Laura Sage in “The Human Voice” by Francis Poulenc.

Combining two one-act operas that deal with communication and relationships, The Lyric Opera of Los Angeles’ presentation at the Fremont Centre Theatre features a stylish and creative production filled with excellent singing. While the two musical works are over 50-years-old, their focus on connecting and communicating are very much relevant today as society deals with the rudeness of interrupting people to answer cellphones.

“The Telephone” by Gian Carlo Menotti examines how a constantly ringing phone interrupts the important question a man (Jay Stephenson) is trying to ask of his sweetheart (Laura Sage). Both singers give expressive, animated performances revealing as much in their bodies and facial expressions as their voices. Stephenson possesses a fine baritone that explodes with frustration at his girlfriend’s constant chatting. While her voice is a little thin, Sage’s singing perfectly captures both the gossipy and flirty sides, trilling and gliding out runs.

Sage also stars in “The Human Voice” by Jean Cocteau and Francis Poulenc, playing a woman carrying on her last telephone conversation with a former lover as he prepares to marry another. She coos, pleads, and cries with frustration very well, but the act tends to drag a little. The music is reminiscent in parts to Poulenc’s “Gloria.”

Musical director and accompanist Robert Sage superbly supports the singers, while adding nice color of his own.

Josh Shaw’s set design is a witty and elegant presentation of later art deco, and Maggie Green’s and Sage’s beautiful vintage clothes complete the spot-on look.

The Lyric Opera of Los Angeles presents “Comedy or Tragedy: It All Depends on Who’s Calling! The Telephone/The Human Voice” on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Feb. 5 at the Fremont Centre Theatre located at 1000 Fremont Ave. in South Pasadena. Tickets cost $25; $20 for students/groups/seniors. Please call (866) 811-4111 or visit www.lyricoperala.org.

From l, “Randy” (Beth Kennedy), “Mom” (Leah Sprecher), “Old Man” (Rick Batalla), and “Ralphie” (Matt Walker) in Troubadour Theater Company’s “A Christmas Westside Story” at the Falcon Theatre.

Blending Ralphie’s search for a Red Ryder BB gun with numbers from West Side Story is a work of pure genius, another one of the Troubadour Theater Company’s long line of Christmas parody hits. The entertaining production features excellent performances and design as it cheekily channels the Troubies’ inner Broadway show queens.

The story follows Ralphie’s anxious quest to get a Red Ryder BB gun as his Christmas present, told through hilarious lyrics set to West Side Story songs and dance moves. Who knew that Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, and Stephen Sondheim could be so funny?

Director/writer Matt Walker keeps things bopping along, energetic, happy, and playful. He combines loving nostalgia, off-the-wall improv, and great musical skill into an almost true Broadway style musical.

His fine cast displays excellent singing and dancing talent along with strong comedy and improvisational skills. Walker, Beth Kennedy, Robert Petrarca, and Leah Sprecher give knockout performances.

Production design and costumes are simply marvelous, understated yet gorgeous. Naomi Yoshida has created spot-on costumes for the 1940s, along with witty little touches like the human lamp costume, lampshade dresses, and a superb red and white satin cowgirl number.

Choreographer Molly Alvarez successfully apes Robbins’ dance moves, along with some inventive spins herself. Robert Arturo Ramirez’s fine sound design also enhances the show.

An understated, loving parody of West Side Story combined with a wacky re-telling of A Christmas Story, the show is another holiday hit for the wacky Troubies.

The Falcon Theatre presents the Troubadour Theater Company’s production of A Christmas Westside Story Wednesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., though show times vary each week. Tickets cost $34.50–$37 weekdays (Wednesday & Thursday), $39.50-$42 weekends (Friday—Sunday), with a $27.00 student rate. Please visit www.Falcontheatre.com or call (818) 955-8101 to buy tickets or obtain information.

Clockwise from the couch, Eric Flores, Stevie Rae, Kyle Maloney, and Megan Blakeley from “The Stinger.”

J.E.T. Studios presents two one-acts, both dealing with the needs and wants of the opposite sexes in romantic relationships. Short and sweet, the plays contain moments of hilarity as well as crass, gross-out humor and adult language and situations.

Love in Ten Minutes features Man (Zack Self) and Woman (Judith E.) negotiating the ins and outs of becoming involved and which person is in control of the relationship. Judith E. brings flirty vivaciousness to her role, while Zack Self gives an exasperated but pleasantly charming performance. As the title implies, the couple seals the deal.

The Stinger blends physical comedy with scatological situations to make a hilarious presentation about what happens when body parts come alive. Joe (Kyle Maloney), shallow and superficial, wakes after a one-night stand to discover his penis (Eric Flores) has taken on a life of its own. Flores smoothly underplays his role, actually bringing the moments of insight. Megan Blakeley’s Sonya the girlfriend expresses a realistic and questioning vulnerability.

Both one-acts offer some smart insights on what each gender is looking for in relationships, but focuses on sexual acts rather than more serious issues and discussion. They also feature explicit language, sounds, and situations, as well as scatological elements as the main ingredients. They seem more like skits for Saturday Night Live or comedy shows, but could be fleshed out for a more thorough examination.

The production demonstrates some fine comic moments and performances and suggests promise.

J.E.T. Studios presents Love in Ten Minutes and The Stinger on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. at J.E.T. Studios located at 5126 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. The production requires a reservation through their website at www.thejetstudios.com. Tickets cost $15 plus a $1 service fee. For further information, call Judith E. at (818) 309-5972.

“Who’s Your Daddy?” written by and starring Johnny O’Callaghan at The Little Victory Theatre.

An entertaining one man show that combines dark, bawdy humor with poignant moments, Who’s Your Daddy? reveals the dramatic but true story of actor Johnny O’Callaghan’s travails in adopting a young Ugandan boy. Passionate and moving, the presentation features excellent acting and colorful language to ultimately tell a story of love and devotion.

O’Callaghan, disappointed in love and career, travels to Uganda on a fluke, where he bonds with a little orphan, and immediately decides to adopt him. Facing almost insurmountable?odds, O’Callaghan?overcomes enormous obstacles to adopt his son, and in so doing, finds himself.

Writer/actor O’Callaghan embodies multiple roles, from an unctuous African official to his vacuous traveling companion, family, friends, coworkers, and the diversity of Ugandans he meets. Expressive and charming, O’Callaghan employs poetic and sometimes profane language to reveal his fierce, determined journey.

Director Tom Ormeny brings a steady rhythm and dynamic energy to the production mimicking O’Callaghan’s intense quest. While the production sometimes attempts to meander down an interesting back alley, Ormeny does a fine job keeping it on track, skillfully combining harrowing tales with comic bits and asides.

Ormeny’s design team also does a great job in evoking both the beauty and threat of Uganda through Lucan Melkonian’s impressive set, Carol Doehring’s elegant lighting, and Rob Corn’s witty and dramatic sound design.

Containing adult humor and situations, Who’s Your Daddy? reveals the hilarious and horror filled trials and tribulations of O’Callaghan’s quest to adopt a young boy in Uganda.

Who’s Your Daddy? plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. through Dec. 18 at The Little Victory Theatre located at 3326 W. Victory Blvd. in Burbank. Tickets cost $24-$34. Call (818) 841-5422 or visit www.thevictorytheatrecenter.com for further information or to reserve tickets.

The artists, from l, are Benjamin Bunsold, Sari Haidar, Shira Renee Thomas, Dylan F. Thomas, and Brian Onderdonk (conductor), with the Center Stage Opera Orchestra and Chorus.

Center Stage Opera presented a concert of opera highlights the weekend of Oct. 28 that featured excellent singing and expressive acting by young performers, augmented by fine work from the young orchestra, all working to gain valuable experience and poise in the operatic field.

The opening concert of the 2011-2012 season, the production featured famous arias from many favorite operas, as well as a medley of tunes from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, originally scheduled as the season opener.

Artistic Director Dylan F. Thomas demonstrated a wide vocal range and expressive voice in his solos from Aida, Tosca, and Turandot. E. Scott Levin stood out as the best actor of the day, exuberant, animated, and emotional in selections from Cosi Fan Tutte and The Magic Flute. He and the playful Jessica Mamey possessed a fine chemistry in “Pa-pa-pa Duet.” Phil Meyer gave a charming, teasing rendition of “La Calunnia.”

Lucine Zirekyants blew the audience away with her belting voice and fine stage presence for “Caro Nome.” Daniel Marcelle Bond brought a flirty, sexy confidence to “Habanera” from Carmen. Shira Renee Thomas captured the delicate and emotional colors of “Senza Mamma.”

Conductor and music director Brian Onderdonk achieved a lovely sound out of his over 20-piece orchestra, providing a strong support to the performers.

Center Stage Opera’s opening concert demonstrated the fine caliber of musicians and talent that perform for a diverse cross section of San Fernando Valley audiences, while augmenting their outreach, educational, and senior programs bringing great music to appreciative audiences.

Center Stage Opera presented Operatic Masterpieces on Friday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Madrid Theatre located at 21622 Sherman Way in Canoga Park.

René Rivera in “The King of the Desert” by Stacey Martino.

Visceral and electric, The King of the Desert features wonderful acting by René Rivera as it examines one man’s struggle to find himself while also working to achieve his dreams. Written by Rivera’s wife Stacey Martino as an exercise in learning more about her husband’s past, the presentation is told chronologically, revealing Rivera’s struggle to integrate his Mexican-American pride with a more subdued white bread world.

Rivera buzzes with energy, a human pinball careening around the stage. Incredibly passionate and expressive, he demonstrates a cheeky sense of humor as well as determination and drive. His acting, which served as a shield when he was a child, becomes a potent realization of self-expression when it becomes a career.

Director Sal Romeo conceives the production around one man’s movement to find his rightful place in the world, keeping Rivera constantly on his toes dancing around the stage. Rivera can’t sit still as he fights to escape his world and false expectations. However, an occasional pause would allow the audience to catch its breath. Timing is spot-on between both actor and light/sound cues, adding to the dramatic effect.

Jeremy Pivnick perfectly sets scenes with his moody, evocative lighting, beautifully blending with Danuta Tomzynski’s simple, elegant set, which combines touches of a church, home, and underpass to suggest locations. Both are anchored by strong visual images projected on a high screen that further refine place.

Intense and energetic, The King of the Desert grabs you by the seat of the pants and doesn’t let go.

Coactive Content and American Latino Theatre present The King of the Desert on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m., through Dec. 4 at the El Portal Forum Theatre located at 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. There are performances on Tuesday–Thursday, Nov. 8-10, at 8 p.m. There are no performances Nov. 11–13. Tickets cost $20; $15 for students, seniors, veterans, and guild members; $10 for groups of eight or more. For reservations or information, call (866) 811-4111 or (818) 508-4200, or visit www.elportaltheatre.com.

“Amanda” (Michael Learned) and “Gus” (Granville Van Dusen) in “Southern Comforts” at the Falcon Theatre.

Southern Comforts contains gentle laughs, romance, and fine performances as it looks at a second chance for love between two mature adults. Wistful and sweetly romantic, the play thoughtfully examines how opposites attract, but then must work to successfully blend those two opposing natures.

Gus (Granville Van Dusen), a grouchy New Jersey widower set in his ways, works on his storm windows, only to be interrupted by the appearance of a pretty, Southern widow (Michael Learned), charming and chatty. Thrown together during a heavy thunderstorm, the two hit it off and begin a tentative romance. Are both willing to take risks on building a relationship?

Director Jules Aaron builds a nice rhythm into the scenes, with fine timing and slow burns and reactions between the two member cast. Aaron realistically develops the tentative relationship in slow, graceful give and takes, but some choreography seems occasionally off, with the couple standing around awkwardly speaking lines.

Learned and Van Dusen work well together, and possess a fine chemistry. Van Dusen keeps the relationship off guard with his hesitant reactions and uncertainty, hiding a gentle yearning under an uptight exterior. Learned brings a flirty but direct playfulness to Amanda. She’s willing to take risks without compromising her values.

The design staff greatly enhances the production with their work. Dan Weingarten creates an elaborate, realistic thunderstorm and seasons, complemented by fine sound work. Keith E. Mitchell’s gorgeous old bungalow set and Kim DeShazo’s elegant costumes also add detailed atmosphere.

The Falcon Theatre presents Southern Comforts Wednesdays–Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through Nov. 13 at the Falcon Theatre located at 4252 Riverside Dr. in Burbank. Tickets cost $34.50–$37 Wednesday/Thursday, $39.50–$42 Friday/Saturday/Sunday, with a $27 student rate with valid ID. Tickets can be purchased online at www.falcontheatre.com, or call (818) 955-8101.

Conductor Terry Danne.

The music of Cole Porter has the power to hypnotize with its delectable words and rhythms, and it did so Saturday, Oct. 22, at the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale’s Jewish Composer Series concert. While Porter wasn’t Jewish, the Golden State Klezmers wonderfully fit the bill.

The chorale, led by conductor Terry Danne, performed revue style, with soloists intermittently singing solos between individual songs and medleys by the choir. The group featured songs from shows Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate, along with some of Porter’s greatest hits, in a show that entertained the audience.

There were several outstanding solos. Publicist Annette Markell added an ironic, playful touch to “I Sleep Easier Now,” a comic look at happily being older, the hit of the show. Karen Matranga gave a passionate performance in her sexy, belting voice for “Blow, Gabriel, Blow.” Don Caldwell displayed some light comic chops and pleasing tenor in “Brush up Your Shakespeare” and other skits. Joane Franks and Tom Munsell enjoyed themselves with bouncy choreography and expressive performances for “Friendship.” A few soloists, however, seemed tentative or overdid the vibrato.

The Golden State Klezmers brought an element of festive, passionate abandon to the evening with their energetic playing. Performing a wide variety of klezmer music—Eastern European, Russian, wedding, tango, waltz—the group demonstrated spontaneous exuberance and excellent playing. The four men work well together, trading off solos and riffs.

At the enjoyable concert, Cole Porter’s elegant lyrics and polished melodies reveal why his music is wunderbar.

The San Fernando Valley Master Chorale performed “An Evening of Cole Porter” on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. in the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall at CSUN in Northridge.

From l, Barika Croom, Nick Zayas, Kelly Ann Ford, Collin St. Dic, and James Black in “The Negative Room.”

Write Act Repertory’s world premiere production of Tom O’Leary’s The Negative Room features excellent acting and writing combined with whip speed pacing to hilariously satirize the nomenclature and psychobabble of therapy and dysfunction.

The story follows Phil (Nick Zayas), a young urbanite looking for an apology from the Catholic Church for making him believe he was a sinner, seeking to reconnect with his overbearing, critical mother, and searching for validation in his life. Over several weeks, he stumbles across a possible love interest (Kelly Ann Ford), a waiter (Colin St. Dic), a priest (James Black), and a therapist (Barika Croom), all dealing with raging idiosyncrasies and isms of their own.

O’Leary’s script features zippy one-liners and zingers while it also smartly examines human foibles and the courage to believe in oneself.

Co-directors O’Leary and Annie O’Neil keep the pace constantly flying with overlapping dialogue and fine timing, getting the actors to furiously spit out their lines in madcap rhythm.

Zayas does a wonderful job with Phil, combining tense self-absorption and innocent vulnerability. St. Dic possesses easy charm and snappy attitude, while Ford gives a sensitive earnestness to Sheila. Black brings a sonorous voice of God quality to his ironic announcer.

Production work is spot–on, particularly Sergio Escobar’s fine lighting and detailed soundwork.

The Negative Room cheekily examines the world of dysfunction, denial, and disillusionment to find positives in taking risks, forgiving, and enjoying the present.

Write Act Repertory presented the world premiere of The Negative Room at Write Act Theatre located at 6128 Yucca St. in Hollywood. Tickets cost $20 at the door or via www.brownpapertickets.com. For more information, call (323) 469-3113.

Harvey (Jonathan Harrison) tells his wife Janet (Kathy Bell Denton) about an unsettling dream he had the night before in “Harvey’s Dream,” one of six short plays based on stories by Stephen King in The Visceral Company’s production of “Dead of Night,” now playing at the Lankershim Arts Center through Nov. 6.

Just in time for Halloween, the Visceral Company presents an evening of suspenseful short plays based on Stephen King short stories. A little uneven, the presentation does feature some fine acting and production work.

The production features six King stories that offer a chilling twist at the end, often macabre and eerie. While the pieces do include both lighthearted moments and dark, suspenseful sections, most of the works are too literary bound, telling events through narrative rather than visceral presentation.

The show builds as the evening progresses, with the last play, “The Ten O’clock People,” the strongest. Director Jana Wimer and writer Dan Spurgeon create fine staging and images in the last setup, complemented by creative lighting and effects. Ironic humor, dark twists, and nice timing add to the spooky feeling. “Mute” is also good, understatedly revealing how one man unexpectedly gets his problems resolved. “Nona” has some twisted moments, and “Harvey’s Dream” is believably real.

Jared Martzell brings quiet intensity and energy to his characters, making them believably edgy and vulnerable at the same time. Roger Weiss makes the troubled Monette alternately relieved and suspicious. Corey Craig’s gentle, shy appearance hides the angry, menacing ogre within his often psychotic and dangerous characters. Carl Bradley Anderson gives solid, understated dignity to his roles.

The show features adult language and situations, and is recommended for more mature audiences.

Dead of Night demonstrates that things often aren’t what they seem, suggesting that charming, sweet looking characters often hide boogeymen inside.

The Visceral Company presents Dead of Night Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. through Nov. 6 at the Lankershim Arts Center located at 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. Tickets cost $25. Please visit www.thevisceralcompany.com for further information or to buy tickets.