Tracey Paleo

Before seeing this show, I knew nothing of it besides a quite comedically tantalizing Instagram promo video and a snazzy 60’s referencing sci-fi movie poster.  The script and plot however was as elusive as even the idea of a commonly puerile film executive attempting to write an exploitable and profitable, A-list silver screen-play hit written by a bunch of particularly un-talented and servile lackeys.  And yet, SHPIDER! is as surprising a runaway hit as (spoiler) the comedy’s fantastical ending!

Did I mention that this all takes place in 1726? No? Well, if it weren’t for the popinjays, you would initially think this is a medieval morality play. 

MJ the Musical currently at the Hollywood Pantages may be the most intimate Michael Jackson biopic yet.

“How to Ruin a Relationship in One Easy Step,”  is a definitive alternate title for, THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, a smart, little 80-minute, light drama written by Samuel Balm, directed by Darko Tresnjak, currently at the Geffen Playhouse, Gil Cates Theater.

While the new changes to this beloved musical are stunning, this iteration of LES MISÉRABLES fails to recognize human pathos.

Ellen Geer’s new compilation of Shakespeare's best-known history plays does nothing to address the misogynistic, xenophobic views that have led to Margaret of Anjou’s historical presentation (or any other woman’s) as a stereotypical villain. But in other ways, it succeeds in illuminating Margaret as what she actually was - a force to be reckoned with.

Ten years after its premiere, EXORCISTIC has made a breathtaking return. And as a nod to the 50th Anniversary of “The Exorcist” (the movie), opening night was nothing less than a perfect display of limelight infused celluloid send-up.

Unlike, many of the rock ballads for stage that have been touring out of Broadway, TINA is singular in that it is based and narratively shaped on a real life. And, for once, it makes sense.

The production values and cast of the Ahmanson Theatre's, A SOLDIER'S PLAY, are absolutely stellar. But, I had to wonder, is this story 'enough' for the younger African-American audiences of today?

AVAAZ is incredibly sweet.  But so much more. The entire 100 minutes with Michael Shayan is joyous.

When you get right down to it, Amanda and Elyot are two people with the enormous blind side of being drawn to one another yet destined to hurt one another; walking a fine line between love and hate, desire and aversion. 

Elizabeth McGovern gets downright gritty in a gutsy, full-blown exploration of one of Hollywood’s most meta-femmes fatales in AVA: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS.

Notwithstanding that this production falls into many classic Shakespeare traps, Foolish Production Company's 1-hour, high-camp, rendition of TWELFTH NIGHT is very well done.

Love may be real and not science fiction.  But Rogue Machine’s attempt at a first musical is so bubble gum, pop-retro, Flash Gordon-y, it’s almost guaranteed to be a runaway hit.

'Like any of the heroines I could possibly reference, Kristina Wong embodies all of them in her own fierce amalgamation.  The result is considerably hysterical in the most unpredictable ways.'

From the moment Rafiki (Gugwana Dlamini) Shaman of the Pride Lands, heralded her recognizably famous opening note, the audience was uproarious.  Even as long as it’s been around, THE LION KING is still a wonder to behold. 

Quite possibly, a perfect production.  Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s Tony Award-nominated CLYDE’S at the Mark Taper Forum is heartfelt, funny, and seriously delicious.

There is a reason why August Wilson is one of the more prolifically produced playwrights in modern American theater. He just gets it. The same could be said for RADIO GOLF director Gregg T. Daniel.

In this full-circle journey, for the women of DESERT STORIES FOR LOST GIRLS, for us the viewers, and for their future generations, there is the sense that healing is what life for all Native American women absolutely needs to be about.

It seems everybody is having one of two reactions to Director Daniel Fish’s revival of OKLAHOMA! currently playing at the Ahmanson Theatre. But love it or hate it, so much of this update of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s acclaimed 1943 musical in which a farm girl is courted by two rival suitors, works.