This past weekend in Los Angeles, everything was beautiful at the ballet indeed as The Hollywood Bowl presented their annual, fully-staged summer musical, A Chorus Line. This was my fifth time attending, having seen their productions of Hairspray, The Producers, Chicago, and Hair in the past. I was a bit apprehensive going in because A … More Theater Review: A Chorus Line at the Hollywood Bowl
Before I head to New York on my annual theater pilgrimage, I made one last LA theater stop for 2015 and checked out the national tour of If/Then, currently playing at the Pantages Theatre. If/Then ran on Broadway for a year beginning in 2014, and four members of the original Broadway cast—Idina Menzel (Tony nominated for … More Theater Review: If/Then National Tour
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
Here’s the great thing about seeing a Disney musical—it is often impossible to wipe the smile off your face for hours, sometimes even days, afterwards. Beauty and the Beast (my personal favorite) was the first Disney Theatrical Production in 1994, and has since been followed by The Lion King (1997), Mary Poppins (2004), Tarzan (2006), The … More Theater Review: Newsies at the Pantages
After seeing Carrie at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts this past weekend, I understood immediately why the 1988 Broadway production went down in history as one of the most notable and expensive flops of all time. There is simply no world in which this musical is a Broadway show, but that does … More Theater Review: Carrie the Musical at La Mirada
As I’ve discussed before, Wicked was in many ways the beginning of my theater obsession. I have seen the show ten times over the past ten years, including performances on Broadway, on tour in Boston while I was in college, on tour in my hometown, and now in LA. Considering that this show has been … More Theater Review: Wicked at the Pantages
Over the past couple of months, I have watched American Horror Story: Freak Show, read the 80s cult classic book Geek Love, seen The Elephant Man, and also seen the Broadway revival of Side Show, which sadly closed the day after I saw it after running for only seven weeks. One might imagine I would … More Theater Review: Side Show
In the months leading up to the release of the Into the Woods film, I had many concerns. The casting of actual children as Jack and Little Red made me very nervous, given the very adult subject matter of certain scenes. Rumors of plot changes made me wonder how the emotional arcs would still work. … More Movie Review: Into the Woods
Since moving to LA in June 2011, I have been to NYC only four times. Considering that in the year prior to that move I spent a summer living in the city and took monthly trips thereafter, my Broadway time decreased significantly. Before, if there was an upcoming show I wanted to see it was … More The Long Distance Theater Geek’s Guide to Planning the Perfect NYC Trip
This past weekend I saw the national touring production of Pippin at the Pantages Theater in LA. I had previously seen the Best Revival Tony-winning production in New York City back in January, where it ended up being my favorite of the four shows I saw that trip. The Los Angeles leg of the tour … More Theater Review: Pippin
ON STAGE & SCREEN 