That's a wonderful tune titled, "A Wonderful Guy," from the 1949 Rodgers but on some occasions they can be as expressive as any art form: as subtle as poetry, as expansive as a Cinerama motion picture and as simple or profound as a black-and-white photo...

Morlan Higgins is one of those actors whose name you won’t recognize from Broadway, television, or the movies. If you’ve heard of Morlan Higgins, its because you follow what goes on at small, Los Angeles theaters; and if you’ve seen Morlan Higgins at one of those theaters, you’ve probably gone back to see him again...

That’s the famous and ubiquitous vamp from A Chorus Line, the 1975 musical that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and run for 15 years on Broadway. In 2006, A Chorus Line returned to Broadway in a new revival, which coincided with the rising popularity of dance reality shows like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance...

With a title like Red Dog Howls, you know Alexander Dinelaris' new drama is not going to be a light piece of entertainment. The austere, simple three-person play is unflinching, even if at first it seems decidedly ordinary. The plot involves a long, lost relative, a marriage on the rocks and deep family secrets revealed. What else is new? What elevates Red Dog Howls (currently receiving its world premiere at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood) is a deceptively nuanced script and the performance of Kathleen Chalfant...

It's been a rough season for Los Angeles musicals. Ray Charles: Live, Atlanta, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Mask: The Musical, all of four of these shows had high profiles and higher expectations, but each got mixed to savage reviews. These musicals represent L.A.'s three biggest theaters yet none of them look like they're heading to Broadway anytime soon...

It was only a few months ago when it happened. A friend at a dinner party was talking about some absurd situation involving inappropriate behavior and dramatic twists of fate. He summed it up by saying, "You'd think it was a Mamet comedy..."

No single playwright or actor has affected theatergoing in America over the last ten years as much as the cellular phone. Stage plays have been performed in this country for centuries with the rituals observed between audience and actors remaining pretty much the same; but in the last decade, barely any play or musical can start without a brief prologue or overture reminding people to shut off their cell phones...

The 20th Century saw the birth of a number of enduring man-made marvels: the jet engine, the microchip, the artificial heart, and My Fair Lady. There may have been musicals more sophisticated or succinct; but few are as durable and delightful as the Lerner-and-Lowe adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion...

The 20th Century saw the birth of a number of enduring man-made marvels: the jet engine, the microchip, the artificial heart, and My Fair Lady. There may have been musicals more sophisticated or succinct; but few are as durable and delightful as the Lerner-and-Lowe adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion...

The 20th Century saw the birth of a number of enduring man-made marvels: the jet engine, the microchip, the artificial heart, and My Fair Lady. There may have been musicals more sophisticated or succinct; but few are as durable and delightful as the Lerner-and-Lowe adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion...

The stage has a long tradition of disfigured protagonists. Shakespeare’s Richard III is the embodiment of a character whose hunchback is a metaphor for internal wickedness, whereas Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac is the model for characters whose unnatural face betrays a heroic soul. This tradition also extends to musical drama (from Rigoletto to Phantom of the Opera) which would seem to suggest that there is historical precedent and even potential for a Broadway-style adaptation of the 1985 film Mask...

The stage has a long tradition of disfigured protagonists. Shakespeare’s Richard III is the embodiment of a character whose hunchback is a metaphor for internal wickedness, whereas Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac is the model for characters whose unnatural face betrays a heroic soul. This tradition also extends to musical drama (from Rigoletto to Phantom of the Opera) which would seem to suggest that there is historical precedent and even potential for a Broadway-style adaptation of the 1985 film Mask...

The stage has a long tradition of disfigured protagonists. Shakespeare---s Richard III is the embodiment of a character whose hunchback is a metaphor for internal wickedness, whereas Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac is the model for characters whose unnatural face betrays a heroic soul. This tradition also extends to musical drama (from Rigoletto to Phantom of the Opera) which would seem to suggest that there is historical precedent and even potential for a Broadway-style adaptation of the 1985 film Mask...

On Monday, it was announced: Tracy Letts' August: Osage County won this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama. August: Osage County is Letts' fourth play after The Man from Nebraska, Killer Joe and Bug. (Letts also wrote the screenplay to the film adaptation of Bug, which starred Ashley Judd.) These three early plays (but especially Killer Joe and Bug) have been widely produced in large part because they offer juicy, even showy, roles for actors...

On Monday, it was announced: Tracy Letts' August: Osage County won this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama. August: Osage County is Letts' fourth play after The Man from Nebraska, Killer Joe and Bug. (Letts also wrote the screenplay to the film adaptation of Bug, which starred Ashley Judd.) These three early plays (but especially Killer Joe and Bug) have been widely produced in large part because they offer juicy, even showy, roles for actors...

On Monday, it was announced: Tracy Letts' August: Osage County won this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama. August: Osage County is Letts' fourth play after The Man from Nebraska, Killer Joe and Bug. (Letts also wrote the screenplay to the film adaptation of Bug, which starred Ashley Judd.) These three early plays (but especially Killer Joe and Bug) have been widely produced in large part because they offer juicy, even showy, roles for actors...

The Ladies Who Munch Scenery

The autobiographical theater piece. It's a frightening phrase to say, and often a frightening thing to behold; but there are occasions when a staged memoir can rise to the level of true theatrical art...

The autobiographical theater piece. It's a frightening phrase to say, and often a frightening thing to behold; but there are occasions when a staged memoir can rise to the level of true theatrical art...

In the year 2008, how important is race and gender? Two new revivals of classic plays both indicate a frustrating answer: absolutely and not so much...

In the year 2008, how important is race and gender? Two new revivals of classic plays both indicate a frustrating answer: absolutely and not so much...

In the year 2008, how important is race and gender. Two new revivals of classic plays both indicate a frustrating answer: absolutely and not so much...

Come Back, William Inge.

William Inge was arguably the most successful American dramatist of the 1950's. His play Picnic won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and his next two works enjoyed long runs on Broadway, both earning Tony nominations for Best Play. By the time Inge's first screenplay, Splendor in the Grass, won an Oscar -- even Tennessee Williams was jealous of his success...

William Inge was arguably the most successful American dramatist of the 1950's. His play Picnic won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and his next two works enjoyed long runs on Broadway, both earning Tony nominations for Best Play. By the time Inge's first screenplay, Splendor in the Grass, won an Oscar -- even Tennessee Williams was jealous of his success...

Othello has long been a great vehicle for actors (Emil Jannings, Paul Robeson, Orson Welles, and Lawrence Olivier are just a few of the great actors to play the part) but Shakespeare's tragedy has also inspired a fair number of musicians...

Othello has long been a great vehicle for actors (Emil Jannings, Paul Robeson, Orson Welles, and Lawrence Olivier are just a few of the great actors to play the part) but Shakespeare's tragedy has also inspired a fair number of musicians...