From left: Joslynn Cortes (Tzipporah) and Diego Huerta-Guttierez (Moses) in DreamWorks "The Prince of Egypt: The Musical" at CASA 101 Theater (Photo by Steve Moyer) CASA 101 Theater’s production of DreamWorks’ “The Prince of Egypt: The Musical” excels especially in production design and choreography, delivering a fantastic experience of a biblical tale. The musical tells of Moses (Diego Huerta-Gutierrez), born to a Hebrew enslaved family in ancient Egypt who is sent away as a

Joanna "JoJo" Levesque (Tess) and ensemble cast in "Working Girl" at La Jolla Playhouse (Photo by Rich Soublet II) The 1980s seem to be having a moment today. High-waisted jeans, oversized blazers and “Stranger Things”’ quantum leap from Netflix to Broadway are just some of the ways the pre-internet decade is infiltrating our digitally saturated consciousness. Enter the exuberant “Working Girl” — La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere musical based on the 1988 film by Kevin Wade

From left: Philip McNiven, Rick Batalla, Matt Walker and Chelle Denton in the Troubadour Theater Company’s production of “Die Heart: The Director’s Cut” at The Colony Theatre (Photo by Ashley Erikson) Like the return of double-breasted suits with shoulder pads, Polaroid cameras and boom boxes, the 1980s are back on stage, too, as the Troubadour Theater Company (affectionally known as the Troubies) brings us the latest iteration of one of its famous mashups of well-known stori

Cast of first national tour of "Stereophonic" at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre (Photo by Julieta Cervantes) If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to produce a 1970s-era hit record, “Stereophonic” is the play that will take you there.   Written by David Adjmi and directed by Daniel Aukin, “Stereophonic” opened on Broadway in 2024 and received more Tony Award nominations than any other play to date, winning several, including Best Play.  Now at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre t

From left: Taya Ming and Nia Stephen in the National Tour of "The Enormous Crocodile" (Photo by Danny Kaan) As you enter the Kirk Douglas Theatre, you are handed a large foam peanut and greeted by smoke-filled soap bubbles that waft through the air. Eager children, peanuts in hand, scramble to pop as many bubbles as they can. Even from this pre-show, it’s clear that “Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile” will be filled with spectacle and interactivity.   This musical adaptatio

Written and directed by Billie King, “Brown Broadway: The Musical” follows Timothy Jackson (Jarrel O’Neil), a New Orleans musician carrying unresolved history into his new life in Los Angeles. As Jackson chases his dream, he becomes tangled in ambition, romance and a past that refuses to stay buried. The show positions Los Angeles’s Central Avenue as both backdrop and heartbeat, honoring its legacy as a cultural home for Black and brown performers. Promotional image for "Bro

From left: Maya Keleher (Alice Paul) and Marya Grandy (Carrie Chapman Catt) in "Suffs" at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre (Photo by Joan Marcus) Actress and composer Shaina Taub’s new musical “Suffs” couldn’t be better timed to perform at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. It’s about the early 20 th -century U.S. women’s suffrage movement, but Taub’s vibrant music and compelling lyrics ensure it’s not just a dry history lesson. Instead, this touring production’s powerhouse cast s

From left: Eiko Eisen-Martin (Dallas), Michael Rishawn (River) and Gail Bean (Jada) in "Table 17" at Geffen Playhouse (Photo by Jeff Lorch) Sometimes you just want good entertainment without any heavy messaging to weigh it down. Enter “Table 17,” actor and playwright Douglas Lyons’ rollicking romantic comedy set in a restaurant with tables on stage and no fourth wall. Thanks to dynamic acting, lighting and sound, “Table 17” keeps the audience laughing in sympathy and recognit

Directed by The Actors’ Gang director Chas Harvey and written by Harvey, Megan Stogner, Willa Fossum and Cihan Sahin, “Arrest the Clowns: Insolent Until Proven Guilty” promises to be “an action-packed nail-biter about a revolutionary freedom squad of buffoons who will stop at nothing to take down the elusive artificial intelligence LOLA and save the world.”   However, experiencing the play is more of a mixed bag of vaguely revolutionary rhetoric, profanity and the stale scent

From left: Alexander Hurt (Gregers Werle) and Nick Westrate (Hjalmar Ekdal) in Shakespeare Theatre Company's "The Wild Duck" (Photo by Gerry Goodstein) In the shadow of the White House, two plays by Henrik Ibsen are currently being staged that explore “truth” in different ways — “An Enemy of the People” at Theater J and “The Wild Duck” at Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC). * At a Nov. 2 symposium sponsored by STC, Hayley Finn, the artistic director of Theatre J, talked about

It was exciting to see “Damn Yankees” at Arena Stage on the heels of a dramatic seven-game World Series. But the show would have been just as exhilarating even without that. Dynamically directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo with a vibrant cast, this refreshed version of the musical hits it out of the theatrical ballpark. Adapted by Will Power and Doug Wright, with additional lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, the essential Faustian-bargain story and characters remain the same as

Will Coile’s “Trap Doors,” written and performed by Coile and directed by Amanda Bird, is a deeply personal one-man magical theatre experience that blurs the line between illusion and introspection. Performed at The Noisy Nest, the show follows Coile as both magician and storyteller, guiding the audience through a series of acts that explore identity, fear and the masks we wear to face the world. Beneath the sleight of hand lies a meditation on vulnerability and the courage i

Ensemble cast of "Parade" at The Electric Lodge (Photo by Dane Arthur Headshots) Directed by Saundra McClain, “Parade” is a haunting and powerful retelling of one of America’s most unsettling true stories. With music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Alfred Uhry, the production at The Electric Lodge brings the 1913 trial of Leo Frank (Adam Fried) to life with raw emotion and unflinching honesty. Set in Atlanta and Marietta, Georgia, the story follows Frank, a Jew

Alexandra Hellquist (Merrill) in Rogue Machine's "anthropology" (Photo by Jeff Lorch) No matter how often we are reminded, it’s hard to fathom how much of our lives are online. TV, movies and true crime podcasts are replete with digital sleuths combing the internet for clues. Every transaction, message, and location is recorded. Cameras see where someone has been and calendar-invites can reveal where someone will go. Even the least connected members of society leave a digital

Ed Schmidt in "Edward," pre-show (Photo by Sophie Blackall) “Edward,” a new play by Ed Schmidt, is a singular experience. This much is clear immediately when you choose which evening to attend; each performance happens at a different private residence in various affluent Los Angeles neighborhoods. The peculiarities continue once you arrive. A stoic usher greets you at the front door before inviting you to inspect 27 items on the dining room table that a man named Edward purpo

From left: Amorie Barton, Nina Kasuya, Parnell Damone Marcano, Josh Loren, Charlie Towle, Paul Sohm and Deja Monique Cruz in "We Are The People," part of Towne Street Theatre's "In Response: RISE UP" (Photo courtesy Towne Street Theatre) Towne Street Theatre’s “In Response: RISE UP ” is a bold and necessary anthology production that brings together a collection of short plays, monologues and scenes centered around the act of resistance. Each piece explores what it means to s

From left: Hayley O’Brien, Oceane Rose Laurent, Sean Michael Williams, BP Mendoza, and Sarah Bruce in The Group Rep's "My Spirits Soar" (Photo by Caitlin Mae Smith) Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s short story “The Canterville Ghost,” with its book by Doug Haverty, “My Spirits Soar” is a haunting and heartfelt musical that follows Virginia Otis (Abigail Stewart), a young American girl who wins the opportunity to study abroad in England. When she arrives, she finds herself lodging in

From left: Achintya Pandey and Pia Shah in "नेहा & Neel" at Latino Theater Company (Photo by M Palma Photography) There are not many plays that center on the Indian American experience, and even fewer that do so with an easy humor that illuminates rather than preaches. The world premiere of “नेहा & Neel” (“Neha & Neel”) at Latino Theater Company avoids the pitfalls of portraying an underrepresented community on stage: flat characters that play to type, didactic monologues and

Manuel Oliver in “GUAC” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Photo by Cameron Whitman) “When you lose a son, what do you do?”   This urgent and gut-wrenching question rang in the ears of writer Manuel Oliver from the moment his son Joaquin (nicknamed “Guac”) was murdered in a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. It’s also the opening line of Manuel’s solo performance dedicated to Joaquin, which, layer by layer, begins to provide the answer.   Fro

From left: Marlon Alexander Vargas (Fito) and Alex Hernandez (Bastian) in "littleboy/littleman" at Geffen Playhouse (Photo by Jeff Lorch) Infused with high energy of athletic acting supercharged by dynamic lighting and sound, the world premiere of “littleboy/littleman” at Geffen Playhouse tells of two brothers originally from Nicaragua making their way in Sweetwater, Fla. One is practical and driven while the other is a poet, dreamer and performer. Both try to uphold the lega