From left: Lucy Rodriguez (Mercy) and Sal Lopez (Serafina) in Latino Theater Company's "The Storyteller of East LA" (Photo by Grettel Cortes Photography) Latino Theater Company’s world premiere of “The Storyteller of East LA” offers the best kind of theatrical experience — an intimate, beautifully produced and directed story that will make you laugh even as it moves you to tears. The production is infused with the talents of Latino Theater Company members, many of whom are fo

From left: Richard Baird and Louis Lotorto in "The Maltese Falcon" at Laguna Playhouse (Photo by Aaron Rumley) Using more contorted similes and metaphors than an English professor teaching romantic poetry to hard-boiled detectives, “The Maltese Falcon” at Laguna Playhouse delivers chuckles with a side of noir. A new commissioned play by Matthew Salazar-Thompson that recently premiered at North Coast Rep, “The Maltese Falcon” sends up Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel while remain

Scene from MUSE/IQUE's "Back to Oz" at the Mark Taper Forum (Photo by Haoyuan Ren for MUSE/IQUE) Local orchestral ensemble MUSE/IQUE — whose goal is to produce accessible, live, immersive music for all — has achieved that mission with “Back to Oz” at the Mark Taper Forum. “Back to Oz” offers a polished showcase of the enduring cultural impact of “The Wizard of Oz” — from L. Frank Baum’s original 1900 novel to the 1939 MGM musical film starring Judy Garland to “The Wiz” in 197