Thousand Oaks Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL: A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS at Scherr Forum Theater
by Cary Ginell - December 15, 2024

What did our critic think of PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL: A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS at Scherr Forum Theater?...

Review: OLIVER! at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center
by Cary Ginell - October 26, 2023

What did our critic think of OLIVER! at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center? As the earliest Broadway musical ever to feature children playing major roles, Oliver! usually bristles with youthful excitement. But despite being marketed as a family-oriented musical, Oliver! is really inappropriate f...

Review: GOLDIE HAWN at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center
by Cary Ginell - September 24, 2023

What did our critic think of GOLDIE HAWN at Bank Of American Performing Arts Center?...

Review: CINDERELLA at 5-Star Theatricals
by Cary Ginell - July 17, 2023

What did our critic think of CINDERELLA at 5-Star Theatricals?...

Review: The San Diego Symphony Opens Summer Season at San Diego's Rady Shell
by Ron Bierman - July 03, 2023

Pacho Flores is a winner of the top prize in the world’s most prestigious trumpet competition, the Maurice André International, and the list of contemporary composers writing for him is impressive and growing. The San Diego Symphony has now performed two of the results. Last season it was Paquito D'...

Review: RAGTIME at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center, Thousand Oaks
by Cary Ginell - March 29, 2023

A superb production marks the 25th anniversary of the Broadway debut of 'Ragtime.' One weekend remains for this outstanding performance by 5-Star Theatricals in Thousand Oaks....

Review: 5-Star Theatricals' THE ADDAMS FAMILY at Kavli Theatre
by Cary Ginell - October 16, 2022

With TV star Teri Hatcher ('Desperate Housewives,' 'Lois & Clark') leading the way, 5-Star Theatricals' production of 'The Addams Family' is a gag-filled laughfest, with great tunes, a cemetery full of puns, and even a wardrobe malfunction. It's real, and it's spectacular!...

BWW Review: SOUTH PACIFIC at Fred Kavli Theatre
by Cary Ginell - March 25, 2022

American Theatre Guild's current national tour of the venerable Pulitzer-Prize winning 'South Pacific' cleans up some potentially objectionable language and characterizations to retain its essential love story and message of racial tolerance....

BWW Review: KINKY BOOTS at Moorpark College
by Cary Ginell - March 15, 2022

Christopher J. Thume blows the roof off the building with a bravura performance as drag queen Lola in 'Kinky Boots,' the 2013 Tony Award winning musical....

BWW Review: ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE at Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center
by Cary Ginell - December 06, 2021

'Always...Patsy Cline' brings to life Cline's rich catalog of songs, impeccably portrayed by Michele McRae, with Kathleen Silverman as her friend, Houston housewife Louise Seger....

BWW Review: THE BAND'S VISIT at Dolby Theatre
by Cary Ginell - December 04, 2021

See what our critic thought of the national tour of 'The Band's Visit' - an inspiring musical about the healing power of music and its ability to show common ground between two historically opposing cultures. The show stars Janet Dacal as the vulnerable cafe owner Dina and Sasson Gabay as Tewfiq, th...

BWW Review: MAMMA MIA! at 5-Star Theatricals
by Cary Ginell - October 20, 2021

5-Star Theatricals returns to the stage with a new production of its postponed musical 'Mamma Mia!' starring Kim Huber and Eric Martsolf....

BWW Review: LES MISERABLES at Young Artists Ensemble
by Cary Ginell - August 05, 2021

Of all elements of society hit by the pandemic, the one that got hit the hardest was the performing arts. Many theatre companies were forced to close their doors while those that managed to survive were crippled by 16 months of inactivity and decimated budgets. Young Artists Ensemble has not only be...

BWW Review: THE LAST, BEST SMALL TOWN at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
by Cary Ginell - August 02, 2021

John Guerra's new play brings Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town' up to date with its sensitive portrayal of two families - one white and one Latino - in modern-day Fillmore, California....