1,395 stories by "Tony Frankel"
GET READY TO ENBOY YOURSELF Jersey Boys has been around long enough that you might assume it's just another jukebox musical, cranking out hits for an easy nostalgia trip. But that's never be…
WHAT A RELIEF: OKLAHOMA! IS OK WITH VOPA The real stars of Oklahoma!, presented for two weekends only by Valley Opera and Performing Arts (VOPA) at the El Portal Theatre, are"no surprise"Ric…
ONE COULD GO ON AND ON, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A LITTLE OFF Ah, Noises Off, the ever-reliable theatrical farce that's been delighting us for decades with its impeccable timing, pratfalls, and, of …
SONDHEIM MERRILY ROLLS ALONG, BUT OLD FRIENDS DOESN'T ALWAYS BOUNCE When a show is billed as a tribute to Stephen Sondheim, expectations are sky-high. His music isn't just a collection of so…
MY HEART BELONGS TO THE NY POPS The New York Pops' Let's Misbehave: The Songs of Cole Porter was filled with many of Porter's best-known songs: "Night and Day," "I Love Paris," "My Heart Bel…
STILL A WICKED GOOD TIME The stage musical Wicked is is now Broadway's fourth longest-running show"surpassing Cats; productions continue to sprout up globally in many languages; and last yea…
A deal with the devil; eternal youth, for the ultimate price. The Picture of Dorian Gray is coming to Broadway's Music Box Theatre for a strictly limited engagement 14-week engagement fo…
A LUSH, ROMANTIC JOURNEY THROUGH LOVE AND TRANSFORMATION Since Adam Karsten's arrival as Artistic Director at CV Rep, the quality and consistency of the theater's productions have improved e…
NYC PREMIERE OF RENÉ MARQUÉS' LOS SOLES TRUNCOS René Marqués' seminal work, Los Soles Truncos, stands as a cornerstone of Puerto Rican classical theater. Written in 1958, the play …
YOUR MEMORY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME With its gripping ensembles, intense partner work and evocative movement, Los Angeles Ballet's Memoryhouse tells personal and collective stories of l…
RATS AND POLITICS TOGETHER? WHO EVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING! In the wildly entertaining and mind-bending Symphony of Rats, which I had the pleasure of experiencing at REDCAT in Los Angeles la…
ARTHUR MILLER'S CLASSIC DONE TO DEATH AT THE COLONY THEATRE What cachet Arthur Miller's 1949 classic Death of a Salesman has in terms of power and artistry, nuance, subtlety and insight, is …
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) will be presenting the North American premiere of the new musical 42 Balloons. From the multi-award-winning producers Kevin McCollum (Oh, Mary!, Re…
STEP INTO HOLLYWOOD'S MUSICAL LEGACY Beverly Hills is about to become the epicenter of cinematic symphony. On Saturday, January 18, 2025, the Scott Dunn Orchestra makes its grand debut at Th…
A LETTER TO SANTA Dear Santa: Well, what a year 2024 was. With the way things are going, I decided to count my blessings. So I'm writing to thank you for that pair of tickets to see Santasia…
"You not only have a right to be an individual. You have a responsibility." " Eleanor Roosevelt Laguna Playhouse has announced that Mary Roosevelt, a direct descendant of Eleanor Roosevelt, …
The holidays have faded into memory, and the bitter chill of winter days have settled in. But fear not " when the frost bites, the theatre offers warmth, and somewhere out there, a play is r…
YOU'LL GET A KICK OUT OF THIS Oh, no, no, no. A musical in concert of this magnitude hardly ever happens in L.A., and Anything Goes in Concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium is shaping up …
Last year at this time, I saw the family-friendly and totally entertaining Dog Man: The Musical at the Kirk Douglas Theatre presented by TheaterWorksUSA in which comic book hero Dog Man, wit…
A FUSION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MATHEMATICAL GENIUS AND FAIRY TALES CaltechLive's Opening Doors is a themed series of dance, music, and theater events on campus that showcase artists wh…
WHAT'S YOUR STORY? In the "It's Not the Story, It's in How You Tell It" Department, an incredible number of shows I saw in the last month have incredible tales to tell, but falter in their c…
SOMETHING WICKED THAT WAY GOES No plague can kill a great show. It came back after COVID. In a rare clash of film noir, performance art, an awesome murder mystery party, and Shakespeare, Pun…
ROYAL SHAKESPEARE'S RADIANT PERICLES All the indicators promised that it'd be special: after a 30-year lull, England's Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) e…
THE WALLIS HOSTS EXTRAORDINARY THEATER Handspring Puppet Company (War Horse) joins Cape Town's Baxter Theatre to bring Life & Times of Michael K to the Bram Goldsmith Theater at Th…
NOW, THERE'S OH SO MUCH MORE TO DESIRE Since struggle for power among the classes is one of the main themes in Tennessee Williams' still-shocking A Streetcar Named Desire, it makes perfect s…
