REVIEW: RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL BY RYAN. M. LUÉVANO The Pasadena Playhouse’s first offering in 2019 is the American musical Ragtime: The Musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty—and what an offering. Ragtime is a big show on so many levels, thematically it deals with immigration, racism, white privilege, women’s […]

REVIEW: NATIVE GARDENS BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Karen Zacarías’ new comedy Native Gardens, now playing at the Pasadena Playhouse, is the perfect fit for this city’s perfectly tailored green lawns and gardening lifestyle that includes the celebrated Tournament of Roses Parade. The play directed by Jason Alexander proves that just how challenging it can be […]

REVIEW: CASA VALENTINA BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO A group of men go into the woods and transform themselves into the beautiful dolled-up women they are inside—the West Coast premiere of Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina could not be more timely. Although this play is set in the 1960s the issues addressed are evermore present in our […]

REVIEW: FLY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The Pasadena Playhouse in conjunction with Crossroads Theatre Company presents the West Coast premiere of Fly by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan. Inspired by the American heroism of the Tuskegee Airmen, Fly dramatizes the story of four American Air Corp fighters who flew over the skies of Europe and […]

REVIEW: BREAKING THROUGH BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The latest new musical at the Pasadena Playhouse Breaking Through, book by Kristen Guenther and music and lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz, offers an all too familiar musical story about artists navigating the murky waters of the music business. Set in the present, the musical focuses […]

REVIEW: REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The Pasadena Playhouse revival of the Josefina Lopez play Real Women Have Curves is a production that touches the soul and encourages self-reflection. There are many important themes wrapped up in this play about a group of five Latina, curvy women working in a tiny sewing […]

REVIEW: Waterfall, The Pasadena Playhouse By RYAN M. LUÉVANO The Pasadena Playhouse launches a world premiere of the new musical Waterfall, book and lyrics by Tony winner Richard Maltby, Jr. and music by Academy Award and two-time Grammy winner David Shire. An adaptation of sorts stemming from the Thai musical Behind the Painting (2008) which […]