REVIEW: 1984 BY: RYAN M LUÉVANO 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 […]

REVIEW: THE MANOR BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO 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. […]

REVIEW: BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The 2014 Tony award winning musical Bridges of Madison County, book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, has landed in L.A. with the Mr. Brown conducting the performances. Until now most are only familiar with the Broadway cast recording, but upon seeing […]

REVIEW: WHO KILLED SANTA? BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Pour a glass of spiked eggnog and join the party! Who Killed Santa? is a campy, hilarious and provocatively festive adult holiday show with puppets that puts the ‘X’ in X-Mas. This West Coast premiere of Neil Haven’s play is brought into fruition for L.A. audiences at […]

REVIEW: DNA BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Introducing RED CUP THEATRE COMPANY! It is always a treat to see the inaugural production of a brand new theatre company and Red Cup Theatre Company’s presentation of Dennis Kelly’s (book for Matilda the Musical) poignant play DNA rises to the occasion. With inaugural productions there is always a sense of wonder […]

REVIEW: A CHRISTMAS MEMORY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO This year’s holiday show at the Sierra Madre Playhouse is A Christmas Memory, a musical adaptation of Truman Capote’s 1956 autobiographical short story of the same name. The music by Larry Grossman (Minnie’s Boys, Snoopy! The Musical and A Doll’s Life), book by Duane Poole, and lyrics […]

REVIEW: WOOD BOY DOG FISH BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Rogue Artists Ensemble’s presentation of Wood Boy Dog Fish is not the familiar 1940s Disney Pinocchio movie, but rather a sublimely dark, freaky and contemporary rendering of Carlo Collodi’s canonic tale. This adult version dares to frighten and haunt audiences taking them down the rabbit hole […]

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: WE ARE THE TIGERS BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO With Carrie the Killer Musical Experience, and the television show Scream Queens, We Are the Tigers jumps on the bandwagon of the current L.A. entertainment trend—shows about killing girls who are part of a sorority or cheerleading team. This being said, the timing of this New York […]

REVIEW: CARRIE: THE KILLER MUSICAL EXPERIENCE BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The L.A. production of Carrie is raw, electrifying and scathingly dark—everything you would expect from a musical based on a book by Stephen King. With book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and music by Michael Gore, the original Broadway production officially opened […]