Non-Registered Critics: Dena Burroughs
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE
It is very funny, and it will surely make you laugh out loud. Carol Mansell and Lynn Milgrim, as Amy and Martha Brewster respectively, are fantastic.
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!)
This is a production meant for the entire family that will be best enjoyed by those who think they have seen every Christmas play and film out there and are ready to have some fun with it.
Sugar Plum Fairy
SUGAR PLUM FAIRY has moments of audience participation, and it’s festive, colorful, and vibrant enough to keep the attention of the young ones while emoting nostalgia from those who, like Loh, were in middle school sometime in the 70s and have their own memories of the American life that Loh speaks about throughout the show.
Troy
I encourage you to attend. The cost of your ticket will translate into a brand new experience for multiple groups of homeless women in Los Angeles. Plus you’ll have fun while doing some good.
Buried Child
BURIED CHILD is absorbing. It’s not what we understand as comedy, but it makes you chuckle because it’s clever and it makes you remember the quirks of your own tribe. Because of that, it hits every viewer differently and it makes for great after-the-fact conversations.
Matilda The Musical
At La Mirada, MATILDA, THE MUSICAL is funny and upbeat. The cast of 25 (children and adults) is talented, with Shepperd shining as a hilarious (and enormous) headmistress that gets served justice by the group of amazing kids, including Aaron Tapia as Bruce (who Miss Trunchbull makes eat an entire cake!).
Little Women
I found Little Women at SMP heartwarming and adorable, and I think you’ll enjoy it.
Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson
GEM OF THE OCEAN combines spiritual and supernatural elements with historical events, allowing you to picture both the reality of the African American community in the early 1900s, as well as the beliefs and the cultures that strengthened them. And it tells you the story with the right amounts of humor and intensity needed to keep you enthralled throughout.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Reasons to attend, on the other hand, include Riley’s wonderful voice, Matthew Wilkas’ accomplished physical comedy, the puppetry design by Sean Cawelti, and the first professional performance of Cheyenne Isabel Wells, whom I’d bet we’ll continue to see on stage from here on.
The Joy Luck Club
At the Playhouse, the performance is enhanced by original music by Nathan Wang, projection designs by Yee Eun Nam, and by colorful and moving dance scenes that close each of its two acts.
GRUMPY OLD MEN: THE MUSICAL
This is a funny show with humor that is mostly meant for adults, so you may want to get a babysitter for your young ones. Everyone in the cast is talented, although much of the attention goes to the main performers, starting with 88-year old Linden (who happens to deliver most of the saucy lines).
Moby Dick – Rehearsed
It is not often that one’s imagination becomes an additional and necessary character during a performance, but that is the case in MOBY DICK – REHEARSED. For that reason, this play will be enjoyed best by those who have read the original novel. It is great fun and the actors do a superb job helping you believe that there’s a white whale lurking right behind you. It’s a satisfying piece of theater that makes you appreciate having read the novel back in high school.
An Enemy of the People
The dialogue is as easy to follow as its message is clear – the insistent search for the mighty dollar, the compulsion to fulfill personal interests without considering the welfare of others, and society’s nerve to punish and ignore those who speak up, are all actual enemies of the people.
Twelfth Night
Music has a way to make great things even better, and in this case, also hilarious. This production makes the audience giggle throughout, and as the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun!
A Streetcar Named Desire
At its most obvious, the play is about the decline of a woman’s mental state, but critics have said that it also represents the death of the aristocratic old South of the United States and the ascent of the working class. This means that you will go home with lots to think about. Look forward to an intense show; one that will hold your interest throughout.
Anna in the Tropics
ANNA IN THE TROPICS is a great play. It is the story that got Cruz his 2003 Pulitzer Prize and put him in the limelight. It’s nicely delivered at the Open Fist Company, and I’m sure that you will enjoy it.
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a lovely show that may remind you of your own family and that will certainly send you home singing. Sound and lighting are always perfect at the Pantages, so this is a musical that you will certainly enjoy.
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
At La Mirada, “Don Lockwood” is performed by Michael Starr, a wonderful singer and dancer that delivers the main song of the show – “Singin’ in the Rain” – fantastically. He is helped by an amazing stage, on which it rains torrents and where the actor ends up looking like he really danced under a storm. This scene alone makes making the outing worth your time…
These four principal artists are supported by another twenty actors, dancers, and singers, each of them uber talented. Add to that a flawless 14-piece orchestra, and do not doubt that you are in for an outstanding show.
Argonautika
Don’t let the idea of watching Greek mythology scare you; ARGONAUTIKA is easy to understand and meant to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages…
This production of ARGONAUTIKA is a sensory feast that includes actors swinging from ropes and working from the aisles, fabric that is made to look like the ocean, a singer twirling from aerial silks, battles, songs, and much more…
It’s an enchanting show that will make you look at the stars in the sky with a new purpose.
Julius Caesar
Shakespeare’s message in JULIUS CAESAR is clear as water in this production, which is also inspired on a 1937 edition of an Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre production. It will send you home wondering whether it is better to do the right thing for the wrong reasons, or the wrong thing for the right reasons, and whether, if pressed, you would choose man or country. Tremendously thought-provoking and delivered by a terrific cast, JULIUS CAESAR is certainly worth seeing.