Regional

SHE LOVES ME:AND WITH GOOD REASON! Ah, love. As hard to find as ever, but so satisfying when it is. But what did the ancients (20th-century people) do to find love before Tinder, eHarmony, and the like? Joe Masteroff’s book takes us to the simpler days of Lonely Hearts Clubs, when people exchanged letters (on…

TAKE A CHANCE WITH FUN When a newly “out” lesbian learns her closeted father has taken his life mere months after revealing to him her sexuality, she has a lot to process. Being an artist, she attempts to make sense of her trauma through storytelling – that’s the power of art. More specifically, that’s the…

WHERE WILL THIS RED BIKE TAKE YOU? Red Bike immediately presents a huge challenge to a director. Caridad Svich’s script contains no stage directions (and little punctuation, even) and reads like a lengthy poetry slam. This creates both a tremendous burden and glorious opportunity for a director to bring her verse-like prose to life. Moxie…

THERE’S ARSENIC AND LACE; BUT IT DOESN’T FEEL OLD Serial murder, euthanasia, slasher psychopaths, bodies buried in a crawl space, face-lifts for people trying to change their images, the cyanide poisonings of innocent strangers — it’s a click-bait tabloid-rotten world we live in. Not like the good old days, when crime didn’t pay and virtue…

SIMPLE PLEASURES IN THIS FEAST The Shakers have a song in their hymnal that reads: ’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free ’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, ’Twill be in the valley of love…

A HOLIDAY CLASSIC PUT TO SONG: ONE THAT WON’T SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT While it may seem a bit premature to call the 1983 movie A Christmas Story a “classic,” the near-universal popularity of the film and its nostalgic look back at a Christmas in 1940 certainly give it that feeling. True to the film,…

ELF-DEPRECATING HUMOR PAYS OFF It’s hard to go wrong with this script, as writer David Sedaris’s biting wit, which has made him an NPR favorite for years, delights the cynic in us all. While it’s fine-and-dandy getting into the holiday spirit, one cannot be completely blind to the craziness that goes with it. Now multiply…

THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI JUST GOT MIGHTIER Do whatever you can. Take a raft, pretend you’re a duke, toss pig blood around your lean-to so everyone thinks you’re dead, but get to Rubicon Theatre in Ventura for what is easily the most satisfying and uplifting musical experience in recent memory. In Big River, adapted from the…

TWO WAY STREET INTERSECTS AT TOUCHING PERSONAL DRAMA The Last Five Years shares the joys, trials, and failures of two people, Jamie (Michael Louis Cusimano) and Cathy (Racquel Williams), in their deeply-loving relationship. At first, it might seem like they are in two different relationships, almost schizophrenically so, because the songs they sing (and virtually…

ONCE AGAIN, PLEASE Ironically, the real-life love affair between collaborators Glen Hasard, an Irish singer-songwriter, and Markéta Irglová, a Czech songwriter, fizzled after John Carney’s 2007 film became a success (well, it’s not called Once for nothing). But the Tony-triumphant 2011 stage musical, now offered in 3-D Theatrical’s soaring, enchanting, and bittersweet yet uplifting production,…

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER In 1994, 5-Star Theatricals (formerly Cabrillo Music Theatre) produced its first show: Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, which opened on Broadway in 1957 and became an instant hit. Now on their 25th anniversary, the show has returned to the Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks and lightning has struck twice…

WHAT LIES BURIED Actor Hamish Linklater’s funny, sharp and tender play The Vandal begins on a cold winter night as a down-on-her-luck middle-aged woman waits for a bus on a deserted street. A high-school boy appears and starts up a conversation. Precocious and lively, he quickly overcomes the woman’s reluctance to participate. He points out…

THE CORE IS THERE, BUT THE POSE IS OFF Not only is yoga a gentle exercise and a Hindu spiritual discipline, it’s also an $83 billion international industry. Meet Joan (Susi Damilano), a new marketing director of Jojomon, a yoga merchandise conglomerate. She actually could care less about yoga; she’s going for numbers and new…

SHOULD EVERYONE KISS MY AZTEC? IT DEPENDS: For fans of John Leguizamo, the notion of a full-length musical written by him is a thrilling draw. Whether a fan from his numerous edgy one-man Broadway shows like Ghetto Klown and Latin History for Morons, or his dramatic roles in Carlito’s Way and ER, or his comedic…

TRIBUTE TO THE HITS FROM GOLD STAR Gold Star Recording Studio might not be a household name, but the musicians they recorded for certainly are: Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher, and the Beach Boys are just hint at the long list. Gold Star turned out over 120 Top-40 songs in their thirty year history. With…