INTERVIEW: MAX VERNON BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Step into the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1970’s with Max Vernon’s new musical The View Upstairs. The new musical premiered the The Lynn Redgrave Theater last spring and will have its West Coast premiere at Celebration Theatre this fall. This heartfelt musical is inspired by attacks against the LGBTQ community […]

INTERVIEW: BONNIE GLEICHER BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO I’ve only met the talented composer/lyricist Bonnie Gleicher once on a Skype session to discuss her ongoing musical The Little Things, and now months later she’s completed her fourth musical Addy & Uno. In addition to Gleicher (music/lyrics), the new musical is a collaboration with Nava R. Silton, Ph.D. (book), […]

REVIEW: HONKY TONK LAUNDRY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Jukebox musical aficionado Roger Bean, creator of the worldwide and off-Broadway hit The Marvelous Wonderettes, along with the sequels Wonderettes: Caps & Gowns, Winter Wonderettes, and Wonderettes: Dream On, brings LA audiences Honky Tonk Laundry. In this LA premiere Bean tackles the country western music of some of the […]

REVIEW: ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO As a frequent theatergoer in Los Angeles I’ve sampled many of the cities theater buildings so when I saw that Proof of Doubt Closer Theater company was producing the musical On the Twentieth Century at the Pan Andreas Theater I was curious. I’ve never heard of […]

INTERVIEW: ROGER BEAN BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Roger Bean is the master of jukebox musicals and now he’s bringing Los Angeles the premiere of his latest musical Honky Tonk Laundry. Bean is known for creating the longest-running off-Broadway hit The Marvelous Wonderettes and its many successful sequels. His other works for theatre include Life Could Be A […]

REVIEW: OKLAHOMA! BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The musical Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II was know as the “musical heard ‘round the world” in 1943 as it was the first full realization of the new concept of the “book musical” (where the music and dances are woven tightly into the dramatic structure of […]

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: DANIEL SUIGIMOTO BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Fresh off the heels of critically acclaimed original shows such as Letters To Eve and White People Drinking, Daniel Sugimoto and The Zoo Theatre Company are launching another world premiere musical this summer at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica. This musical is We The People, a contemporary musical that […]

REVIEW: WEST SIDE STORY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO West Side Story is unlike any other musical. Generation after generation, it stands the test of time both in admiration and in the message it relates: hope heals and hate destroys. This beloved musical was created by the juggernauts of the industry: Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein […]

REVIEW: SISTER ACT  BY RYAN LUÉVANO Based on the hit 1992 film comedy of the same name, the musical Sister Act is now playing at Cabrillo Music Theatre. The musical brings audiences an evening of rapture as the beloved story is amped up with even more singing, dancing and laughs. This California born feel-good musical premiered […]