Theater Digest - October 10, 2024
New thoughts on Waitress at La Mirada, Sugar Daddy at the Wallis, Clarkston at the Echo, and Crevasse at the Victory.
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’ve seen a lot recently, so this is an overdue missive, and will be quickly followed up with thoughts on American Idiot at the Taper and Kimberly Akimbo at the Pantages, so keep an eye out for that, probably arriving late next week.
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:
Waitress at La Mirada [SoCal]. I’m a huge fan of Waitress, and I think Sara Bareilles’ score is one of Broadway’s best in the past decade. This is more or less a replica of the Broadway and national tour productions (Desi Oakley, who played the lead on tour, reprises her role in Orange County). Jared Gertner is a standout playing Ogie. This closes this weekend, so if you already love Waitress, or think you’ll love it, this is a great chance to see it!
Closes October 13 in Orange County.
The Roommate on Broadway [NY]. Read my thoughts on it here!
Closes December 15 in New York.
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:
Sugar Daddy at the Wallis [LA]. This is a solo performance by Sam Morrison. It previously played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and off-Broadway, and is going back to New York after this, and is directed by Stephen Brackett, whose staging of A Strange Loop I loved. I was hoping this would be the next Fleabag, which had a similar pedigree, but while Morrison is an incredibly charming performer, this doesn’t feel like a polished final product. It clocks in around 65 minutes, and Morrison came across as being quite nervous at the performance I attended, which made the whole experience feel like a decent Fringe show with a really good set. Morrison speaks very frankly about sex in the show, which makes the Wallis feel like a mismatched venue, both for audiences who know what the show is, and, I imagine, even more so for audiences who think this will be a “traditional” night at the theater. But while the show may not be the Next Big Thing (yet), Morrison feels like someone to keep an eye on.
Closes October 13 in Beverly Hills.
Crevasse at the Victory Theatre Center [LA]. This is a strange play, based on the true story of Leni Riefenstahl’s trip to the USA in November 1938, trying to secure distribution for her film Olympia, which was and is widely considered Nazi propaganda. She arrived in New York right before Kristallnacht, with meetings set with all the studio heads, but by the time she got to LA, everyone cancelled except one person: Walt Disney. This play imagines what happened in their three-hour meeting. Ann Noble, who was quite good in The Skin of Our Teeth at A Noise Within last month, is similarly fantastic here, playing Riefenstahl and other roles, and Leo Marks, another LA stage veteran, acquits himself quite well as Walt and others. The play itself, by Tom Jacobson, isn’t as strong as their performances. Riefenstahl is a complicated figure (she was a skilled filmmaker and photographer, and maintained until she died that she didn’t know about the Holocaust at the time, which feels quite unlikely, given her proximity to Hitler), and the show seems torn about whether it wants us to like/admire her or not. What it does, quite effectively, is make you want to watch Olympia.
Closes October 27 in Burbank.
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!
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:
Clarkston at the Echo Theater Company [LA]. This is a play by Samuel Hunter, who also wrote The Whale, and is one of two one-acts he wrote about fictional descendants of Lewis and Clark going to the Idaho and Wyoming towns named after their ancestors. In this one, Jake, a young descendant of Clark goes west, hoping he’ll find purpose. He gets a job at Costco, where he meets Chris, and the two quickly develop a connection. Michael Sturgis, who plays Jake, proves yet again that he’s one of the best young actors on LA stages, but the other two actors in the show feel miscast, and the play itself really drags.
Closes Oct 21 in Atwater Village.
On my radar:
Mamma Mia: The Party in London
Stereophonic on Broadway
Suffs on Broadway
Oh, Mary! on Broadway
Why Am I So Single? in London
Once Upon a Mattress on Broadway (coming to the Ahmanson)
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