L. - R.: Mrs. Potts (Jacqueline Schofield ); Belle (Andrea Somera); Beast (Omar Mata). Photo by Ed Krieger by Abel M. Salas The Disney-Pixar animated blockbuster Coco has undoubtedly demonstrated that Hollywood can successfully deliver entertainment steeped in traditional Mexican culture. Banking on the widespread stateside popularity of the Día de los Muertos tradition—thanks, in large part, to a preceding generation of Chicano artists who came of age in the 1960s, added their own creative flourishes before generously 0 their take on the celebration with the rest of nation 40 years ago—the studios scored big with Coco . They scored so big, in fact, that taking the film world-wide was a given, and its record-setting reception in Mexico as the country’s highest grossing film of all time was not a surprise. With a resplendent Boyle Heights reprisal of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast —the Broadway musical adaptation of the studio’s 1991 Academy Award-winning animated feature film...

Lewis Powell III alternates with FInley Polynice in the role of the Genie in Aladdin DLE this weekend at LATC. Review by Abel Salas In an electrifying reprisal of a show staged earlier this year at Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights, TNH (Teatro Nuevos Horizontes) Productions opened its uniquely visionary take on Disney’s Aladdin Dual Language Edition to deafening applause, unabashed laughter and screams of delight from children and grown-ups alike at the Los Angeles Theater Center (LATC) in downtown Los Angeles last Friday. With more ample stage room, a concert caliber sound system, costumes by designer and art director Abel Alvarado that could have been lifted directly from an “Arabian Nights” runway fashion show, and an impressive, other-worldly set by Marco Del Leon, the English-Spanish Aladdin adaptation reboot did not disappoint. On the contrary, billed as an expanded, more spectacular version of the production which debuted in January this year to critical acclaim o...

Michael Torrenueva as Aladddin and Sarah Kennedy as Princess Jasmine at Casa 0101 . Photo by Luis Gaudi. by Abel Salas Extended through March by popular demand, Aladdin: Dual Language Edition , one of several official adaptations of Disney's hit Broadway musical, has become the most successful musical theater production to ever debut on the Eastside of Los Angeles. Staged by TNH Productions in a co-presentation with venerable community playhouse Casa 0101, the play has wowed audiences from throughout greater Los Angeles since opening on January 13th and continues to attract sell-out crowds. Under the direction of TNH (Teatro Nuevos Horizontes) founder and Artistic Director Rigo Tejeda, the production—based on the 1992 animated Disney film and featuring the film's musical score—has garnered rave reviews while delighting both neighborhood theater-goers and visitors who have flocked to Boyle Heights in record numbers just to attend the show. Presented in association with...