Theater Digest - October 18, 2024
Thoughts on American Idiot at the Taper and Kimberly Akimbo at the Pantages.
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.
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 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:
American Idiot at the Mark Taper Forum [LA]. I’m a huge fan of this show, even though I know it’s a tricky one to stage well. I was hoping this production would have something to say about how an album from 20 years ago is still relevant/relevant again today, but this revival didn’t seem to offer much commentary. The staging is unfocused, and, when I saw it on opening night, it felt underrehearsed, though that may improve as the run goes on. If you already have tickets to this one, you’ll find something to enjoy, but if you can’t get tickets to it, it’s not the end of the world.
My full review for Stage Raw here.
Closes November 16 in LA.
Crevasse at the Victory Theatre Center [LA]. Read my thoughts on it here!
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:
Kimberly Akimbo at the Pantages [LA]. I had high hopes for this one! I like David Lindsay-Abaire’s plays, and I love Jeanine Tesori’s score for Thoroughly Modern Millie, so I was keen to check this out, especially after it won the Tony for Best Musical. But I did not care for it! The writing feels all over the place; in a play about age (the title character is a teen who has a condition where she physically ages very quickly), none of the characters feel like the age they’re written. The 16 year-olds feel 10-13, and the 30-somethings feel 16. The cast were all fine, but I was underwhelmed by the whole experience.
Clarkston at the Echo Theater Company [LA]. Read my thoughts on it here!
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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