Month: April 2026

🎭 Worth and Beauty in All Things | “Real Women Have Curves” @ Casa 0101

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Real Women Have Curves (Casa 0101)Back in July 2025, there was a very interesting episode of Planet Money about garment works, and the costs of making a garment in America. You can read the transcript here. Garment work is piece work (although legally they should be making up the difference between that and minimum wage), with workers being paid perhaps 30¢ a piece for the various parts, for a bra that might retail for $62. To earn a living, they often bring work home. Many of these workers are immigrants, and many are undocumented. When we buy a cheap T-shirt that was made overseas, we never think about the working conditions of the people that made it. When we buy a “Made in the USA” garment, we don’t think about the people who make that garment for us: who assemble and sew it, who manufacture the fabric. People who get paid pennies for a garment we pay hundreds for.

All of this went through my mind last night when we went to see the play Real Women Have Curves, at the theatre founded by its author, Josefina López many many years ago. Although this property has been around for a while, I’ve never seen it: I haven’t been to a production of the play, nor have I watched the subsequent movie version. I have listened to the cast album to the recent Broadway musical version, and I hope someday to see that. Perhaps more on that later.

Real Women Have Curves tells the story of five women working in a small garment factory operation, seemingly in East Los Angeles. A mother (Carmen), her older daughter (Estela), her younger daughter (Ana), and two friends (Pancha and Rosali). They live their lives in  fear of the immigration authorities (although all but Estela are now here legally). They have little money, as their operation hasn’t been paid for the last order as they delivered late, and that payment won’t come until they finish the next large order. The owner of the shop, Estela, is being on the payments for the machine and the courts are coming after her (which is why she hasn’t started the immigration paperwork). Despite all these problems, they are happy and hopeful that they will be able to move forward. The protagonist of the story even hopes to be a writer some day, if she can afford to go to NYU. As all workers do, they gossip about their love lives, their opens and fears. They are realistic about their size and joke about it. They are also tired from the heat, but cannot open the door because of the immigration fears. When one worker collapses, they worry if they will get the order finished.

Although written in the late 1980s, the play makes many comments that are relevant today. Certainly, the issue of garment workers being underpaid and exploited is as relevant today as it was in the 1980s. In the play, they comment about how they might make $30 for a dress that sells for $200; the Planet Money article shows those ratios are still holding. They also comment that most of the folks buying garments don’t understand the work that goes into the making of the garment, while those who do the work can see the evidence of the sweat and labor that goes into it. The play also comments on how society views women and their bodies, and the chase for women to be young and beautiful and thing. It makes explicit comments about seeing the beauty in real bodies, with realistic sizes, and all the scrapes, bumps, scars, and cellulite that comes from a life well lived. It that, the play presaged the monologues that resonated so much in the movie Barbie about society’s unrealistic expectations about women. Lastly, an overriding theme of the play is the fear of la migra — immigration authorities — taking people and disappearing them with little notice. This hasn’t changed; under the Trump administration it has gotten worse. I’ve listened to someone recent podcasts that detail the horrors that ICE is inflicting on people and the fear it creates, as well as the damage that the tear gas they use inflicts.  The fear was real then, and the fear is real now, and those pushing the agenda forget that these are just real people, doing the low paid jobs that most folks don’t want to do but need to be done. Politics builds up the fear and hides the people; this play makes us see the people and the impacts. In that, this is a vitally important play today, just as it was when it first came out.

The performances were outstanding. Stefany Arroyo, a recent graduate, was wonderful as Ana, brining a joy and delight (as well as realism) to the role. In a small theatre like this, you could see the real emotions in her face, and it was wonderful. Blanca Araceli was strong as her mother Carmen, and Yasha Alaniz brought an interesting joy to Estela. Rounding out the ensemble was Amy Melendrez as Rosali and Laura Vega as Pancha. These two made you really believe that they were friends. The direction by Corky Dominguez demonstrated he was familiar with the play, and knew how to bring out the characters as real.

The set (designed by César Retana-Holguín) was realistic; my wife noted that they were using real industrial sewing machines (powered by imagination), set up properly. Costumes also appeared realistic and appropriate for the time. I appreciated the makeup work that deemphasized existing skin art, which was less prevalent in the time of the play.

Overall, this was a wonderful play: it now makes me want to watch the movie, and I increasingly hope someone mounts the recent musical (which, alas, didn’t do well in a crowded Broadway season and thus didn’t mount a tour). Hopefully, a local theatre company will choose to produce the musical (I’ve heard rumors this might be happening, which makes me happy). But until that happens, we’ll have to be satisfied with this excellent production of the original play.

Go see this show. Casa 0101 needs your support, and seeing this production is a great way of doing it. This is our fourth show at Casa: We saw a bilingual production of Aladdin ages ago, as well as Remembering Boyle Heights and Sister Act. They bring talent and heart to all their shows, and we need to remember to go there more often (and a hint — go down a few blocks and have dinner at Casa Fina beforehand, which was started by Josefina López as well). Real Women Have Curves is yet another example of the excellent productions at Casa 0101, and the story it tells is perhaps more important today as when it was first written in 1988. The show continues through May 3, 2026, and there are both English and Spanish versions. More information is available through the Casa 0101 website, although I seem to recall it may be sold out through the rest of the run.

Next up at Casa 0101 is Soul Sacrifice, running May 29 – June 21, 2026. The synopsis is: “Nine-year-old Connie doesn’t know what to do about her world falling apart. Her older brother, Luie, has been drafted into the Vietnam War, her father is drinking, her mother spends hours praying, and her siblings, Ben and Rachel, respond differently. Ben is protesting while Rachel’s focus is on Victor, who’s also been drafted, filling their home with tense silences and raised voices. Set against the backdrop of Vietnam and the Chicano Movement, Connie watches her family unravel under the weight of war, activism, grief, and ultimately witnesses the resilience of family.” More information here.

Credits

Real Women Have Curves. Written by Josefina López.  Directed by Corky Dominguez. Produced by Emmanuel Deleage.

Cast (æ indicates members of Actors Equity): Stefany Arroya Ana; Yasha Alanizæ Estela; Blanca Araceliæ Carmen; Amy Melendrez Rosali; Laura Vegaæ Pancha; Mariana Montes Sandoval u/s Estela / Carmen / Pancha ; Gabriela Machuca u/s Ana / Rosali.

Production and Creative: Josefina López Casa 0101 Artistic Director / Playwright; Emmanuel Deleage Producer / Executive Director; Corky Dominguez Director; Angelica Ornelas Stage Manager; Joy V. Diaz Asst Stage Manager; Doreen Sanchez Asst Stage Manager; Andy James Garcia Prop Manager; Alejandro Parra Lighting Designer; Miguel Angel Delgado Sound Designer / Technical Director; César Retana-Holguín Scenic Designer; Jeremiah Ocañas Set Construction; Tony Iniguez Costume Designer; Abel Alvarado Asst Costume Designer; Itzel Ocampo Graphic Designer / Marketing & Operations Manager; Edward Padilla Casting Director; Steve Moyer Public Relations Press Representative; Mark Kraus Development Director; Karla “Ojeda” Melendez Program Administrator; Jorge Villanueva Facilities Manager; Oscar Basulto Box Office Manager.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; BIH/Pantages; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

Key: ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

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🎭 The Clash of the Old and New | “Flower Drum Song” @ East West

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Flower Drum Song (East West Players)Revisals. The process where the book of a musical (and occasionally a play) is reworked to update the story, potentially remove problematic or outdated material, and to fix things that really didn’t work. Sometimes these reworks are light, such as the rework of Sweeney Todd to have the actors play their own instruments or dramatically downsize the set of players, or the rework of West Side Story to include more lyrics in Spanish. Sometimes they are more significant, such as the rework of Cats that is currently on Broadway: Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Sometimes they are successful, and sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes they change very little, and yet are very controversial. An example of this is the recent revival of Oklahoma, which was a stripped down version of the musical that retained all the words, but made the presentation much darker. There were those who got what was being done and loved it. There were those that hated it.

Oklahoma brings us to the second relevant aspect of this little discourse: Rogers and Hammerstein. The main stage shows of this dynamic duo fall into three groups (I’m excluding the two shows done primarily for the large and small screen: State Fair and Cinderella). There are the shows that became clear classics: Oklahoma, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. There are the shows in the middle that are problematic today for various reasons: The King and I, Carousel, and Flower Drum Song. Lastly, there are the shows that are rarely performed today,  and that were generally not all that successful: Allegro, Me and Juliet, and Pipe Dream.

The first tier of shows seem frozen. With the exception of the aforementioned Oklahoma, there haven’t been attempts to radically revisit these shows to expose unseen aspects. The Sound of Music is currently on tour; I don’t expect the staging to be any different from the regional production I saw last year at 5-Star Theatrical, or the versions one sees in a community theatre. What can you do with The Sound of Music? How do you improve on that show? South Pacific is similar: there are a few more stereotypes in that show, but those are accurate for the time, and the point made by that show remains applicable.

The last tier of shows are begging for rework and revival. Allegro was the most successful of the bunch, but really hasn’t been revived except for one Encores version. Similarly with Pipe Dream. All need rework to fix the problems that doomed them in the first place.

This brings us to the middle tier. The King and I suffers from a major stereotype problem: Although the music is beautiful, the portrayal of the Siamese kingdom is offensive today both in the style of speech and how the people are viewed. It also is deeply entrenched in the “white savior” problem, and that may be incurable. Carousel has a major problem with domestic violence against women. Although the story is strong, it would likely require rework to be acceptable today. That leaves Flower Drum Song. FDS was successful when first released, but over time has become a problem. The penultimate show by the duo, it suffered from a very stereotypical view of the Asian-American community (not surprising, as it was written by two white guys), and has not aged well.  The movie version wasn’t a classic, and the show has seen few revivals due to the portrayal problem. Read the summary of the 1958 plot on Wikipedia, and the problems become clear.

According to Wikipedia, after seeing the mid-1990s revival of The King and I, playwright David Henry Hwang got the idea to rework and revise FDS with proper representation. It took a few years, but a revised version hit Los Angeles and then Broadway in 2002. There was a complete rework of the plot, retaining only character names, most of the music, and the ultimate points of the musical about the clash of old and new cultures. It had mix reviews and wasn’t successful (although I liked the album, but didn’t see the show). You can read the summary of the 2002 plot on Wikipedia. I think the new story generally works well.

This brings us to 2025. East West Players chose to include Flower Drum Song as the last show in their 2025-2026 season (which immediately caught my eye, and I grabbed tickets as soon as I could). This version would be yet another rework by David Henry Hwang of the 2002 rework. It finally hit the stage this week, and after two cancelled preview performances due to technical issues, it opened for preview performances Saturday. We saw the second preview performance Sunday evening. It officially opens Thursday. So note: Some of my observations may be overtaken by events, and some things we saw may have been adjusted by opening.

In terms of story, about 85 to 90% of the 2002 story remains.

The ending coda has completely changed, but luckily they retained having the cast state where they are from (something I loved on the cast album). I did notice a number of lyric changes from the original show, and even a few from the 2002 revival. I like the new ending quite a bit.

Skip this paragraph if you want to avoid a spoiler:  According to Wikipedia, the ending in 2002 was “Ta leaves Club Chop Suey and the two become street performers as Chao departs for Hong Kong. Harvard announces his intention to return home and attempt a reconciliation with his disappointed parents. Despite his irritation at Ta, Wang allows him to marry Mei-li at the club (which now features Ta’s Chinese opera one day a week), as the company celebrates how Chinese and American cultures have converged to create this happy moment.” The updated show has the double wedding as the ending still. However, most of the main characters move to Los Angeles — and in fact, it is implied that Ta and Mei-li start a theatre company in Los Angeles that eventually becomes East West Players. Harvard remains in San Francisco, and turns the club into a successful gay Asian nightclub to provide visibility for yet another segment of the Asian community. 

As this was a preview, there were a few problems but no stopping of the show. In the first act, as the headdress was being removed from Linda Low’s head, it caught on her hair pulling off her wig. As she tried to recover it flew in the face of the actor next to her. The actors handled the problem quite well, and the humor played well with the audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if that problem doesn’t become part of the show. In the second act during “Don’t Marry Me”, the problem of using real food arose: one actor was still chewing when it was time for his song cue. Again, this was handled professionally (with a little humor) and worked well. Such is the fun of a preview, and actually added to the enjoyment of the show.

Overall, the reworked version of the show did a great job of illustrating the problems of the Asian immigrant experience in the 1950s and 1960s, where white culture saw them as a stereotype created by movies (e.g., Mickey Rooney playing Japanese) and media. It was characterized in the show as the impossibility of being 100% Asian or 100% American. The updated epilogue does a better job of showing the transition of the Asian-American community.

Performances were strong throughout. My wife loved the performance of Scott Keiji Takeda as Ta (the son), in particular his voice. I loved Grace Yoo’s Mei-Li, especially watching her facial expressions. Krista Marie Yu was strong as Linda Low, and Kenton Chen seemed to be having great fun playing it up as Harvard. Emily Kuroda captured the humor of Madame Liang well; similarly, Marc Oca did a great job as the father, Wang, capturing the change from the traditional to the nightclub performer. Lastly, it is always a joy to see Gedde Watanabe on stage.

The ensemble was strong, playing multiple role and singing and dancing up a storm. I can’t speak to the authenticity of the dance moves, but they were fun to watch.

Staging was simple. Thankfully, there were no projections, and no confetti gun. There were a few tables and such as props, and appropriate background signs and such. They established location quite well. The costumes were effective and beautiful. There were a few sound problems, but that’s not a surprise in a preview performance where the sound is still being tuned and the performers are still adapting to the microphones.

About my only complaint with the show was the program: For all the credits included, there was no credit and bio for Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Although older audiences know who these folks are, the “kids” today likely have little idea — and especially, they may not know anything more about them than Oklahoma or The Sound of Music.

My wife summed it up best as we were leaving, and talking to Emily Kuroda who played Madame Liang as we walked to our cars: This was one of the best productions we’ve seen in a long time, both in terms of story and performance. It continues at the Aratani Theatre next to the JACCC through May 31. Tickets are available through the EWP website. Go see this show.

Credits

Flower Drum Song. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by David Henry Hwang, based on the original book by Hascar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields, which was based on the novel by C. Y. Lee. Directed by Lily Tung Crystal*. Choreographed by Lainie Sakakura* and Janelle Dote Portman.

Cast: (æ indicates members of Actors Equity): Cooper Lee Bennett Chao; Kenton Chenæ Harvard; Emily Kurodaæ Madame Liang; Marc Okaæ Wang; Scott Teiji Takedaæ Ta; Gedde Watanabeæ Chin; Grace Yooæ Mei-Li; Krista Marie Yuæ Linda Low; Joven Callowayæ Ensemble, u/s Harvard; Ethan Yaheen-Moy Chan Ensemble, u/s Ta, u/s Chao; Ijay Espinoza Ensemble; Sierra Goria Ensemble Swing; Sally Hongæ Ensemble, Dance Captain, Ms. Lee; Tony Jin Ensemble Swing; Brian Shimasaki Liebsonæ Ensemble; Esther Leeæ Ensemble, u/s Linda Low; Emma Park Ensemble; Gemma Pedersen Ensemble, u/s Mei-Li, u/s Linda Low; Hillary Tangæ Ensemble; Ai Toyoshimaæ Ensemble; Haoyi Wen Ensemble; Paul Wongæ Ensemble, u/s Chin, u/s Wang. Gedde Watanabeæ performs Chin from Apr 16-May 10 and May 17-31. Paul Wongæ performs Chin and Ethan Yaheen-Moy Chan performs Ensemble from May 11-17. Joven Callowayæ performs Harvard and Tony Jin performs Ensemble on May 23.

Music Department; Marc Macalinta Music Directior, Conductor, Keyboards; Don Sebesky Orchestrations; David Chase Musical Adaptation; Richard Berent Asst Music Director, Keyboard; Robert Elhai Additional Arrangements; Ian Dahlberg Reed 2; Vincent Reyes Guitars; Casey Lipka Bass; Phil Moore Reed 1; Rebecah Yeh Cello; Christopher Spilsbury Drums / Percussion; Avery Robinson Trombone; Peter Marcos Violin; Richie Francisco Trumpet.

Production and Creative (* Member of Stage Directors and Chroeographers Society; ¤ Member of United Scenic Artists 829): David Henry Hwang Book; Richard Rodgers Music; Oscar Hammerstein II Lyrics; Lily Tung Crystal* Director; Lainie Sakakura* Choreographer; Janelle Dote Portman Choreographer; Jamie Guan Beijing Opera Choreographer; Chen-Wei Liao¤ Scenic Designer; Jiyoun Chang¤ Lighting Design; Ruoxuan Li Costume Design; Brian Hsieh Sound Design; Naomi Kasahara Properties Design; Y. Sharon Peng Hair and Makeup Design; Darlene Miyakawa* Production Stage Manager; Annie Jin Wang Dramaturg; Shinshin Yuder Tsai Intimacy Director; Mara Palma Asst. Director / Directing Fellow; Patrick Chew Cultural and Language Consultant; Katie Adams Asst Scenic Designer; Ruth Araujo Asst Costume Designer; Antonia Yang Asst Lighting Designer; Maddi Deckard Asst. Sound Designer; Kevin Dajay Asst Props Designer; Sarah Albee Asst Choreographer; Nora Degreen Asst Choreographer; Grace Mori Asst Beijing Opera Choreographer; Brandon Hong Chengæ, Jaclyn Gehringer, and Bonifacia-Erlinda Montaño Asst Stage Manager; Sally Hongæ Dance Captain; Ai Toyoshimaæ Asst. Dance Captain. Robert Longbottom Original Direction and Choreography.

Small Print: FLOWER DRUM SONG is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, www.concordtheatricals.org. Produced on Broadway by Benjamin Mordecai, Michael A. Jenkins, Waxman Williams Entertainment, Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum/Gordon Davidson/Charles Dillingham, with Robert G. Bartner, Dragotta/Gill/Roberts, Kelpie Arts/Dramatic Forces, and by arrangement with The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

Some interesting shows that have caught my eye. Wisteria Theatre is doing Reefer Madness: The Musical (in April), as is Long Beach Playhouse (in October/November).  Wisteria was overpriced for a black-box; I might look into Long Beach’s production (but have to factor in the drive). Ebony Rep is doing Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the end of May into June. I love the show, but the prices are a bit high and I’m still trying to decide. I have a hold on the calendar. Casa 0101 is doing the play version of Real Women Have Curves from the end of March into May. Conundrum Theatre is doing a bunch of shows, but notably Big Fish in December 2026. And, as noted earlier, the Colony Theatre is doing Catch Me If You Can in the September/October 2026 timeframe. I’ll look into ticketing the fall shows once I know the CTG Season, to prevent conflicts. Lastly, I’ll note Group Rep in NoHo has announced their season, which includes a mounting of Applause in the July-August timeframe. That’s useful if you missed the MTG one-nighter; I haven’t yet decided if I want to see it again (although Group Rep does a great job with older and rarely done musical re-visits).

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

Key: ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

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🎭 Life, Examined | “Ride the Cyclone” @ The Main

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Ride The Cyclone (The Main)If your life ended suddenly tomorrow, what would be remembered? What would you remember? Would you be remembered? What impact would you have made?

These are the questions posted by the musical Ride The Cyclone, which we saw yesterday at The Main in Santa Clarita (Newhall), and which continues for one more weekend. The story, narrated by the mechanical fortune teller Karnak (who has the ability to predict a person’s time and means of death, which who has been set to family friendly fun mode) tells the story of the St. Cassian High School chamber choir of Uranium City, Saskatchewan. When the choir visited Karnak, even though he knew it would cause their death, his “family friendly mode” instead told them their lucky number, and that they should “Ride the Cyclone”. Their mistake. A part failed, the ride failed, and they all died. They entered into a limbo, along with a headless”Jane Doe” who was found in a choir uniform. Karnak informs them they are all to have a little contest, where one will win the prize: Being brought back to life.  The show then proceeds to have each tell their life, with a bit of narration by Karnak, until the winner is chosen.

I never realized it before, but this show is a variation on Cats. This show has less dancing, but has a better plot, better music, and much darker humor.

I won’t spoil the details of the character’s stories, but if you want you can read the Wikipedia summary. I discovered the show through the cast album, which is great. When I subsequently found a production, I made arrangements to see the show and it was well worth it.

This show was mounted at The Main, an 81-seat black box operated by the City of Santa Clarita, in the space that was formerly Rep East Playhouse. A moment of silence for The Rep. We still miss that place.

Being at this small of a theatre with a community based, non-Equity cast and a small budget means the scenery was simple. But for the small budget, the talent was generally strong. Sadie Kate Gibson was outstanding as Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, with a strong singing voice and a great humor that came across well. Jonah Deocariza was equally strong as Constance Blackwood. Also notable was Ty Pierson’s Noel Gruber, who was spectacular in their song. The choreography worked well in the small space. I also enjoyed Jeff Frame’s Karnak and the sardonic way he brought across the humor.

As I just came from the science fair, some places for improvement: Some of the characters spoke a little too fast, making it hard to figure out what they were saying. Sanya Arnold had a lovely voice as Jane Doe, but at point it didn’t seem to blend as well as it could (a clash between a more operative voice and musical theatre style). However, that could have been intentional.

This was a really fun show, and I liked the dark humor. It makes some interesting statements about what we do with our life, both in our dreams and what we do. It raises good questions: What makes a life lived one that was worth living? What impacts do we leave? It is probably not appropriate for small children.

Ride the Cyclone continues at The Main though April 19, 2026. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. I’ll note the team behind this show is doing a production of Every Brilliant Thing in September. Every Brilliant Thing is currently on Broadway with Daniel Radcliff, to be followed by Mariska Hargitay. So if you don’t mind seeing it with a local performer, that’ll be your chance.

Credits

Ride The Cyclone: The Musical. Book, music, and lyrics by Jacob Richmond and Booke Maxwell. Originally produced by Kevin McCollum and Morris Berchard. Directed by Jeff Frame. Choreographed by Jonah Deocariza.

Cast: Sanya Arnold Jane Doe; Danny Barrios Ricky Potts; Jonah Deocariza Constance Blackwood; Sadie Kate Gibson Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg; Liam Johnson Mischa Backinski; Ty Peirson Noel Gruber; Jeff Frame Karnak.

Music Department: No credits. Presumably prerecorded.

Production and Creative: Jeff Frame Director; Jonah Deocariza Choreographer; Sadie Kate Gibson Vocal Director; Kyndal Zakarian Stage Manager; Kasey Smith Asst Stage Manager; Kristi Frame Costumes; Haileigh Frame Props; Billy Davis Set Design; Phil Lantis Lighting Design; Aidan Frame Light Tech; Lindsay Gibson, Walker Gibson, & Jeremy Thompson Sound Techs; Shannon Bouknight Scenic Artist; Haileigh Frame Promotional Material Design. Presented by Outpost Media.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

Some interesting shows that have caught my eye. Wisteria Theatre is doing Reefer Madness: The Musical (in April), as is Long Beach Playhouse (in October/November).  Wisteria was overpriced for a black-box; I might look into Long Beach’s production (but have to factor in the drive). Ebony Rep is doing Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the end of May into June. I love the show, but the prices are a bit high and I’m still trying to decide. I have a hold on the calendar. Casa 0101 is doing the play version of Real Women Have Curves from the end of March into May. Conundrum Theatre is doing a bunch of shows, but notably Big Fish in December 2026. And, as noted earlier, the Colony Theatre is doing Catch Me If You Can in the September/October 2026 timeframe. I’ll look into ticketing the fall shows once I know the CTG Season, to prevent conflicts. Lastly, I’ll note Group Rep in NoHo has announced their season, which includes a mounting of Applause in the July-August timeframe. That’s useful if you missed the MTG one-nighter; I haven’t yet decided if I want to see it again (although Group Rep does a great job with older and rarely done musical re-visits).

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

Share

🎭 A Family Business | “Kim’s Convenience” @ CTG/Ahmanson

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Kim's Convenience (CTG/Ahmanson Theatre)Let me start out by saying that we don’t have Netflix. We’ve long used DirecTV Satellite, and have so much backed up on the DVR to watch we’re not switching. We’ve dabbled in the streaming (Paramount+, for Star Trek), but that’s about it. Given all the price increases we’re reading that Netflix is doing, we’re likely not to be subscribing for a while either.

Why do I mention this? Because Kim’s Convenience is evidently a Canadian sitcom on Netflix, and unlike much of the world, we’ve never seen it. It was evidently based on an original play by Ins Choi, which we hadn’t seen either. Well, until this afternoon at the Ahmanson.

Let’s just say that seeing the play makes me want to see the series. However, it doesn’t make me want to see it enough to pay Netflix prices. Eventually, these Netflix “exclusives” will show up elsewhere, I’m sure, as companies attempt to monetize their catalogs. So, for those folks (like us) who are not Netflix folks: Seeing this show is one way to get a taste of Netflix without that continual monthly charge.

Kim’s Convenience is a touching and warm story about a Korean family running a small family store in Toronto. Along its journey, it touches upon the issue of families and all their disagreements, on the generational passing of a family business when the next generation has other plans, on Black-Korean relations, and how family can bring things together. It wasn’t what I expected: When I saw an old man running a convenience store, I was expecting something darker with crime and theft and violence, but that just wasn’t there. Perhaps if the story had been set in America; this was a Canadian story after all.

The cast was very strong; this isn’t surprising as most of the cast is the original cast of the original play. Alas, at our performance we didn’t get playwright Ins Choi in the lead, but his alternate James Yi was wonderful in the role. Brandon McKnight did a great job of portraying a large number of different characters, and I really enjoyed the facial expressions of Kelly Seo’s Janet.

The staging was simple: A single-set well-stocked convenience store (I wonder what they are going to do with all the products afterwards?). Industrial lighting, except for a few scenes. Other than stocking the story, this is likely something that can be done at the regional or school level, if it is ever released for licensing.

I really don’t have much more to say, other than this was a delightful show that we really enjoyed. Go see it.

Kim’s Convenience continues at The Ahmanson Theatre through April 19, 2026. Visit the show page to get tickets.

Lastly, the Ahmanson Theatre announced their 2026-2027 season last week. Not quite the touring blockbuster of the Broadway in Hollywood season, but still quite good. I also predicted right, guessing that both Oh, Mary and Boop! The Musical would end up at CTG. The One CTG subscription package is (1) The Turning (Taper, 9/2-10/11/25); Oh Mary! (Ahmanson, 11/10-12/10/26); Destiny of Desire (Taper, 11/11-12/20/25); Christmas Carol Goes Wrong (Ahmanson, 12/12/25-1/10/26); Fiddler on the Roof (Yiddish) (Ahmanson, 2/13-3/14/26); John Proctor is the Villain (Taper, 3/17-4/25/26); August Wilson’s Fences (Taper, 5/26-7/3/26); and Boop! The Musical (Ahmanson, 7/6-8/1/26). The CTG:FWD add-ons are The Music Man, Riverdance 30-The New Generation, Dogman: The Musical, and Clue. When I initially blocked dates on the calendar (in the current season, we were the 1st Saturday at the Ahmanson, and the 6th Saturday at the Taper), there were some bad conflicts: Two shows were on the same day, and one show would have had us running from at DTLA matinee to a 730p show in Thousand Oaks. Luckily, CTG learned: According to the subscriber line, subscribers in our group are now the 1st Saturday at the Ahmanson, and the 3rd Saturday at the Taper. Much better. There is currently only one bad conflict, and that involves moving the Pantages show to accommodate a show at the Soraya. We’ll have a couple of runs from DTLA to either the Soraya or the Pantages, but those are doable. We’re on auto-renewal, so I shouldn’t have much to do other than add Riverdance to the mix.

One other season comment: Could the theatres please stagger their season subscriptions. Broadway in Hollywood hit last month. CTG this month. I just got emails from the Pasadena Playhouse and the Soraya about renewing our memberships there. When these all hit at the same time, especially if there are not payment plans, it can overload the pocketbook.

Credits

Kim’s Convenience. Written by Ins Choi. Directed by Weyni Mengesha.

Cast [underscores indicate “at our performance”; strikeouts indicate “not at our performance”; ↑ indicates “swung up”]: Ins Choi James Yi Appa; Kelly Seo Janet; Esther Chung Umma; Ryan Jinn Jung; Brandon McKnight Rich, Alex, Mr. Lee, Mike. Alternates and Understudies: ↑ James Yi Appa Alternate; Frank Chung Jung u/s; Ngabo Nabea Rich, Alex, Mr. Lee, Mike u/s; Rosie Simon Janet/Umma u/s.

Production and Creative: Weyni Megesha Director; Ins Choi Author; Joanna Yu Set Design; Ming Wong Costume Design; Wen-Ling Liao Lighting Design; Fan Zhang Sound Design; Nicole Eun-Ju Bell Projection Design; David S. Franklin Production Stage Manager; Angela Mae Bago Asst Stage Manager; Michelle Blair Asst Stage Manager; Aaron Jan Asst Director; Becca Trimbur Company Manager; Pemberly Productions Tour General Manager. The set, props, paint, and costumes for this production were built by the Soulpepper Theatre Company artists in Toronto, ON, CANADA.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

Some interesting shows that have caught my eye. Wisteria Theatre is doing Reefer Madness: The Musical (in April), as is Long Beach Playhouse (in October/November).  Wisteria was overpriced for a black-box; I might look into Long Beach’s production (but have to factor in the drive). Ebony Rep is doing Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the end of May into June. I love the show, but the prices are a bit high and I’m still trying to decide. I have a hold on the calendar. Casa 0101 is doing the play version of Real Women Have Curves from the end of March into May. Conundrum Theatre is doing a bunch of shows, but notably Big Fish in December 2026. And, as noted earlier, the Colony Theatre is doing Catch Me If You Can in the September/October 2026 timeframe. I’ll look into ticketing the fall shows once I know the CTG Season, to prevent conflicts. Lastly, I’ll note Group Rep in NoHo has announced their season, which includes a mounting of Applause in the July-August timeframe. That’s useful if you missed the MTG one-nighter; I haven’t yet decided if I want to see it again (although Group Rep does a great job with older and rarely done musical re-visits).

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

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🚘 Headlines About California Highways – March 2026

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No fooling! It’s time for another headline post. Although I’m posting this on April Fool’s Day, there are no “fool” headlines buried herein — after all, these headlines cover March 2026, not April. Then again…

2026 marks the 30th Anniversary of the California Highways website. The changelog for 1996 shows the first “official” changes in October 1996, although it notes that “Changes before early 1996 were not specifically noted, although this site, in various forms, dates back at least as far as 1992, and possibly as early as 1986. Searching on Google Groups uncovers an early posting of the state highway list in December of 1992 to the Usenet Group ca.driving. In 1995, there was a posting of the highway list in response to a question, showing a last modified date of 1994. By October 1996, postings were being made showing the existence of the California Highways page off of Pacificnet. The earliest capture of the site on the Wayback Machine is in December 1998.” So welcome to the 30th Anniversary year, or perhaps the 40th Anniversary year, of California Highways! Speaking of the website, I’m pleased to announce that the January-March updates to the California Highways website have been posted.

California Highways: Route by Route logoWith respect to the podcast: Season 4 is written and recording is proceeding apace. We’re planning a few bonus episodes that don’t take as much research and writing; after which I’ll turn my attention to Season 5, covering Routes 15 through 23. I particularly like ep 4.12, which covers the unbuilt freeways of the San Fernando Valley, using the first segment of Route 14 as the starting point. Zencaster is working well for recording the podcast. I think it sounds better, but I would love to hear from the listeners. Let us know what you think. It looks like the regular audience is between 60-80 folks, and I’d love to get that number up, although the numbers don’t included those who listen directly from the CARouteByRoute website (as I don’t know how to get those stats). You can help our listening audience grow. Please tell your friends about the podcast, “like”, “♥”, or “favorite” it, and give it a rating in your favorite podcatcher. Share the podcast on Facebook groups, and in your Bluesky and Mastodon communities. For those that hear the early episodes, the sound quality of the episodes does get better — we were learning. If you know sound editing, feel free to give me advice (I use Audacity to edit). As always, you can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org , the show’s page on Spotify for Creators, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcatching app or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Creators) . The following episodes have been posted this month:

  • March | CA RxR 4.08: Route 12: Sonoma and Napa. Episode 4.08 is the first of three episodes focusing on Route 12. We start by exploring LRN 12, which we visited before in our episodes on Route 8, for LRN 12 became I-8 between San Diego and El Centro. We then look at Sign Route 12 and Route 12, which are mostly the same route… except, of course, in the first segment where they differ in routing between Route 1 and US 101. Episode 4.08 focuses on the first two segments of Route 12, which covers the portions between Route 1 near Valley Ford or Jenner through Sebastapol, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Napa, and into Cordelia. Episode 4.09 will cover Route 12 from I-80 near Suisan City through the Sacramento Wetlands to Lodi and Route 99. Lastly, Episode 4.10 will cover Route 12 from Route 99 to the Sierra Foothill and San Andreas, where it meets Route 49. As usual, we’ll cover historical routings, projects, and names along the route. (Spotify for Creators)
  • March | CA RxR 4.09: Route 12: Crossing the Wetlands. Episode 4.09 continues our exploration of Route 12 through an exploration of the middle section of the route: From Fairfield/Cordelia through the “Drive to Stay Alive” corridor, on through the wetlands of Rio Vista, and into the central valley and Lodi. We explore the big change in routing that happened in Rio Vista. We also look at some major projects within this segment, as well as some of the interesting names. We also review LRN 12, which we visited before in our episodes on Route 8, for LRN 12 became I-8 between San Diego and El Centro. Our exploration of Route 12 will conclude in Episode 4.10, which will cover Route 12 from Route 99 to the Sierra Foothill and San Andreas, where it meets Route 49. (Spotify for Creators)

As a reminder: One of the sources for the highway page updates (and the raison d’etre for for this post) are headlines about California Highways that I’ve seen over the last month. I collect them in this post, which serves as fodder for the updates to my California Highways site, and so there are also other pages and things I’ve seen that I wanted to remember for the site updates. Lastly, the post also includes some things that I think would be of peripheral interest to my highway-obsessed highway-interested readers.

CSEF LogoOne last point of personal interest: For over 20 years, I’ve been a judge at the California Science and Engineering Fair. This is the state level fair for all those Middle and High School science fairs, that bubble up to their county fairs, than then make it post those fairs to the state level. This year, the CSEF is on Sunday April 12 at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks. We always need judges in a wide variety of scientific and engineering categories. So if you are working the in the field of science or engineering, consider volunteering to be a judge. I’ll be there, probably running the Jr. Mathematical Sciences panel. We do get highway related projects: Last year’s winner in our category was a kid that used cellular automata to model traffic on I-405.

Well, you should now be up to date. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for March 2026.

Key

[Ħ Historical information | ＄ Paywalls, ＄＄ really obnoxious paywalls, and ∅ other annoying restrictions. I’m no longer going to list the paper names, as I’m including them in the headlines now. Note: For ＄ paywalls, sometimes the only way is incognito mode, grabbing the text before the paywall shows, and pasting into an editor. See this article for more tips on bypassing paywalls. ＄＄ paywalls require the use of archive.ph. ☊ indicates an primarily audio article. 🎥 indicates a primarily video article. 🎩 indicates hat/tip to someone for finding this article. ]

Highway Headlines

  • Metro Committee Approves Additional Early Construction Funding for Union Station Run-Through Tracks (Streetsblog Los Angeles). This week the Metro Construction Committee approved an additional $210 million for early construction work on the long planned Union Station run-through tracks project, called Link US. Metro already had allocated about $300 million for early Link US construction already underway; this ups the “pre-construction” phase to a half-billion dollars. If you’re completely unfamiliar with LinkUS, watch SBLA’s short explainer video. Since opening in 1939, Union Station has operated with inefficient stub-end tracks. Essentially trains nose into the station, then have to reverse to get out. Metro estimates that fixing this will increase Union Station capacity from 180 to 278 trains daily and reduce train dwell times from ~20 minutes to ~5 minutes – greatly benefitting riders on Metrolink, Amtrak, and future CA High-Speed Rail. Link US is a huge undertaking which includes building a new bridge over and along the 101 Freeway. The initial phase is anticipated to cost roughly $2.3 billion.
  • ☊ Untangling the 101/92 interchange and what it means for the Peninsula (WheelTalk). The Highway 101 and 92 interchange is one of the busiest and most complex transportation hubs in the Bay Area — and it’s also the focus of several major projects that often get confused with one another. In this episode of Wheel Talk, we break down three distinct transportation efforts connected to the interchange and surrounding communities, each with its own purpose and  timeline. First, we look at a safety and bottleneck improvement project already underway, designed to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow through known trouble spots. Caltrans Public Information Officer Jeneane Crawford explains what drivers can expect during construction and how success will be measured. Next, we examine a proposed direct connectors project that could link Highway 92 with the 101 express lanes. Still under review, this proposal has raised important community questions. San Mateo County Transportation Authority Director of Project Delivery Jess Manzi responds to public concerns and clarifies where the project stands today.
  • Steel-weld inspection and plate repairs continue on Carquinez Bridge (The Bay Link Blog). Caltrans continues to perform essential steel weld inspection project weld inspections and repairs on the Carquinez Bridge. The work is critical to maintaining the ongoing structural integrity of the bridge. Carquinez Bridge closures are expected to continue through March.
  • ＄ New Highway 101 carpool lane hours take effect in Sonoma, Marin counties after unpopular September shift (Press Democrat). If commuters on Highway 101 in Sonoma and Marin counties are feeling a bit whipsawed these days, that’s understandable. For the second time in six months, crews for California’s transportation department recently finished updating signs displaying a new set of carpool lane hours for that 52-mile corridor. As of Monday, revised signs announced that the latest high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane hours are 6 to 9 a.m. in the morning and 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the evening, in both counties, in both directions, Monday through Friday. This latest iteration represents a retreat from the HOV lane hours unveiled by Caltrans – to widespread condemnation ­­– on Sept. 8.
  • ＄＄ SANDAG outsources troubled highway toll collection [🎩 andy3175] (San Diego Union Tribune). San Diego’s regional planning agency is largely walking away — for now — from its controversial management of local toll roads, after years of billing-software problems that led to scathing audits and millions in legal costs. The San Diego Association of Governments is set to ink a contract with two Orange County transit agencies that will hand them control of the billing and financial systems for the tolled section of state Route 125 in the South Bay and toll lanes on Interstate 15 in North County. The move could save the agency more than $2 million a year, its staff said. On Friday, SANDAG’s board unanimously backed the new contract with the Transportation Corridor Agencies, or TCA, which consists of two different agencies that oversee four Orange County toll roads, as well as handle the billing system for tolled lanes on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County.
  • State Route 168 Shaver Lake Viaduct Project (FB/Caltrans Central Valley District 6). The Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with Viking Construction, announces the State Route 168 Shaver Lake Viaduct Project in Fresno County to begin April 2026. This project would construct a two-lane viaduct structure on a new alignment on State Route 168 along a section of Shaver Lake shoreline, in Fresno County, from Post Mile (PM) 49.1 to PM 49.5.

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