“The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices you make will shape your life forever.” A Bronx Tale, a musical based on the play of the same name, opened at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles this week after a nearly two year run on Broadway. Often described as a cross between … More Theater Review: A Bronx Tale at the Pantages Theatre
That was a very problematic clambake! Sometimes, Broadway revivals manage to present a classic, beloved show in a new light, with the very best finding a new, deeper meaning that will make even devoted fans see something in the material they’ve never seen before. Other times, shows are better off left in the past. Despite … More Theater Review: Carousel on Broadway
Adapting a beloved movie for the stage is no simple task. There are those that have succeeded—Legally Blonde, Once, Bring it On. There are many more that have failed—Catch Me If You Can, Ghost, High Fidelity. Mean Girls opened on Broadway last month to mixed reviews and 12 Tony nominations, at least partially thanks to an undersaturated … More Theater Review: Mean Girls on Broadway
“You are at the opera, gonna have to study up a little bit if you wanna keep with the plot. ‘Cause it’s a complicated Russian novel, everyone’s got nine different names. So look it up in your program, we’d appreciate it, thanks a lot!” These are actual lyrics from the opening number of Natasha, Pierre … More Theater Review: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
In talking to people about the shows I saw during my trip to New York this year, I have found that most have heard of Dear Evan Hansen as a buzzworthy, acclaimed new musical, yet no one really knows much about it. That’s not exactly surprising—it’s an original work with no name recognition (with the slight exception … More Theater Review: Dear Evan Hansen
I am not convinced a Broadway theater has ever smelled better than the Brooks Atkinson currently does. To set the scene for Waitress, the Broadway musical based on Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 movie of the same name, an actual apple pie is slowly cooked in an oven near the theater’s entrance throughout the performance. As a … More Theater Review: Waitress
For my last stop on my annual trip to New York, I paid a visit to the 2015 Tony Award winner for Best Musical: Fun Home. Based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir of the same name, Fun Home features music by Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek the Musical) and book and lyrics by Lisa … More Theater Review: Fun Home
I have already gushed about the phenomenal Deaf West production of Spring Awakening a lot. I was fortunate enough to see it in both of its LA iterations, first in a tiny 99-seat theater and then in one about three times larger, and I was even more fortunate to see the Broadway transfer of the … More Theater Review: Spring Awakening Broadway Revival
It’s difficult to describe the level of anticipation I felt upon finally walking into the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York to see Hamilton, the unprecedented cultural phenomenon that has taken not just the theater community, but the world, by storm. Like most theater fans, I followed the show’s transformation from a figment of the … More Theater Review: Hamilton
Although you get the sense early on in the national touring production of Cinderella, currently playing at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre, that this version of the popular fairy tale isn’t quite the one you grew up with, this point is really driven home at the end of act one. As Cinderella flees the ball at midnight, she … More Theater Review: Cinderella at the Ahmanson
ON STAGE & SCREEN 