Beauty and the Beast (2010 Tour)★★★☆☆
San Diego, 2012 The simpler staging & costumes work well enough, but the big numbers suffer from the smaller cast.
Beauty and the Beast (3D Theatricals)★★★★★
Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 2016 An elaborate production by a local company with great performances from the leads, and a surprise understudy.
Belle’s Dreams of AdventureI never thought Belle gave up her dreams of adventure. I figured she had one, and gained the opportunity to have more. That’s why I hate the song ‘A Change in Me.’
Chess in Concert: Post-Cold War Edition★★★★☆
Claire Trevor School of the Arts, 2017 The cold-war musical Chess works surprisingly well set in the present day.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along BlogA campy take on the super-hero genre, from the point of view of a D-list villain trying to make it to the big leagues.
Nightmare Before Christmas (in 3D)★★★★⯪ILM remade the entire film in CGI, then shifted the virtual camera over for the second viewpoint. They match seamlessly. That said, 3D doesn’t add much to the original, but it doesn’t interfere either.
Ordinary Days
South Coast Repertory, 2010 A slice-of-life musical about four people living in New York, their paths intersecting.
Ragtime★★★★★
Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 2014 Ragtime has even more emotional impact on stage than the songs do alone, and the historical themes resonate strongly with the present day.
Subspace Rhapsody★★★★⯪The first time through my reaction was: OK, that was fun. The second time I really appreciated the way it was put together and immediately went looking for the soundtrack.
Xanadu (Stage Musical)★☆☆☆☆
Segerstrom Center, 2009 The stage musical of Xanadu is a silly, self-aware parody that revels in its camp. I really liked about 10% of it. The rest, not so much.
