REVIEW: NICKY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO When we think of plays by Anton Chekhov lengthy dramatic works come to mind. Even when Chekhov was commissioned to write a comedy in 1887 he instead wrote a four-act drama entitled Ivanov. Now Coeurage Theatre Company brings a world premiere adaptation of Chekhov’s Ivanov, entitled Nicky to the […]

REVIEW: DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Imagine what happens when the Peanuts are in high school overflowing with hormones and teenage angst. In Bert V. Royal’s play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead this is the reality as he puts these characters and their problems front and center […]

REVIEW: TURBULENCE! BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Robot Teammate has returned to this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival with their latest original musical Turbulence! and they’ve hit the mark once again. When it comes to original Fringe musicals, Robot Teammate sets the standard, and the standard is high. Turbulence! is a perfect example of the group’s ingenuity for […]

REVIEW: BLACK AND WHITE IN PARIS BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Get caught up in the romance of Paris with Kelby Thwaits’ original cabaret show Black & White in Paris: A Cabaret Musical now playing at Stage 12 at Sunset Las Palmas Studios for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. The show is an exciting musical revue style […]

REVIEW: COMIC-CON THE MUSICAL BY RYAN M. LUEVANO Writing a new musical is a long journey and most musicals rarely make it to a staged production, at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival the musical Comic-Con the Musical made it. Creators Laura Watkins and Nicholas David Brandt have brought L.A. audiences a close to first full version […]

INTERVIEW: LAURA WILEY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Pianist, producer and composer Laura Wiley, the mind behind last year’s fringe festival parody Winter Is Coming brings us a hilarious new crossover parody musical Buffy Kills Edward: A Musical Romp. On the 20th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this new musical answers the question: what would happen if the cast of Buffy […]

REVIEW: NEXT TO NORMAL BY RYAN M. LUEVANO Even now, it’s not too long ago that Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s musical Next To Normal received three Tony Awards back in 2009, followed by a national tour that included a visit to the Ahmanson Theatre where I first experienced this powerful musical. The story centers […]

INTERVIEW: EMILY DECKER BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Emily Decker, musical theater veteran, and improv performer with a Master’s in Social Work, brings her original musical Trixie: The Musical to this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival. This world premiere takes therapy and mental illness to the stage in a positive light featuring a book and lyrics by Emily Decker and music co-written with […]

INTERVIEW: THE HIGH SCHOOLERS BEHIND WORST FIRST KISS PRODUCTIONS BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO While perusing this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival line-up I came across Worst First Kiss Productions and their production of Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead. What immediately stands out is that this company is operated entirely by high school […]

INTERVIEW: PAMELA EBERHARDT AND DAN TESTA BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO What do you call life after high school? Creators Dan Testa and Pamela Eberhardt call this: 13th Grade, which is the title of their new musical premiering at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival. This new musical is a new 90’s musical comedy in the vein […]