All stories by Daryl H. Miller on BroadwayStars

Friday, April 20, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: Social justice as taught by imprisoned women, 'Native Son,' 'The Immigrant' and Henry VIII by Daryl H. Miller

Most any week the theater provides a college seminar’s worth of social-justice studies, but the conversations are particularly prevalent now in L.A.’s smaller theaters. This week they lo…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Sunday, April 8, 2018

'Love Never Dies,' a sequel to 'Phantom of the Opera,' struggles to abduct us by Daryl H. Miller

You would think that Christine Daaé might have learned by now to avoid rooms with full-length mirrors in them, because a certain masked face is bound to materialize in the looking glass, he…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:15PM
Friday, March 30, 2018

Women, united: Evil stirs 'The Madres' to action in Argentina by Daryl H. Miller

Evil can look benign. It can appear official. It can masquerade as kind. It can show up at the door in the form of a boy you watched grow up, now wearing a crisply pressed military uniform a…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:30PM
Friday, March 23, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: Celebrate Women's History Month with L.A.'s theaters by Daryl H. Miller

Applaud strong, resourceful, vital women as depicted in "Of Government" by Son of Semele, a festival of plays by Latinas at Casa 0101, "Through the Eye of a Needle" by the Road Theatre Compa…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Thursday, March 22, 2018

Amy Freed helps Shakespeare with a rewrite. The result: 'Shrew!' by Daryl H. Miller

Amy Freed sensed the guy could use some help. He’d written a knockabout comedy but got sloppy with details and seemed to have run short of ideas, especially in segments involving the rough…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM
Thursday, March 1, 2018

George Takei & Co. pledge an 'Allegiance' to teaching WWII history by Daryl H. Miller

“Allegiance” is a musical about the incarceration of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. In mass-market, story-and-song form, it encourages audiences to think deeply about a time when…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:35PM
Friday, February 23, 2018

The spangles are flying as 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' hits the road again by Daryl H. Miller

Somewhere in Los Angeles, a Jo-Ann fabrics and a 99 Cents Only store must be seriously depleted. Their stock seemingly can be found onstage at the Lex Theatre, where the Celebration company�…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM

The 99-Seat Beat: Justin Tanner weathers a storm, a play at the Santa Monica Pier carousel and more by Daryl H. Miller

Spotlight on Los Angeles theater: Justin Tanner's "El Nino," the new drama "An Illegal Start" at the Santa Monica Pier carousel, the new comedy "Wicked Pagan Gays" at the Zephyr and Olivia D…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, February 16, 2018

Jeanine Tesori's music is but one of many miracles in 'Violet' at the Chance Theater by Daryl H. Miller

It seems appropriate that a musical about miracles is itself a bit of a wonder. Introduced off-Broadway in 1997 and produced on Broadway in 2014, “Violet” has secured a cadre of fans but…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM

Louise Nevelson turns her life into art in the Edward Albee play 'Occupant' by Daryl H. Miller

New York artist Louise Nevelson is best remembered for sculptures constructed of cast-aside wood, the pieces aligned vertically as if reaching for the sky. “Occupant,” a play about her l…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, February 9, 2018

A stage adaptation of Chaim Potok's 'The Chosen' reminds us to reach across divides by Daryl H. Miller

If you’ve read Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen,” you know this story, but it bears repeating. Two teen boys live not quite five blocks apart in 1940s Brooklyn, but they’ve never met beca…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, February 2, 2018

For Quiara Alegría Hudes, a soldier's story leads to this remarkable feat: 3 plays on 3 L.A. stages by Daryl H. Miller

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes learned storytelling among a sprawl of aunts, uncles and cousins. When her mother’s talkative Puerto Rican American family got toget…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, January 26, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: Orson Bean and Alley Mills get lovey-dovey, Harold Pinter gets institutionalized by Daryl H. Miller

What's happening on L.A.'s smaller stages? "Alright Then" by Orson Bean at Pacific Resident Theatre; "The Hothouse" by Antaeus; "The Chinese Wall" at Group Rep; "The Enchanted Nightingale" a…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Tuesday, December 26, 2017

There's a Purple Rain of Grinchiness in the Troubies' 'How the Princh Stole Christmas!' by Daryl H. Miller

The Green One meets the Purple One, resulting in a swap of fur colors, in “How the Princh Stole Christmas!” This Grinch/Prince mash-up is the latest holiday show from the Troubadour Thea…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:45PM
Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Part circus, part technology trade show, Cirque du Soleil's Mexico-themed 'Luzia' opens in L.A. by Daryl H. Miller

Technology flexes its muscles in the latest Cirque du Soleil show to visit Southern California. We know Cirque as a showcase for the limits to which humankind can push itself, but this time,…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:00PM
Friday, December 8, 2017

The 99-Seat Beat: 'Beauty and the Beast,' Kaufman and Hart and more by Daryl H. Miller

Los Angeles-area theater recommendations for Dec. 8, 2017: "Beauty and the Beast" at Casa 0101, "Santasia" at the Whitefire, "Wake" at City Garage and "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at Actors …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, November 10, 2017

The 99-Seat Beat: 'Rotterdam,' Almodóvar, a Watts drama and dancing with Lear by Daryl H. Miller

A spotlight on Los Angeles theater productions of "Rotterdam," "This Land," "deLEARious" and "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:05AM
Tuesday, November 7, 2017

An immersive theater piece that'll have you 'Caught' up in ideas by Daryl H. Miller

You’ve read the New Yorker article. You’ve heard all of your artist friends talk about him. Now you can hear Chinese dissident artist Lin Bo speak at a downtown L.A. art gallery about th…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:40PM
Friday, October 20, 2017

Must she die? In Victory Theatre's funny 'Resolving Hedda,' an Ibsen character tries to defy fate by Daryl H. Miller

Henrik Ibsen: Ahead of his time. Father of modern drama. Often considered an early male feminist for confronting the constraints on women in the 19th century. The title character of one of h…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, October 13, 2017

The 99-Seat-Beat: Renew old friendships with 'A Love Affair' or 'Resolving Hedda' by Daryl H. Miller

The week's offerings in L.A.'s small theaters include "Kaidan Project" by Rogue Artists, "A Love Affair" at Santa Monica Playhouse, "Resolving Hedda" at Victory Theatre and "The House on Man…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Wednesday, September 20, 2017

He's big in L.A.'s small theaters: Tom Jacobson, master of puzzles, surprises and brain-teasers by Daryl H. Miller

Churchgoer. Gymgoer. Fundraising executive. Devoted spouse, son and colleague. This is the trickster of Los Angeles theater? My, but Tom Jacobson’s still waters run deep. He is, after all,…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:35PM
Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Fats Waller says he 'Ain't Misbehavin',' but the party's going strong at La Mirada Theatre by Daryl H. Miller

When Thomas “Fats” Waller played piano and sang, life was a party. A large man with a big personality, he was known as much for making people laugh as for his extraordinary skill at a ju…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:20PM
Friday, September 15, 2017

The 99-Seat Beat: When words and governments go on the fritz by Daryl H. Miller

Los Angeles theater picks this week are "In a Word," "Walking to Buchenwald," "Daytona" and a bilingual "Aladdin."

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Tuesday, September 12, 2017

At SCR, the musical 'Once' raises its hopeful voice by Daryl H. Miller

Music is a gathering place that can be big enough to accommodate a crowd or small enough to nestle two yearning hearts. Rarely has this been as poignantly conveyed as in the 2007 movie “On…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Wednesday, July 12, 2017

At the Chance Theater, 'Parade' marches to the drumbeat of history by Daryl H. Miller

A martial cadence is heard throughout the soul-rattling musical “Parade.” You could think of it as the drumbeat of history — a history from which we repeatedly fail to learn. Time and …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:45PM
Saturday, December 10, 2016

'Amélie' musical's creators bring to the stage a 'love letter to imagination' by Daryl H. Miller

Amélie Poulain sees the world as no one else does. Her imagination is a fun-house mirror that magnifies the oddities, intensifies the colors and warps every random detail of her environs in…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Thursday, December 1, 2016

Their songs and their names will linger in your ears: Pasek and Paul and 'Dear Evan Hansen' by Daryl H. Miller

In this age of instant communication, he can’t manage to say anything. The title high-schooler in “Dear Evan Hansen” is an endearing misfit so afraid of social interaction that he can�…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Thursday, November 10, 2016

'Hamilton' star Leslie Odom Jr. finds the music in life by Daryl H. Miller

Leslie Odom Jr. sings through innumerable earbuds these days as the magisterial, supremely self-assured Aaron Burr, the Founding Father who butts heads with the excitable, even more supremel…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM
Thursday, September 15, 2016

The election is on everyone's mind as SCR presents 'All the Way' and 'District Merchants' by Daryl H. Miller

History is more complicated than the simple version we're told in school or around the dinner table, says South Coast Repertory's artistic director, Marc Masterson.  He is talking about Lyn…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Saturday, July 23, 2016

A celebrated production of 'Cabaret' returns to its seductive ways by Daryl H. Miller

The time is always right for a production of “Cabaret.” Its slinky songs will seduce an audience in nothing flat, and its story, about the world slipping into brutality while people are…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:08AM
Friday, June 17, 2016

Antaeus Theatre Company clarifies the bad behavior of 'Hedda Gabler' by Daryl H. Miller

The Antaeus company's "Hedda Gabler" is just what you want from a production of a classic play: It cracks open the text to reveal details that you hadn't fully noticed before. Through the y…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:41PM

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