Michael Quintos - Page 10

Quirky and surprisingly unexpected, playwright Jen Silverman explores a delightfully fresh and edgy new take on the formulaic 'opposite personalities that live together' paradigm in the new dark comedy THE ROOMMATE, now continuing its West Coast premiere performances at Orange County's Tony Award-winning regional theater South Coast Repertory through January 22 in Costa Mesa. Consistently winsome and, at times, touchingly relatable, the play unveils two very complex, rather dysfunctional individuals you still ultimately want to root for and watch blossom into better people as we watch them long to transform their lives.

Broadway vet and musical comedy genius Jason Graae will be one of several incredible performers that will be presenting JERRY HERMAN: THE BROADWAY LEGACY CONCERT at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts from January 19 - 21, 2017. For three performances at the Center's Samueli Theater---the campus' intimate cabaret space---Graae and five other artists will be taking the stage to pay tribute to Jerry Herman's musical legacy, highlighted by musical numbers from his many classic shows that include MAME, MACK AND MABEL, HELLO, DOLLY!, and LA CAGE AUX FOLLES.

Upon learning that part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' holiday programming this season was to finally bring a national tour production of ELF - THE MUSICAL---the 2010 Broadway stage musical adaptation of the popular Will Ferrell holiday movie---to its stage, I was pretty ecstatic. For the most part, ELF---which performs at SCFTA through January 1, 2017---delivers enjoyable laughs sprinkled here and there throughout its two acts, and even offers up a non-equity cast equipped with lovely singing voices. But while ELF - THE MUSICAL is certainly festive and has lots of smile-inducing moments, overall, I felt the presented production felt surprisingly subdued. While, sure, it had plenty of genuinely funny and heart-warming moments, many aspects of the NETworks Presentations production needed to be much more over-the-top, manic, and downright silly.

In a theatrical touchdown for the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, stage and screen star Darren Criss has agreed to reprise the notable title role he stepped into last year on Broadway: as Hedwig in the just-launched national tour of the rousing 2014 Tony Award-winning reboot of the glam rock musical HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, which began last month in San Francisco and continues its Los Angeles-area performances through November 27 (Euan Morton assumes the role for the rest of the tour starting November 29 in San Diego). Featuring solid direction from Michael Mayer and dynamic new musical staging from choreographer Spencer Liff, the searingly electric, engagingly hilarious show, at its core, celebrates the triumph of living life as authentic and as tenaciously as possible, no matter the constant obstacles. It's certainly a wonderful message to remind everyone in such uneasy times of late.

With the popularity of film screenings paired with live symphony orchestras at an all time high, I'm glad one of the many to get the treatment is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first installment of the 8-film movie franchise adapted from JK Rowling's worldwide best-selling books. What an incredible thrill it was to hear John Williams' now-iconic score reverberate live in full force via a massive 84-person symphony orchestra while synced up perfectly to the film screened in HD above the orchestra on a 40-foot screen. The concert series continues through November 13 at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.

Lovingly skewering the not-so-subtle art of telenovelas, Karen Zacarías' winning play DESTINY OF DESIRE---now being performed at Orange County's South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through November 13---compresses an entire series' worth of over-the-top melodramatic goodness into a two-act play that, not surprisingly, comes off as an intentionally hilarious comedy.

When it comes to the theatrical art of farce, Ken Ludwig's hilarious 1986 stage play LEND ME A TENOR certainly qualifies as a perfect example of the genre. Amusingly cheeky throughout, the 9-time Tony Award nominated comedy has been revived locally with a posh new production under the direction of Art Manke that is now playing at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through November 13. Utilizing a laundry list of classic madcap set-ups, LEND ME A TENOR feels very much like a well-paced, meticulously crafted, old fashioned sitcom episode that has been super-sized into two gloriously funny acts.

Coming off the heels of another politically-charged play ALL THE WAY that they presented last month, Orange County's Tony Award-winning regional theater South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa is following up that searing drama with a staging of a brand new production of playwright Aaron Posner's DISTRICT MERCHANTS, a clever, thoughtful, and occasionally humorous re-imagining of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. This time around, the play-a self-aware comedic drama set during America's post-Civil War Reconstruction era-continues performances through October 23, 2016.

The prolific eight-time Academy Award-winning composer---perhaps best known for his decades of unforgettable work in several landmark Disney animated musicals---was on hand to unveil a world premiere concert entitled 'A WHOLE NEW WORLD WITH ALAN MENKEN' on September 30, 2016 at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. Part cabaret concert, part one-man retrospective story time/show-and-tell, this 'trial' showcase, he hoped, would serve as the springboard for what is to become a series of similar concerts celebrating his enviable career thus far.

Even without eye-popping special effects, a gimmicky storyline, or those oft-used literary or cinematic source materials, some stage musicals just manage to entertain by sheer likability alone. A big warm hug of a show that's brimming with lots of surprisingly snappy wit and, arguably, some of the previous century's most melodious pop hits, BEAUTIFUL---the Broadway stage musical based on the life of treasured Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Carole King---is a show that certainly lives up to its title. This charming, swiftly-paced bio-musical's first national tour continues performances at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through October 16.

Right at the start of Robert Schenkkan's mesmerizing Tony Award-winning play ALL THE WAY---now playing in an outstanding new production at Orange County's South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through October 2---actor Hugo Armstrong is introduced in what would become one of the most powerful, fiery acting performances I have witnessed on this very stage. Commanding, and yet remarkably relatable without ever traversing caricature, Armstrong deftly portrays one of American History's most complex leaders, our 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Armstrong's powerhouse portrayal is the explosive epicenter of a richly dense, dialogue-heavy drama that recounts the rocky 11-month period leading up to Johnson's re-election as the leader of the world's most powerful nation. The play spends its entirety focusing on this contentious time which finds Johnson pushing for the passage of the Civl Rights Act---which itself incites a tug-of-war between his longtime pro-segregation Dixiecrat friends and the African-American community lobbying for rights that have been long overdue.

The very second that Tony Award-winning Broadway Legend Patti LuPone sings---heck, even when she walks out before she belts a single note---you know you're in the presence of someone that deserves the mountains of accolades she has continuously enjoyed through a very long, illustrious career on the stage. That very storied career became the abundantly cheeky narrative jumping-off point for her latest one-woman concert entitled COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA... PLAYED THAT PART, which played to a packed house at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa this past Friday, September 9. For her one-night-only return to the OC (part of the Center's 30th Anniversary offerings), Ms. LuPone was armed with a songbook of both showtunes she wishes she would have sung on Broadway and showtunes she herself made famous.

CABARET's Tony Award-winning 1998 Broadway revival co-directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, still stands, arguably, as the show's definitive stage iteration. That same vibrant Roundabout Theatre Company production rightly serves as the basis for the newer 2014 revival that is now in the midst of a brand new North American national tour---currently performing at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through August 21. Whether you're a fan of that amazing '98 revival or, better still, the iconic 1972 film adaptation, this brazenly confident new CABARET---a rousing combo-platter of the best elements of the show through its entire history---will surely entertain and, yes, even move you.

Engaging, well-paced, aurally pleasing, and exceedingly entertaining from start to finish, the Hollywood Bowl's A CHORUS LINE is an exceptional presentation of this iconic show which celebrates those hard-working, ultra-talented, under-paid men and women who willingly choose a volatile career in which they sing and dance their hearts out in the background of a musical. It is set in the far out mid-70's, hence, the show is a retro-tastic trip down memory lane as it showcases a day of auditions for eight chorus member positions in a brand new musical opening on Broadway. For this Bowl version of A CHORUS LINE, producers enlisted TV host/actor Mario Lopez and then filling the rest of the large 17-member cast with a diverse group of proven triple-threat stage professionals. The resulting show is, hands down, one of the most well-performed musical productions that I have seen at the Bowl. From the execution of director/choreographer Baayork Lee's Michael Bennett-inspired choreography to the incredible singing performances of Kleban and Hamlisch's memorable classic songs, this is a production of A CHORUS LINE that can stand proudly side-by-side with any acclaimed full production of the musical, regional or otherwise.

A surprisingly well-done, beautifully-paced production that feels like a truly fresh revival of something many of us have forever seared in our brains, this brand new, Jack O'Brien-helmed national tour of THE SOUND OF MUSIC---now on stage at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through July 31---is a resplendent enterprise that is equal parts heartwarming nostalgia and entertaining, feel-good theater. Say what you will about how hokey and old-fashioned this show may be now... but I, for one, truly adored it. Besides its lovely visuals, this new revival has made a wonderful discovery in Kerstin Anderson, who plays a spunky, utterly charming version of everyone's favorite nun-turned-nanny Maria.

The con is on! With plenty of wit, charm, and double entendres galore, Musical Theatre West's new regional production of the 2004 Broadway musical comedy 'DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS' is one enjoyably silly romp. The show which features a book by Jeffrey Lane and music and lyrics by David Yazbeck continues its final weekend at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through July 24. Based on the 1998 film comedy starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, the stage adaptation eventually garnered 11 Tony nominations during its run. For MTW's fun new local revival, the title roles---a couple of con men who've taken to swindling the riches off of easily-seduced women in the French Riviera---are embodied by stage vets Davis Gaines (now a multiple fixture at MTW) and the incredibly funny Benjamin Schrader (The Book of Mormon).

If there was ever one musical that, on the surface, can translate well as an intimately-staged production in a black box theater space, then A CHORUS LINE---the classic 1975 Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning backstage musical---should certainly qualify as a strong contender. This still dazzling, groundbreaking show has been revived at Anaheim's Chance Theater, the lauded small regional theater company in Orange County, CA that has definitively, in the very recent past, shown a knack for taking large musicals and making them smaller, very special ones. For the most part, the same can certainly be said about their newest small-scaled local revival, which continues its extended run through August 7, 2016. Exceedingly admirable despite being a bit rough around the edges, Chance Theater's peppy production reminds audiences old and new why the world of musical theater continues to lure certain dreamy, insanely talented people to this sometimes frustrating, often euphoric, and always competitive profession time and time again.

Besides the Hollywood Bowl's all-star concert event, THE LITTLE MERMAID also made a splash at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. This visually-gorgeous, fully-staged new production of the film's Broadway stage adaptation---produced locally by McCoy Rigby Entertainment with new staging and direction by Glenn Casale---continues in the city of La Mirada through June 26.

It's clear that the smart and savvy architects behind Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID Live In Concert To Film, the sold out presentation of Disney's 1989 animated classic THE LITTLE MERMAID at the 17,000-seat Hollywood Bowl have indeed created a wholly wonderful experience. But it owes much of its must-see status to the winning all-star line-up that has been assembled for this special event. Yet, although the cast may have been the initial draw, the audience was treated to a truly magical evening all around.

Yes, Summer in Orange County, California is often marked with escalating temperatures, the Laguna Beach Arts festival, and heavy beach traffic, but you can still escape the heat by jumping into an air-conditioned theater... where O.C. theaters are still buzzing with excitement (except those that have ended their season). Everywhere from Costa Mesa and Fullerton to Santa Ana and Irvine (and even our county-line neighbors in La Mirada and Long Beach), there are lots of stage goodies to fill your live theater cravings.