PARADE
Thursday, March 17th, 2016
It takes guts and chutzpah to write a musical about a hundred-year-old anti-Semitism-fueled lynching that remains today one of the most horrific miscarriages of justice in United States history, but this is precisely what Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry pulled off in 1998’s Tony-winning Parade, now being given a Cal State Northridge revival that easily rivals the best our top SoCal regional theaters have to offer.
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KOWALSKI
Monday, September 5th, 2011
The year was 1947 and Tennessee Williams, still basking in the success of his New York Drama Critics Circle Award-winning The Glass Menagerie, was hoping to avoid a sophomore jinx with his upcoming A Streetcar Named Desire. Elia Kazan was set to direct, and Jessica Tandy to star as Blanche DuBois, but as yet no one had been cast in the pivotal role of Stanley Kowalski. Producer Irene Selznick was batting for John Garfield, but Williams had his doubts that the film star was right for the part. Then, according to Wikipedia, a virtually unknown actor named Marlon Brando “was given car fare to Tennessee Williams’ home in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he not only gave a sensational reading, but did some house repairs as well.” Oh, and he got the part.
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THREE SISTERS OR PERESTROIKA
Sunday, May 8th, 2011NOT RECOMMENDED
At the risk of alienating the many who consider Anton Chekhov one of the world’s greatest playwrights, I must preface this review with a confession. I am not now, nor am I likely to become, a Chekhov fan. Having seen one or two productions each of his four greatest works, I have come to the conclusion that the author of The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, The Three Sisters, and Uncle Vanya is simply not my cup of tea—or should that be vodka? Therefore, any Chekhov lovers reading this review should take whatever I say about Three Sisters Or Perestroika with a grain of salt. By the same token, those with a similar lack of affinity for the very talky Russian may want to pass on Pavel Cerny’s 1980s adaptation of Chekhov’s ode to Moscow.
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JANET KRUPIN RHAPSODY IN NEW
Saturday, May 15th, 2010
The sky’s the limit for Janet Krupin, superstar in the making, who followed her L.A.’s Next Great Stage Star 2010 victory with a sensational cabaret debut that people will be talking about in years to come.
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SANTASIA—A CHRISTMAS COMEDY
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Santasia—A Holiday Comedy is back for its 9th annual potpourri of skits, videos, musical production numbers, and recollections of Christmases past—and what a show it is, whether you’re someone who’s enjoyed the all-male cast’s wackiness in years past, or a newbie like me. Of all the Christmas shows I’ve seen this season, Santasia is quite possibly the best blend of comedy and heart.
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BLOOD BROTHERS
Saturday, October 18th, 2008RECOMMENDED
The arrival of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers in Los Angeles is big news indeed. Though the musical ran 840 performances on Broadway in the mid-1990s, and has been playing continuously on London’s West End for over two decades, it’s been years since there’s been a fully staged L.A. production offering local audiences the chance to see what has made Blood Brothers such a British (and international) phenomenon.
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IT’S THE HOUSEWIVES
Sunday, September 7th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Ever heard of the superstar rock group The Housewives? The three PTA mothers who became as big as the Beatles? The gals who had such #1 hits as “Ironing Bored,” “The Reynold’s Rap,” and “I’ve Been Defrosting All Day”?
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BABY
Saturday, August 16th, 2008RECOMMENDED
Three women learn that they are pregnant. One is surprised, the second overjoyed, the third shocked, almost horrified by the news.
Thus begins Baby, Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s 1983 Broadway sort-of-a-hit (241 performances and 7 Tony Award … nominations).
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