Read more about the article The 3 Masketeers Make the Most Out of the Least in “The 39 Steps”
Ezra Eels, in one of his many guises, and Aaron Gardner, as suspected killer Richard Hannay, in "The 39 Steps (photo by P. Kirby Russell)

The 3 Masketeers Make the Most Out of the Least in “The 39 Steps”

REVIEW BY CARY GINELL What do you get when you combine Alfred Hitchcock with Monty Python? The 39 Steps, a riotous adaptation of Hitchcock's memorable 1935 comic suspense film that features a…

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Read more about the article CLU Grad Now Playing Bobby Hatfield in New Righteous Brothers Musical
Morgan Lauff (Bill Medley) and Brenden MacDonald (Bobby Hatfield) in "That Lovin' Feelin'" (photo by Doug Engalla)

CLU Grad Now Playing Bobby Hatfield in New Righteous Brothers Musical

BY CARY GINELL The West Coast premiere of That Lovin' Feelin', new biographical musical about the '60s group the Righteous Brothers, takes place at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood tonight and in…

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Read more about the article Director/Choreographer Arryck Adams Returns to the Glamor of “Follies”
Arryck Adams, director of "Follies" at Conejo Players

Director/Choreographer Arryck Adams Returns to the Glamor of “Follies”

BY CARY GINELL For Arryck Adams, who directs Conejo Players' current production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, the production is proving as cathartic as the storyline is for its troubled characters. Adams,…

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Read more about the article Ring-a-Ding-Ding! Behind the Scenes at “A Rat Pack Christmas”
"Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Christmas" features (clockwise from top left): Angelo Babbaro as Frank Sinatra, Sandy Hackett as Joey Bishop, Kenneth Jones as Sammy Davis, Jr., Lisa Dawn Miller as Frank's One Love, and Tom Wallek as Dean Martin.

Ring-a-Ding-Ding! Behind the Scenes at “A Rat Pack Christmas”

BY CARY GINELL December 12 marks the centennial of Frank Sinatra's birth, which makes the arrival of Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Christmas, which plays for one performance this Saturday at the Thousand…

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Read more about the article Theater League’s “Elf” Is Sparklejollytwinklejingley Fun
Daniel Patrick Smith (Buddy) and ensemble in "Elf"

Theater League’s “Elf” Is Sparklejollytwinklejingley Fun

REVIEW BY CARY GINELL At one point during the brilliantly colored musical Elf, Jovie, the disillusioned girlfriend of Buddy the Elf, tells him her philosophy on life: "Lower your expectations so you…

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Read more about the article You think YOUR family is dysfunctional? Check out Elite’s “The Lion in Winter”
This ain't "My Three Sons." Adam Womack (Richard), Eric McGowan (Geoffrey), and Trent Trachtenberg (John) in "The Lion in Winter."

You think YOUR family is dysfunctional? Check out Elite’s “The Lion in Winter”

REVIEW BY CARY GINELL Two very different works by playwright James Goldman are currently being featured in Ventura County during November - and they couldn't be more different from one…

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Read more about the article Rubicon’s Two-Piano Version of “My Fair Lady” – a Simply Loverly Production
Joseph Fuqua (Henry Higgins) and Kimberly Hessler (Eliza Doolittle)in Rubicon Theatre’s two-piano production of My Fair Lady (photo by Jeanne Tanner)

Rubicon’s Two-Piano Version of “My Fair Lady” – a Simply Loverly Production

REVIEW BY CARY GINELL In the opening scene of the Rubicon Theatre Company's production of My Fair Lady, buskers in London's Covent Garden, where Cockney Eliza Doolittle works as a flower…

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Read more about the article Santa Barbara’s Out of the Box Theatre Presents the Edgier Side of Musicals
Out of the Box Theatre Company artistic director Samantha Eve

Santa Barbara’s Out of the Box Theatre Presents the Edgier Side of Musicals

BY CARY GINELL Today we visit with Samantha Eve, artistic director and founder of the Out of the Box Theatre in Santa Barbara. Although we're not changing our web name…

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