BY CARY GINELL Louis Baker has had a varied career in the entertainment world. As an actor, he studied under three prestigious performers: Bill Duke, Haile Gerima, and Debbie Allen. He has w…
BY CARY GINELL The idea of a woman playing the lead in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is not a new one. The first female Hamlet, Elizabeth Powell, performed the role at London’s Drury L…
BY CARY GINELL The musical Ragtime, which plays through this Sunday, December 4, at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, is an important work that weaves actual historical personages …
BY CARY GINELL Everyone knows that the director is the person responsible for the look and content of a musical or play, but once the cast has been selected, sets and props are delivered, an…
REVIEW BY CARY GINELL Before Mamma Mia!, before The Marvelous Wonderettes, and before Jersey Boys, there was Return to the Forbidden Planet, an Off-Broadway space farce that w…
REVIEW BY CARY GINELL The title of All My Sons, Arthur Miller’s riveting play of guilt, heartbreak, and tragedy, refers to 21 young World War II combat pilots, who were needlessl…
BY CARY GINELL If you have the opportunity to see Cabrillo Music Theatre’s splendid production of Evita this weekend, you will no doubt be drawn to the electrifying performances by …
BY CARY GINELL It’s the day after opening night at the Camarillo Skyway Playhouse and the house is nearly empty. On stage, a terrific production of the Kander and Ebb musical Curtai…
BY CARY GINELL For years I have been saying that the best kept secret in Ventura County theater is the Ventura County Gilbert & Sullivan Repertoire Company. Celebrating its 10th season t…
BY CARY GINELL In Cabrillo Music Theatre’s new production of Evita, the role of Che, the narrator figure based on Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, is played by Marc Baron Ginsburg…
REVIEW BY CARY GINELL You’ve seen them. Gaudy costumes worn by Hollywood and Broadway stars, preserved and on display in museums and galleries. It’s a great way to witness first-…
BY CARY GINELL Tonight, friends and colleagues will pay tribute to Lewis Wilkenfeld at a special fundraising banquet and program honoring his 10 years as artistic director of Cabrillo Music …
BY CARY GINELL His day job is as associate justice of the Second District, Division Six of the California Courts of Appeal, but Steve Perren’s passion for the stage has seen him app…
BY CARY GINELL One of the most heinous crimes of the 20th century was the one in which 13-year-old Atlanta pencil factory worker Mary Phagan was mysteriously murdered in 1913. The suspect, t…
REVIEW BY CARY GINELL Last Sunday, we ventured into Los Angeles to see two Ventura County theater alumni in a production of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Next to Normal, the Tony and …
REVIEW BY CARY GINELL After experiencing Philip King’s comic farce See How the Run, which opens tonight at the Ojai Art Center, one can easily figure out where the title came fro…
BY CARY GINELL Occasionally we venture out of the sanctity of Ventura County to see how some of our locally raised theatricians are faring in their acting careers. Today we visit with Harris…
REVIEW BY CARY GINELL It never ceases to amaze me what young talent can do given a near-impossible task and a short amount of time. Director Brian McDonald has worked a minor miracle, assemb…
BY CARY GINELL VC On Stage would like to welcome a new sponsor for the months of August and September. Joshua Finkel’s Creative Combustion Acting Studio helps its clients build and …
BY CARY GINELL Today we meet Katherine Bottoms, a young actress who we hope you will be able to see on stage some day before fame and fortune takes her away from us. Katherine was born in…
BY CARY GINELL Last week we spoke with Fearless Shakespeare director Joseph Fuqua, dramaturg Jonathan Drahos, and Musical Theatre Intensive director Brian McDonald about their production of …
BY CARY GINELL The Rubicon Theatre Company’s Education and Outreach program enables youngsters as early as five years old to become acclimated to the theatrical experience through a va…
BY CARY GINELL One important and valuable aspect of Cabrillo Music Theatre’s long tenure in Ventura County is its devotion to casting talented young local performers in as many of i…
BY CARY GINELL He’s hard to miss on stage. A husky, ever-smiling youngster with bright red hair and a big voice. Nicholas Glaab recently graduated from Newbury Park High School and wil…
BY CARY GINELL Larry Raben is an accomplished actor and director who has added his prodigious abilities to a multitude of productions around the world. In addition to acting in a command …