BY RYAN M. LUEVANO Get ready to be dazzled by the sensational Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. This limited four-week engagement from April 2 to April 28, 2024, is a must-see for musical theater lovers. With a star-studded cast including Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester as Mrs. Brice […]

REVIEW: THE PROM BY RYAN M. LUEVANO The national tour of the 2019 Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding Musical The Prom is now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre. The musical takes the familiar notion of a school dance, adds a touching tale of acceptance, then wraps it in a glitzy musical theater bow. It brings new […]

REVIEW: PARADISE BLUE BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The Geffen Playhouse’s latest offering takes us into a world of smoky blue notes and noir milieu set in a jazz club in 1949 Detroit. Tony Award-nominated playwright Dominique Morisseau’s play Paradise Blue takes the stage in a production that is as vivid as it is a vital piece of […]

REVIEW: ALLEGIANCE BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The musical Allegiance, which had a short run on Broadway from October 2015 to February 2016, is experiencing it’s Los Angeles premiere by the East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center featuring George Takei reprising his original role from the Broadway run. Also reprising their Broadway roles […]

REVIEW: THE VIEW UPSTAIRS BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Earlier this month I interviewed Max Vernon, the creator of the new musical The View Upstairs, that’s currently having its West Coast premiere at Celebration Theatre. About his show, Vernon said, “The musical [. . .] contrasts two different eras of gay life, and questions if we’re […]

INTERVIEW: PETER RICHARDS BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO In an age when people take their cell phones everywhere, those tiny devices have much to tell about our lives. And in the West Coast premiere of emerging playwright Kevin Armento‘s play Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally, a cell phone is our narrator personified on stage by Thomas Piper. The play chronicles […]

INTERVIEW: MAX VERNON BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Step into the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1970’s with Max Vernon’s new musical The View Upstairs. The new musical premiered the The Lynn Redgrave Theater last spring and will have its West Coast premiere at Celebration Theatre this fall. This heartfelt musical is inspired by attacks against the LGBTQ community […]

REVIEW: THAT LONG DAMN DARK BY RYAN LUÉVANO It’s not often that a play is able to successfully transcend the limits of the stage and venture into cinematic territory, and even more so in a tiny black box theatre. Ashley’s Rose Wellman’s new play That Long Damn Dark does just that. This West Coast premiere presented […]

REVIEW: THE CITY OF CONVERSATION BY RYAN LUÉVANO It’s election season and you can tell because everyone and their dog is letting you know their polarized opinion on social media, whether you want to see it or not—that’s our 21st century floor for debate. The Wallis’ West Coast premiere of Anthony Giardina’s play The City […]

REVIEW: TURTLES BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO There are two fundamental types of theatrical works: first, the ones whose magic lasts only until the final curtain, and second, the ones whose magic comes home with you well after the final curtain has fallen. The West Coast Premiere of John Greiner-Ferris’ Turtles, produced by Red Cup Theatre […]