INTERVIEW: GILLIAN BELLINGER AND LANDON KIRKSEY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Adding to the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival listings of theater in response to this year’s election is the new campy political musical Trump in Space. The musical is created by Gillian Bellinger and Landon Kirksey (book and lyrics); and Tony Gonzalez and Sam Johnides (music). Trump in […]

INTERVIEW: DANIEL SUIGIMOTO BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Fresh off the heels of critically acclaimed original shows such as Letters To Eve and White People Drinking, Daniel Sugimoto and The Zoo Theatre Company are launching another world premiere musical this summer at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica. This musical is We The People, a contemporary musical that […]

2017 ASCAP FOUNDATION MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP (DAY 2) By RYAN LUÉVANO While the first evening of the workshop only offered a sampling of the musicals presented, the second evening featured a 45-minute presentation of the musical The Ballad of Brightwater (Book, Music and Lyrics by Matthew McCollum). This musical was given a full reading, complete with […]

2017 ASCAP FOUNDATION MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP (DAY 1) By RYAN LUÉVANO Whether you’re writing, planning, or just contemplating writing a musical, every February, alongside Valentine’s Day, the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop is here for you. Composer/ lyricist Stephen Schwartz continues to lead the workshop hosted at the exquisite Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts—and […]

REVIEW: AMÉLIE BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Pulling from cinema stockpile from abroad, American producers have deemed the 2001 film Amélie as a story worth taking to the musical stage, and not just any stage—Broadway is imminent. After the tryout at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, the show is slotted for an opening on April […]

REVIEW: LETTERS TO EVE BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The new musical Letters To Eve by Daniel Sugimoto makes is world premiere at the The Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica. Although the musical is still in its development stage, the stories are powerful and the potential is eminent. This WWII musical follows a Japanese American […]

REVIEW: RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The name John Dolphin is far from a household name and what he did is just as obscure, yet when this mere blip of history is brought to the stage as in Recorded in Hollywood, the dots of past and present ultimately connect—if only for the show’s duration. The musical, […]

INTERVIEW: JAMELLE DOLPHIN AND LOU SPISTO BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The new musical Recorded in Hollywood returns for L.A. audiences and receives an all-new production since its first incarnation as a 99-seat production in 2015. Broadway veteran Stu James (Benny in RENT, national tour of The Color Purple) will reprise the role of black entrepreneur […]

REVIEW: LIBERTY A MONUMENTAL NEW MUSICAL BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Liberty A Monumental New Musical tells a delightful story of this iconic monument that’s a symbol of American freedom with a reverence for history, but doesn’t quite reach the top in terms of dramatic artistry and compelling storytelling. However, the musical does give Americans and […]

REVIEW: DREAMLAND BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Another L.A. born musical has recently surfaced at the NoHo Arts Center for a brief weekend run. The musical, Dreamland by John Francis Smith (Emmy Award winner as head writer and co-executive producer of Young and the Restless) and his daughter Asia Ray Smith, tells the story of an […]