All stories by Tom Chaits on BroadwayStars

Monday, October 28, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE HOMOSEXUALS (Celebration Theatre at Atwater Village Theatre) by Tom Chaits

ROLE REVERSAL For its inaugural production at its new temporary home in Atwater Village, the Celebration Theatre has mounted The Homosexuals (pun intended). As one might glean from the title…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM
Sunday, October 27, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (Actors Co-op in Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

HYDE IN PLAIN SIGHT Actors Co-op does it again! Last year’s re-imagining of The World Goes ‘Round was musical perfection and this year’s Ah, Wilderness! was a sentimental del…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:11PM
Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE LIGHT BULB (NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

SAY WATT? While it is probably safe to assume that the NoHo Arts Center Ensemble’s “playwright in residence,” Joshua Ravetch, had some bright idea in mind when writing The Light Bulb, …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:41PM
Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE BURNT PART BOYS (Third Street Theatre) by Tom Chaits

SHAFTED! There’s a story to be mined in “them thar” hills of West Ver-ginny but unfortunately The Burnt Part Boys, making its west coast premiere at the Third Street Theatre, doesn’t…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:48PM
Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: BLUE MAN GROUP IN CONCERT (Hollywood Bowl) by Tom Chaits

BLUE MAN GROUP GETS BOWLED OVER International phenomenon Blue Man Group (BMG) made their Hollywood Bowl debut on Friday in a wildly uneven yet ultimately entertaining evening ranging from m…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:01AM
Thursday, August 22, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN (Geffen Playhouse) by Tom Chaits

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER…OR IS IT? Smart, funny and thought-provoking, Rapture, Blister Burn has arrived at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood with the original New York cast in tow. Writ…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:19PM
Friday, July 26, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: REVELATION (Elephant Theatre Company in Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

RUPTERED RAPTURE Attending the opening night of a comedy at one of the smaller 99 seat theaters in Los Angeles can be problematic. In addition to a minute smattering of critics and avid thea…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:19PM
Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE JUDY SHOW: MY LIFE AS A SITCOM (Geffen Playhouse in Westwood) by Tom Chaits

IT IS WHAT IT IS Set your “expectation meter” in the mid-range and you will probably enjoy The Judy Show: My Life as a Sitcom starring comedienne Judy Gold. However, if you enter the the…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:20AM
Monday, June 24, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: WATSON AND THE DARK ART OF HARRY HOUDINI (Sacred Fools) by Tom Chaits

JEKYLL AND HYDE DIRECTION MAKES THE MAGIC DISAPPEAR IN WATSON AND THE DARK ART OF HARRY HOUDINI Writer/Director Jaime Robledo follows up his award-winning smash hit Watson: The Last Great Ta…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:02PM
Monday, May 20, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: DYING CITY (Rogue Machine Theatre) by Tom Chaits

ALIVE WITH AMBIGUITY If you require a neat and tidy ending, a feeling of clarity, and a sense of completion to insure your theatrical enjoyment, then Dying City – making its Los Angeles pr…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:23PM
Friday, May 17, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE NORTH PLAN (The Elephant Space in Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

THE NORTH PLAN STARTS ON COURSE THEN GOES SOUTH A ruthless splinter group has seized power in Washington and a low level bureaucrat who has escaped with the new regime’s “hit list” is …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:59PM
Thursday, May 16, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE ROYALE (Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre) by Tom Chaits

THE ROYALE PACKS A PUNCH SLAP There are many things to recommend about The Royale, currently making its World Premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. The staging is brilliant, the fight choreo…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:00PM
Friday, April 26, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: ANNAPURNA (Odyssey) by Tom Chaits

A ROCKY ROCKY MOUNTAIN ROMANCE In mountaineering lingo, “committing” refers to forcing yourself into a place of no return leaving nowhere to go but forward; and so it is with life, loss …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:00PM
Thursday, March 21, 2013

San Diego Theater Review: A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER (The Old Globe Theatre) by Tom Chaits

CHARM GALORE WITH A SIDE OF CHARM THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is a captivatingly charming affair. Set in Edwardian England, the west coast premiere is…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:08PM
Saturday, March 16, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: TRAINSPOTTING (Elephant Theatre in Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

TRAINSPOTTING IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK Whether L.A. theatergoers are ready or not, seat of your pants Productions has resurrected it’s much ballyhooed 2002 mounting of Henry Gibson’s Trains…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:44AM
Monday, March 4, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: CAVALIA’S ODYSSEO (The White Big Top in Burbank) by Tom Chaits

BEHOLD THE BREATHTAKING BEAUTY OF CAVALIA’S ODYSSEO In 2003, Normand Latourelle, one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil, was ready to up the entertainment ante when he introduced his e…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:20PM
Saturday, March 2, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: COMPLETE (Wilder Theatrics at the Matrix Theatre) by Tom Chaits

A COMPLETE WASTE OF WORDS If you hold a doctorate in linguistics then you might (and that’s a very questionable “might”) find some interesting banter in Complete, the alleged comedy wr…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:43PM
Monday, February 18, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: A FAMILY THING (Echo Theatre Company by Tom Chaits

BRAWL IN THE FAMILY It’s a funny thing about families. We didn’t choose them, but they form the most important relationships in our lives. It’s the luck of the draw and some of us get …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:00PM
Friday, February 8, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: BENCHED (InterACT at Avery Schreiber) by Tom Chaits

BENCHED SHOULD HAVE BEEN BENCHED A cantankerous senior gets his dander up when he discovers a stranger occupying his favorite Central Park bench in the L.A. premiere of Richard Broadhurst’…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:16AM
Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: WALKING THE TIGHTROPE (24th STreet Theatre) by Tom Chaits

WALKING THE TIGHTROPE STRIKES A PERFECT BALANCE AND SOARS TO THEATRICAL PERFECTION Lab24, the resident experimental theater company of the 24th STreet Theatre [sic], has scored a stupendous …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:04PM
Saturday, January 26, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE SNAKE CAN (Odyssey Theatre) by Tom Chaits

OPEN THIS SNAKE CAN AND ALL THAT POPS OUT IS WHINE AND CHEESE Three BFFs get together to commiserate over their fates in the world premiere of The Snake Can, Kathryn Grant’s (Hermetically …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:05AM
Friday, January 25, 2013

Los Angeles Theater Review: HAPPY FACE SAD FACE (Elephant Lillian Theatre) by Tom Chaits

A UNIQUELY ENTERTAINING MISSED OPPORTUNITY The concept of Happy Face Sad Face is an intriguing one that consists of two one act plays; the first a drama, the second a comedy. Now before you …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:46PM
Monday, November 26, 2012

Los Angeles Theater Review: ONE NOVEMBER YANKEE (NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

SIBLINGS ON A CRASH COURSE IN ONE NOVEMBER YANKEE It’s a no brainer to assume that with two marquee names (Loretta Swit and Harry Hamlin) and the backing of the multi-award winning NoHo Ar…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:08PM

Los Angeles Theater Review: SLIPPED DISC (Son of Semele Theater) by Tom Chaits

SLIPPED DISC NEEDS A STRONGER SPINE The mission of Green Card Theatre is to expose Los Angeles audiences to plays and playwrights from around the world. Their inaugural production entitled S…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:33PM
Friday, October 26, 2012

Los Angeles Theater Review: I OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES (Falcon Theatre) by Tom Chaits

I OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES OUGHT TO BE BETTER You would be hard-pressed to find anyone proclaiming I Ought To Be In Pictures to be Neil Simon’s finest hour, but even with its shortcomin…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:39PM
Friday, October 19, 2012

Los Angeles Theater Review: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (Actors Co-op) by Tom Chaits

THEY’RE DROPPING LIKE FLIES AT ACTORS CO-OP Since it was first published in1939,  Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (originally titled Ten Little Niggers and quickly re…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:37PM
Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE BEAT GOES ON! (Arena Stage in Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

SASSY SENIORS PROVE THE BEAT GOES ON FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART At 80 years young Jackie Goldberg, a.k.a. The Pink Lady, is on a mission. After becoming a widow at 70 she created a series of sem…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:55AM
Monday, October 15, 2012

Stage and Cinema Interview: GRANT GERSHON (Musical Director of Los Angeles Master Chorale) by Tom Chaits

L.A. MASTER CHORALE’S GRANT GERSHON PIPES UP The Los Angeles Master Chorale kicks off its 49th season on Sunday, October 21st at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with an organ and choral e…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:38PM
Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Los Angeles Theater Review: COLLECTED STORIES (Odyssey Theatre) by Tom Chaits

COLLECTED STORIES: A SNOOZE INDUCING  ”WRITE” OF PASSAGE As a critic I hope for one of two things: either a production is fantastic or, to be blunt, it sucks. For me at least, a…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:52PM
Monday, September 10, 2012

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE WORLD GOES ‘ROUND (Crossley Theatre in Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

A WHOLE NEW WORLD Musical revues are a tricky business. While highly enjoyable and entertaining, even high profile compilations like Side By Side By Sondheim and the Fats Waller song book Ai…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:35PM
Saturday, September 8, 2012

Los Angeles Theater Review A BROOKLYN LOVE STORY (Theatre 68 in Hollywood) by Tom Chaits

A BROOKLYN LOVE STORY – FUHGEDDABOUDIT! Originally produced as Emergency Used Candles for NYC’s Emerging Artists Theatre One Woman Standing Festival and then followed by a run at the…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:47PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards