Theater Digest - December 1, 2024
Thoughts on Pacific Overtures at East West Players, Waiting for Godot at the Geffen, La Cage at the Pasadena Playhouse, It's All Your Fault, Tyler Price! at the Hudson, and Civil Twilight at the Road.
Hello theater lovers! I’m Katie, and I see a lot of theater! Currently, I’m seeing 0-2 shows a week, depending on my schedule.
I know it’s been a while since my last missive; the election put me in a weird headspace where it felt somewhat futile to be sending an email newsletter about theater. But here we are, and here I am, sending another email newsletter about theater. So, enjoy, I guess, but I also fully understand if you don’t!
Since this newsletter is geared towards people in the entertainment industry, there's a good chance I won't like a show that you or someone you know was involved in. I'm sure that you/your friend put a lot of effort into your/their work! I've been in a few shows, I know how much work goes into putting on a show. But just as you're entitled to dislike TV shows your friends worked on, I'm allowed to dislike theater you/your friends may have worked on. I try not to be vindictive, but I also do make it clear when I don't think a show is worth the price of a ticket or the time spent watching it.
I won't be writing much/any synopsis in these blurbs, but feel free to check out other reviews for synopses! Or just check out other reviews in general! Keep theater journalism alive & well!
Worth seeing:
The Civil Twilight at the Broadwater [LA]. I wouldn’t say I loved this production, but it’s an interesting piece of writing (by Shem Bitterman), a two-hander where both of the cast (Taylor Gilbert and Andrew Elvis Miller) rise to the occasion under Ann Hearn Tobolowsky’s direction. It might be a tough ticket to get; it’s in a small space that I think holds 22 people, and runs three performances a week for the next three weekends.
Closes December 22 in Hollywood.
The Importance of Being Earnest at Antaeus [LA]. Read my thoughts on it here!
Closes December 9 in Glendale.
The Roommate on Broadway [NY]. Read my thoughts on it here!
Closes December 15 in New York.
The Lehman Trilogy on the West End [London]. Read my thoughts of the touring production in LA here!
Closes January 5 in London.
Six on Broadway [NY] and on the West End [London]. Read my thoughts on it here!
Mac King Comedy Magic Show at Excalibur [Vegas]. Read my thoughts on it here!
Magic Mike Live in Las Vegas and London [Vegas/London]. Read my thoughts on it here!
A mixed bag:
It’s All Your Fault, Tyler Price! at the Hudson [LA]. This new musical, which is about a middle school boy whose sister has epilepsy, was not for me, but the cast is capable, and it could be a good introduction to the form for middle grades audiences and their families, kind of a Dear Evan Hansen-lite. It’s a musical about how this musical got written, which is my least favorite subgenre of musical, but the songs are decent, and the book effectively illuminates what it’s like for the whole family when one person has a chronic illness.
Closes December 15 in Hollywood.
Pacific Overtures at East West Players [LA]. I hadn’t seen Pacific Overtures before, and I didn’t love this, but I think it’s a situation where I don’t care for the show, but East West Players’ production, helmed by Tim Dang, is good. I just checked the ticketing website, and rest of the run appears to be sold out, aside from a few ADA seats.
Closes December 8 in Little Tokyo.
Cabaret on the West End [London] and on Broadway [NY]. Read my thoughts on the West End production here.
Back to the Future on the West End [London] and on Broadway [NY]. Read my thoughts on it here!
Note: the tour just left LA, but will be at Segerstrom in Orange County at the end of the month. The tour cast is good, but the real star of this show is the technical elements, which are stronger in the resident productions in New York and London than they are on the road.
Closes January 5 in New York; open-ended run in London.
Mad Apple at New York New York [Vegas]. Read my thoughts on it here!
Hadestown on tour and on Broadway [NY]. Read my thoughts on it here!
& Juliet on Broadway [NY]. Read my thoughts on it from when I saw it in London in 2019 here!
The Play That Goes Wrong off-Broadway and on the West End [NY/London]. Read my thoughts on the 2019 tour national tour here, or my full review for Stage Raw here.
Not worth it:
Waiting for Godot at the Geffen [LA]. This production is built around Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi, and while they’re both funny performers, they don’t have strong chemistry with each other, which is difficult in a show that’s all about Vladimir and Estragon’s shared history, and how that manifests in their relationship now. It’s a dreary production too, though the second act is easier to watch than the first.
Closes December 21 in Westwood.
La Cage aux Folles at the Pasadena Playhouse [LA]. As with Pacific Overtures, it was my first time seeing a production of this show, but I think this is the inverse of that; I suspect I like the show better than this production, where almost all of the major roles feel miscast, which is unfortunate, since they’re performers whom I usually love watching. Sam Pinkleton’s direction left much to be desired; this production’s “I Am Who I Am” reminded me a lot of the title song in the Rebecca Frecknall production of Cabaret, so Pinkleton’s La Cage may land better for those who enjoy that Cabaret. The supporting cast are great, especially Les Cagelles!
Closes December 15 in Pasadena.
On my radar:
Mamma Mia: The Party in London
Stereophonic on Broadway (through Jan 12)
Oh, Mary! on Broadway
Why Am I So Single? in London (through Feb 13)
Sunset Boulevard on Broadway
Teeth off-Broadway
Gypsy on Broadway
Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway
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