Photos: First look at Original Productions Theatre's MOBY DICK'S GONE MISSING
When the Hollywood film production of Moby Dick descends upon a small fishing town in County Cork, Ireland, the townspeople are both fascinated and frustrated by the disruption in their ability to fish. Chaos ensues when the third, and final, whale for the production goes missing! What did happen to Moby Dick?
Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Desert Theatreworks is terrific.
Desert Theatreworks has done a fabulous job with its final presentation of the season, THE LAST FIVE YEARS, a one act, two-character, mostly sung-through musical by Jason Robert Brown. Mr. Brown's take on the disintegration of a marriage, which unfolds before the audience's eyes and ears in eclectic musical styles, is emotionally powerful. The music, performed live by a keyboard and violin, and the superb on-stage performances in the production, help make this one of the most memorable shows I've seen.
Review: JIMMY BUFFETT'S ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE at Desert Theatreworks is a Rollicking Good Time
Desert Theatreworks showcases its talented cadre of singers, dancers, and comedic actors in its current production, the musical comedy JIMMY BUFFETT'S ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. Director Lance Phillips and musical director Douglas Wilson have done a superb job with this jukebox musical that features Buffett's tunes. A cast of twenty dances enthusiastically to excellent original choreography by rising Coachella Valley star Anthony Nannini, and impressively pulls off both sweet folk rock songs and belted numbers. The performances and strong visuals from the designers result in an enjoyable, cheerful evening, with numerous stand-out moments.
THE BRIEFING Comes to Campari House in April
The Briefing was birthed from McGlensey's obsession with global politics and love of biting satire. Quick-witted and genre-defying, this 50-minute experience invites MICF audiences to join the press pack and take aim. Professional Hecklers; this one's for you.
Review: NUNSENSE A-MEN! at Desert Theatreworks is Heavenly (or maybe Hellacious) Fun
If you’ve seen the original NUNSENSE, which consists of hilariously stupid (stupidly hilarious?) jokes and songs, you’ve seen NUNSENSE A-MEN! — same book and lyrics, same music, and same characters, but with a twist: The cast is entirely made up of men. DTW’s performers play their roles STRAIGHT rather than as if they were part of a drag show; if they wore stage makeup at all, they applied it with a light touch. Their earnestness adds to the hilarity, for example when rubber-faced, diminutive Raul Valenzuela glares at Charles Harvey’s Mother Superior, and the tall Mother Superior glares back. The even more diminutive Larry Martin, playing postulant Mary Leo, is a dentist in real life; he performs an excellent ballet routine. DTW veterans Mark Demry and Michael Hamlin round out the cast. They, too, are DIVINE; this ensemble cast works together seamlessly. They ace the singing and dancing (ballet, Broadway-style, and tap), and their chemistry is terrific.
Review: Desert Theatreworks Shows off Singing and Dancing with WHITE CHRISTMAS
There is a great deal of enthusiastic singing and dancing by a large, energetic cast in Desert Theatreworks' (DTW's) production of WHITE CHRISTMAS, with book by David Ives and Paul Blake, and songs and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Daniela Ryan directed this production, which features two choreographers - Stacy Casaluci-Grenrock, assisted by teenaged veteran DTW member Violet Feath (who also serves as dance captain) for the tap numbers.