He prefers to be called Dr. Frank-en-steen, not Frankenstein.  Dr. Frederick Frankensteen tries desperately to remove himself from his cursed family legacy and live the normal life of a regular scientist — who brings the dead to life. Frankensteen (Roger Bart) is adamant in leaving his past behind.  If he does, he will be the first person to do so.  He can’t run no matter how fast his legs carry him.

Writer, actress and producer Kristin Stone has returned her wonderful and addictive show “Inside Private Lives” to Los Angeles, well, actually in Pasadena. This show, if you haven’t heard about it by now, is where the phrase ‘I see dead people’ originated. Not only do you see famous people from the past, they interact with the audience as they each tell their story. Stone has a rotation of “celebrities” speaking their peace and explaining their faux pas.

Mother, the word conjures up many images; some good, and some you rather not remember. Actress Mary-Beth Manning gives a little bit of both scenarios in her one-woman show. “Mother, She’s with you wherever you Go…” and isn’t that the prophetic truth. It doesn’t matter if you’re six-years-old or a grown woman with a brood of your own, mother, mom, mama, moms sneaks into your insides, your personality, then, the next thing you know, her voice is coming out your mouth. That’s the power of Mother

“All for one and one for all” is the motto for the bumbling, yet witty three musketeers , plus one who’s in an unofficial training capacity, Athos (Jim LeFave), Portos (Kelly C. Henton) and Aramis (Melora Marshall). The young man in training is the overly adventuresome d’Artagnan (Jackson McCord Thompson).  All his life, he has longed to be one of the infamous members of the musketeers. He finally gets his chance when he leaves his hometown of Paris and travels on his own to stake his claim.

The state of the musical theatre is enjoying a harmonic convergence of factors.  Kids, generally the least relevant portion of the target market, have been weaned on musicals from Disney and TV shows like Glee. There has been a happy spate of ambitious musicals that have tapped into the exploding interest in music.  Although the record business is heading sadly for a cliff, more people are enjoying more music than ever before.

Okay, sorry. I STILL brake for South Pacific, one of my least favorite terminally sappy Amur-kin musicals by those overrated corny-as-Kansas-in-August guys Dick and Oscar.

I remember as a kid staying up late on Friday and Saturday nights staying up watching old movies with actors I never heard of but the stories were so compelling. My first film noir was the 1944 classic Double Indemnity with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck with Edward G. Robinson. I came in half way through the movie but my 10-year old mind quickly picked up what was going on. A love affair with black and white movies began and still goes strong to this day.

One of the strongest revivals is the wonderful version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s sunny and evocative South Pacific.  Director Bartlett Sher deftly weaves the dual story of star-crossed lovers against the backdrop of World War II intrigue (Indeed, there are parallels to that other famous love story involving military intelligence, Casablanca, set in another steamy exotic locale).

The pulsing, vibrant first half of “Fela!” is one of the strongest 75 minutes on Broadway.  Upon entering the theatre, you are thrust into the hippest nightclub in Lagos.  Not that Nigeria in the late 1970s known as a free wheeling center of artistic freedom, but Fela Kuti braved police oppression to sound out against the corruption suffocating his country.  Nightly he held musical court at his nightclub called The Shrine, often testifying through song until the light of day, only to be met with police intervention.

There’s something funny going on at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. The outrageous comic Rip Taylor is in the spotlight doing a one-man show about his life. And his story is as crazy and colorful as the confetti he tosses around.