Robert Kovach News

The Phoenix Theatre Company's production of MY WAY is music in the key of Sinatra ~ a show filled with vitality and class that flies one to the moon! Featuring commanding performances by Trisha Ditsworth, Matravius Avent, James Gish, and Jessie Jo Pauley. Runs through May 23rd.

What happens when a world class theatre keeps the lights on, creating a comfortable and safe outdoor space during a world-wide pandemic? First, they hire top talent...and give them an award-winning murder mystery musical comedy ~ Kinosian and Blair's MURDER FOR TWO. featuring Seth Tucker and Toby Yatso. Runs through February 28th.

Winners have been announced for the 2020 BroadwayWorld Maine Awards - which were back bigger than ever, celebrating the best in local theatre of the past decade! 

Holiday Inn is a catchy, tuneful way to end the year.

SHREK, THE MUSICAL may not be the (self-described) greatest fairy tale ever told, but it is one of the most joyous, cheerful and animated musicals I've seen in years. (I say animated for it is taken from the DreamWorks film SHREK). The cast, the costumes, the sets and the music make this #1 in my years of reviewing Walnut Street.

The Phoenix Theatre Company's production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC (running through December 29th) features a stellar performance by Trisha Ditsworth as Maria. A fully entertaining experience that should serve as perfect holiday fare for the family.

Walnut Street Theatre (WST) continues its 211th season with the hilarious Broadway hit, SHREK THE MUSICAL. Directed by Glenn Casale and choreographed by Robbie Roby, the production begins previews on November 5, opens November 13, and continues through January 5 on the Walnut's Mainstage.

The Walnut Street Theatre opens its 211th season (no typo) with an uproarious YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. This venerable theatre has seen the likes of all the Barrymores, Katherine Hepburn and Edwin Booth, to name a few. (Although his brother's legacy probably tanked his career).

When you see Halloween decorations lining the aisles of every store, you may groan -- autumn has hardly begun! But at the Walnut Street Theatre, spooky season is in full swing, and you won't be sorry for it.

Walnut Street Theatre opens its 211th season with Mel Brooks' hilarious musical comedy, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL. Directed by Charles Abbott and choreographed by Mary Jane Houdina, the electrifying production begins previews on September 3, opens September 11, and continues through October 20.

In all respects, The Phoenix Theatre Company's production of KINKY BOOTS, directed by Pasha Yamotahari and featuring a bravura performance by Darius Harper as Lola, is DAZZLING! A must-see! Runs through October 13th in TPTC's Mainstage Theatre.

Walnut Street Theatre opens its 211th season with Mel Brooks' hilarious musical comedy, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL. Directed by Charles Abbott and choreographed by Mary Jane Houdina, the electrifying production begins previews on September 3, opens September 11, and continues through October 20.

To stage the beloved cultural icon that is THE WIZARD OF OZ offers any theatre company a herculean challenge: one which requires stretching the imagination to the limits to create a universe where reality is redefined and fantasy is fulfilled. In short, it demands stunning stagecraft and brilliant artistic vision. And it is just that kind of theatrical magic which Maine State Music Theatre's new production co- directed by Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark boldly and beautifully realizes.

Michael Barnard's production of WEST SIDE STORY (at Phoenix Theatre through October 14th) is a triumph of direction, featuring stellar performances by Joy Del Valle, James Gish, and Alyssa Chiarello.

Armed with a grand, sweeping songbook from Rodgers and Hammerstein, and a romantic, progressive-for-its-time book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan, it is difficult not to be continually enchanted by SOUTH PACIFIC, the groundbreaking 1949 stage musical based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Even better… sandwiched between memorable songs, romantic interludes, and cheeky, comedic banter is the show's surprisingly candid exploration of race relations---a topic that is, of course, still very much top-of-mind in today's seemingly more divided world. With such important ideological stakes in mind, when a production of this musical presents its material well and in the best possible light, you're almost always guaranteed a show that can still pack an emotional wallop while entertaining you at the same time. Such is the case with McCoy Rigby Entertainment's irresistibly appealing new production of SOUTH PACIFIC, now currently on stage at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through May 13, 2018.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT present the fourth show of its 2017-2018 season (and the 40th anniversary of the iconic theatre) with

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT present the fourth show of its 2017-2018 season (and the 40th anniversary of the iconic theatre) with SOUTH PACIFIC, book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan (adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel 'Tales of the South Pacific' by James A. Michener), music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, with musical direction by Brent Crayon, choreography by Peggy Hickey and directed by Glenn Casale. SOUTH PACIFIC will preview on Friday, April 20, 2018 (with a press opening on Saturday, April 21 at 8pm) and run through Sunday, May 13, 2018 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

I daresay that Phoenix Theatre's current production of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY is the musical highlight of the 2016-2017 theatre season. It is vintage Michael Barnard, full directorial guns blazing with a keen eye for the best in top-notch craftsmanship and splendid theatricality. His stellar cast, featuring some of the most versatile song-and-dance performers in the Valley of the Sun is locked and loaded for a volley of high-powered performances in a series of spirited numbers that are guaranteed to create a perpetual smile.

BILLY ELLIOT is a spectacle of moving proportions, a celebration of the human spirit, that in its current presentation at Phoenix Theatre leaps and bounds with heartfelt fervor. Under Michael Barnard's direction, the opus is magnum, a grand collaboration of choreography, music, scenic design, lighting, and wardrobe ~ and a lustrous cast featuring Matthew Dean and Seth Judice, alternating as Billy. A must-see to lift the Holiday Season spirits!