerstrom Center For The Arts
by Melissa Heckscher - October 31, 2024
In the end, the show is all about seduction, and it has all the dark, gritty sex appeal of a dingy French Quarter speakeasy. That is to say: It’s got the sultry rhythm and blues to sweep you into the fun even if you don’t know exactly why you’re there....
Review: BLOOD/LOVE at The Crimson
by Harker Jones - October 28, 2024
At a brisk 80 minutes, the rock opera flies by in a flash of opulence and sin with an infectious joie de vivre...
Review: THE PIANO LESSON at A Noise Within
by Evan Henerson - October 27, 2024
Barely six months since braving Wilson's KING HEDLEY II, the company and director Gregg T. Daniel are back an impactful - if leisurely – PIANO LESSON. Where HEDLEY was grim, this one is ghostly, rueful and full of music....
Review: DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID at Lewis Family Playhouse
by Amanda Callas - October 25, 2024
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 ...
Review: Eric McCormack and Laura Bell Bundy Reunite for OC Cabaret at Segerstrom Arts
by Michael Quintos - October 24, 2024
Eric McCormick and Laura Bell Bundy recently stopped by Segerstrom Center of the Arts to present the OC debut of their cabaret show “A Blonde, A Brunette, and Some Duets: From Primetime to Sondheim,” a fun and cheeky night of silly songs and even sillier stories for a limited three-night engagement ...