L.A. Times - Theater & Dance Reviews

Review: 'Years to the Day' finds friends playing catch-up and more

By Margaret Gray — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:30:00 PDT

You might have a friend like Dan in Allen Barton’s new play, “Years to the Day” at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Dan (Michael Yavnieli) is loud, abrasive and politically incorrect. He’ll butcher and barbecue — and probably overcook — your sacred cows. He’s been like that since college, but there’s something about him you can’t resist.

Bette Midler's 'I'll Eat You Last' cashing in at Broadway box office

By Jamie Wetherbe — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:50:00 PDT

Bette Midler might have been snubbed when it comes to Tony nominations this year, but she seems to be having the last laugh at the box office.

Review: 'The Fantasticks' an ingenious musical revival

By David C. Nichols — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:41:00 PDT

The delicate theatricality of “The Fantasticks” has weathered countless editions worldwide since its off-Broadway premiere in 1960. But Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s “Les Romanesques” has perhaps never before enjoyed the elevated insight of the daring transplant irradiating South Coast Repertory.

Zachary Levi to make Broadway debut in 'First Date'

By Jamie Wetherbe — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:06:00 PDT

“Chuck” star Zachary Levi will make his Broadway debut opposite stage and screen alum Krysta Rodriguez in "First Date,” a musical romantic comedy with a book by “Gossip Girl” writer Austin Winsberg.

L.A. Dance Summit to explore how to solve dance community woes

By Laura Bleiberg — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:45:00 PDT

A conference to help dancers tackle the Sisyphean task of surviving and succeeding in Los Angeles will feature an unprecedented array of city, county, nonprofit and artistic leaders.

Tony Awards 2013: 'Pippin,' Christopher Durang gain momentum

By David Ng — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:35:00 PDT

Like the Oscars, the Tony Awards are preceded each year by a bevy of award shows that renders the main event something of a foregone conclusion.

Review: With 'Tosca,' Los Angeles Opera goes for grand

By Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Music Critic — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:30:00 PDT

Conductor Plácido Domingo never wavers, and Sondra Radvanovsky is resplendent in title role, though other singers don't rise quite so well to the challenge.

An essay in the program for Los Angeles Opera's new production of "Tosca," which opened at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Saturday night, begins by quoting Benjamin Britten on Puccini's opera. The British composer, Joseph Berger writes, was "'sickened' by the music's 'cheapness and emptiness,' and the astute critic Joseph Kerman famously called [the opera] 'a shabby little shocker.'"

Case study conservation on the Eames' Case Study House

By Suzanne Muchnic — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:07:00 PDT

Paint tests, monitoring devices and a new floor at Charles and Ray Eames' landmark home are all part of a pilot project of the Getty Conservation Institute's Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative.

Surprisingly, little has changed at the Eames House since 1949, when Charles and Ray Eames designed their Pacific Palisades home and studio as a model of affordable modern living. Most of the objects they lived with remain in place at the two-part, rectangular structure on a bluff overlooking the ocean.

August Wilson's words came straight from his soul

By Chadwick Boseman — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:00:00 PDT

Stagecraft: The revered playwright had a talent for capturing how people really spoke, and his advice — 'keep your hands moving' — have hit home.

Stage and film legend James Earl Jones once said, "It's hard for an actor to go wrong if he's true to the words that August has written."

Vincent Kartheiser, from 'Mad Men' to 'Pride and Prejudice' onstage

By Jamie Wetherbe — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:45:00 PDT

Vincent Kartheiser will swap his sharp suits for ruffles and coattails. The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis announced that the “Mad Men” star will play Mr. Darcy in its summer production of “Pride and Prejudice.”