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Tony Frankel
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Theater Review: KIM’S CONVENIENCE (Ahmanson)
A SMALL SHOP WITH A BIG HEART A delightful, tender surprise arrives at the Ahmanson—and quietly wins you over Sometimes the most unassuming shows sneak up and steal your heart. Kim’s Convenience, the stage original that inspired the Netflix series, arrives at the Ahmanson not with fanfare but with warmth, humor, and a disarming sincerity…
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Theater Review: YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (Morgan-Wixon Theatre in Santa Monica)
BIG CAST, BIG LAUGHS, BIG HEART A joyful Morgan-Wixson production proves this classic still delivers the goods Community theatre rarely aims this big—or lands this charmingly. The Morgan-Wixson Theatre’s You Can’t Take It With You is that happy reminder of why this 1936 chestnut still works: a huge, game cast, a director who understands rhythm,…
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Theater Review: THE BEST BOARDING HOUSE IN DELAWARE (Electric Lodge)
HOME IS WHERE THE HORROR IS A boarding house of quiet menace and killer detail Writer/director Marja-Lewis Ryan is back, and her latest show arrives at The Electric Lodge in Venice with a killer premise and, thankfully, a production that knows exactly how to serve it: not with winks or indulgence, but with precision, restraint,…
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Theater Review: GUYS AND DOLLS (CV Rep)
A BEAUTIFUL DOLL CV Rep’s production is one bet you can’t lose It’s amazing. Were this masterpiece from Broadway’s golden age an actual guy or doll, he or she would be scoring Social Security. But make no mistake, this 1950 hoofer is no worse for the wear, thanks to Frank Loesser’s timeless score and Jo…
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Theater Review: WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (South Coast Rep)
A CLASSIC THAT STILL CUTS DEEP A perfect cast brings Albee’s brutal masterpiece roaring to life—if with slightly less bite than usual There’s a reason Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? refuses to age: it’s one of the greatest plays ever written, a savage autopsy of marriage, illusion, and the lies we need to survive. South…
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Theater Review: GOD OF CARNAGE (South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa)
CIVILITY CRUMBLES, BUT THE COMEDY NEVER BUILDS South Coast Rep’s revival exposes how thin satire needs sharper direction to truly sting Melinda Page Hamilton and Kim Martin-Cotten The first time I saw Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage was at The Ahmanson Theatre with an all-star cast, one so good that they practically hid that the…
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Dance Preview: STILL/HERE (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company on Tour at Royce Hall)
STILL HERE, STILL ESSENTIAL The tour of Bill T. Jones’s landmark dance comes to Royce Hall with undiminished force The first time I saw Still/Here, it was at BAM. It was 1994, the year of Stonewall’s 25th Anniversary and The Gay Games in NYC. So, yes, there was celebrating, but the AIDS epidemic was still…
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Concert Preview: MISSA SOLEMNIS (Gustavo Dudamel and The LA Phil at Disney Hall)
Beethoven’s towering Missa Solemnis arrives at Disney Hall for a rare, monumental performance. Dudamel leads a massive musical and choral force in one of Beethoven’s most demanding—and least-heard—masterworks. “From the heart—may it go further to the heart.” That’s what Ludwig van Beethoven inscribed on the score of his Missa Solemnis, a work he labored over for four years—the…
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Introduction Tired of the same old online casinos? Want something with a bit of Aussie flavor? Then slide into Play Croco casino, where the fun never stops! It is a gaming platform that has become a favorite for many players down under. It’s not just another online casino; it’s been carefully crafted to resonate with…
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Theater Review: THE CIRCLE (Greenway Court)
A FAMILY REUNION TURNS INTO A PRESSURE COOKER A fascinating first act can’t survive a nearly three-hour drift into exhaustion Stacey Martino Rivera’s world premiere The Circle at Greenway Court Theatre begins with a smart framing device: a teenage presentation by Ana (Ava Rivera) on restorative culture that gestures toward indigenous healing circles—and then cuts…
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CREATING A SONG — A REAL EVALUATION OF GenerateAlMusic
In traditional music creation, turning an initial inspiration into a complete song usually requires creators to invest a great deal of time and energy. Nowadays, however, the emergence of AI music generation tools has made this process more efficient than ever before. You no longer need to master complex music theory, become proficient in arranging…
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Theater Review: BROWNSTONE (Open Fist Theatre Company at Atwater Village)
THREE ERAS, ONE MISSED OPPORTUNITY Brownstone collapses under unfocused, baffling staging Catherine Butterfield’s Brownstone (2008) is built around a solid, even enticing idea: we have three couples, each occupying the same second-floor apartment in a Manhattan brownstone during three eras—1930s, the 1970s, and the turn of the 21st century. Instead of three separate acts in…
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WHY KABADDI IS BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST WATCHED SPORTS IN SOUTH ASIA
Kabaddi has been present in schools and local grounds long before it appeared on prime-time TV. What has changed is visibility. Kabaddi has become more accessible and has transformed from a local pastime to a highly favored sport across South Asia in the past decade. In Pakistan, it is a welcome change; it is in…
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Highly Recommended Concert: MARTIN CHALIFOUR & FRIENDS: THE ART OF CHAMBER MUSIC (The Music Guild at St. Alban’s, Westwood)
CHAMBER MUSIC IN AN IDEAL SETTING Glorious acoustics, a resonant space, and musicians who know how to listen to one another. There are few places in Los Angeles better suited to chamber music than St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, whose warm, luminous acoustics allow strings to bloom and piano lines to resonate without ever turning brittle….
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Theater Review: BABY (Hollywood Fringe / The Elysian)
WHEN CLOWNING, THERAPY, AND TRAUMA COLLIDE Rachel Troy’s fierce, genre-breaking solo triumph is fully realized, ferociously smart, and genuinely exhilarating. I receive thousands of invitations every year to see one-person shows—solo works popping up everywhere from major U.S. cities to international Fringe festivals, where artists travel circuit to circuit chasing audiences, awards, and momentum. With…
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Theater Preview: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (La Mirada Theatre, Starring Will Swenson and Lesli Margherita)
REVENGE AS ENTERTAINMENT With Will Swenson and Lesli Margherita, La Mirada goes all in for this major revival Some shows you make time for. Others you plan around. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of those shows — if it’s done right. When the musical first arrived in 1979 (winning 8…
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Theater Preview: URBAN DEATH XMAS: SHOW SPOOKTACULAR & MAZE! (Zombie Joe’s in NoHo)
A DELICIOUSLY VERY WRONG WAY TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS Santa’s dead, the carols are cursed, and Zombie Joe wants your soul for Christmas If you survived Urban Death: Tour of Terror in October—and lived to tell the tale—Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group is inviting you back for a holiday encore that swaps pumpkin guts for…
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Film Review: MORE THAN SANTA BABY (Directed by Tamar Springer)
MORE THAN A REVIEW FOR WHAT IS MORE THAN A DOCUMENTARY Each year at this time, the world becomes a bit merrier thanks to two older, lovable, admirable men with white hair, twinkling eyes, and joie de vivre – jolly souls associated with Christmas gifts. One is a certain Mr. Claus who lives at the…
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Event Review: LA VIRGEN DE GUADALUPE, DIOS INANTZIN (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels)
MIRACLE ON TEMPLE STREET Faith, fiesta, feathers, and unexpectedly fabulous ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ With candor, color, and ceremony, La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin has become a Los Angeles holiday ritual — and after more than twenty years under the stewardship of Latino Theater Company, it’s a miracle…
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Theater Review: HEISENBERG (Skylight Theatre)
A PRINCIPLED PRODUCTION Simon Stephens’ deceptively simple romance finally reveals its cosmic heart in close quarters at Skylight Theatre Director Cameron Watson delivers a remarkably authentic and poignant tale with his production of Heisenberg, a short play based on a rather unremarkable human relationship story. What is remarkable is that this intimate outing, which opened…
Theater Review: MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (Goodman Theatre, Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | April 9, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: CHARLOTTE’S WEB (Wheelock Family Theatre, Boston)
by Lynne Weiss | April 7, 2026
in Boston, TheaterTheater Review: DEATH OF A SALESMAN (A Noise Within, Pasadena)
by Michael Landman-Karney | April 6, 2026
in Los Angeles, TheaterTheater Review: MARIETTE IN ECSTASY (Treehouse Collective, Boston)
by Lynne Weiss | April 6, 2026
in Boston, Theater
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