From left: Jalynn Steele, Jessica Crouch and Carly Sakolove in "Mamma Mia!" at the Ahmanson Theatre (Photo by Joan Marcus) For over 25 years, “Mamma Mia!” has rocked audiences around the world through the driving disco rhythms of ABBA's music, with a story by Catherine Johnson and songs by ABBA alum Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus, plus some by Stig Anderson. Center Theatre Group's current production at the Ahmanson Theatre fully delivers on the raucous spirit of this belove

From left: Petey McGee and Ugo Chukwu in "Primary Trust" at the Mark Taper Forum (Photo by Jeff Lorch) Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Primary Trust” has good intentions. Its 38-year-old protagonist has suffered lifelong anxiety compounded by childhood trauma, making him immediately sympathetic and a poster child for today’s heightened focus on mental health. Yet the play itself suffers from a sense of incompleteness and disproportion, often relying on telling

Scene from MUSE/IQUE's "Back to Oz" at the Mark Taper Forum (Photo by Haoyuan Ren for MUSE/IQUE) Local orchestral ensemble MUSE/IQUE — whose goal is to produce accessible, live, immersive music for all — has achieved that mission with “Back to Oz” at the Mark Taper Forum. “Back to Oz” offers a polished showcase of the enduring cultural impact of “The Wizard of Oz” — from L. Frank Baum’s original 1900 novel to the 1939 MGM musical film starring Judy Garland to “The Wiz” in 197

Ins Choi (Appa) in "Kim's Convenience" at Ahmanson Theatre (Photo by Dahlia Katz) When Ins Choi and his fellow Asian Canadian actors in Toronto found limited performance opportunities, they decided to write plays in which to cast themselves, Choi said in an interview. It took seven years for him to write “Kim’s Convenience,” only to see it rejected by a number of theatre companies. Choi finally staged the play himself at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival, and the rest is AAPI

Reanne Acasio and the company of “Here Lies Love” at the Mark Taper Forum (Photo by Jeff Lorch) There are a surprising number of parallels between Imelda Marcos and Alexander Hamilton: both grew up on small islands; both sailed to more cosmopolitan cities in search of better lives; both engaged in politics, appreciated sartorial finery, and were involved in violent episodes with political rivals; both strongly influenced the histories of their respective nations; and of cours