TOP THEATER PICKS STILL PLAYING:

1) EMPIRE the Musical

La Mirada Center for the Performing Arts (Jan. 22–Feb. 14, 2016)

Creating and producing an original musical of this magnitude is no easy task, yet co-creators Caroline Sherman and Robert Hull rise to the occasion with Empire the musical. Over 16 years in the making Empire is a tribute to classic musical theater telling the story of the struggle to design and build the world’s tallest Skyscraper during the Great Depression. . . FULL REVIEW

2) HAM: A MUSICAL MEMOIR

Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre (Jan. 23–Feb. 7, 2016)

The word memoir, although French, has been reduced to a dusty term used to describe the dreary lives of old people; but make it a musical memoir about Sam Harris and what you have is something different—Ham: A Musical Memoiris enthralling. Sam Harris, multi-million selling recording artist, Tony nominated Broadway and television actor, playwright, composer, director, brings audiences memories and stories from his life in a musical format that delights. Alongside music director Todd Schroeder Harris keeps the audience engaged from the moment he walks on stage. . .FULL REVIEW

3) FLY

The Pasadena Playhouse (Jan. 26, 2016–Feb. 21, 2016)

The Pasadena Playhouse in conjunction with Crossroads Theatre Company presents the West Coast premiere of Flyby 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 North Africa during World War II. Fly touches upon themes of fortitude, hope, and victory during the time of Black and White segregation in American society. . .FULL REVIEW

4) 1984

The Broad Stage in Santa Monica (Jan. 8–Feb. 6, 2016)

George Orwell’s seminal work 1984 leaps out of the book and onto The Broad Stage in Santa Monica in this thrilling production by the Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida Theatre from the UK. This gripping adaptation created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan recounts Orwell’s dystopian novel conjuring a world where citizens are constantly watched by the totalitarian state known as Big Brother. This play dares to pose the question: What if the freedom to think did not exist and someone was monitoring our every move? A question that hits close to home in our modern society where data is constantly being collected, stored and shared online through our daily interactions with social media platforms and the like. . .FULL REVIEW

 5) MY SISTER

Odyssey Theatre (Jan. 16–March 6, 2016)

Janet Schlapkohl’s play My Sister returns to L.A. after its West Coast premiere at the Hollywood Fringe Festival where it won two awards. This two-person play tells the story of two identical twins, one with a disability, in Berlin during the Nazi rise to power. Schlapkohl wrote the play for performers Emily Hinkler (Magda) and Elizabeth Hinkler(Matilde), her then theater department students at the University of Iowa. My Sister is a charming theatrical time capsule, a lost and forgotten diary that is discovered in real-time by audiences on stage—the kind of theater piece that intrigues and delights. . .FULL REVIEW

6) THE MANOR

Greystone Mansion (Jan. 8–Feb. 5, 2016)

Have you ever noticed the giant mansion that extends westward and upwards into the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains? That’s Greystone Mansion: a 55-room Tudor-style estate on Loma Vista Drive. Built in 1928 by oil tycoon Edward Doheny, Sr., as a wedding gift for his son Ned. The estate ws saved from demolition by the City of Beverly Hills in 1965 and was designated as a city park in 1971 joining the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. At the moment Greystone Mansion is also the location of Theatre 40’s production of The Manor written by Katherine Bates. This interactive play allows the audience to follow actors through Greystone Mansion and witness the drama based on the true events that took place at the mansion in the 1920s. . .FULL REVIEW

7) PILLARS OF NEW YORK

Brick House Theatre (Jan. 22–Feb. 21, 2016)

Fresh on the heels of a new year, the L.A. theater scene is already seeing the influx of original L.A. musicals like Pillars of New York by Michael Antin. This musical tells the story about four couples’ struggles in and around the events surrounding 9/11 told via psychologist Jake Kelly. Bringing anything to audiences regarding the tragedy of 9/11 is a sensitive task that must be undertaken with superb craftsmanship and tact—in the case of Pillars of New York the musical falls short. . .FULL REVIEW