Mask, Musical Tale of Mother, Son and Belonging, Begins World Premiere in CA

“I am thrilled that we have the honor of presenting the world premiere of this exciting new musical at our theatre”

Allen E. Read of Mask The real-life story of a disfigured boy, his tough mom and the biker community that embraces them, is told with songs starting March 12, when Mask - the new musical inspired by the 1985 ... via Playbill

[Henry Levenson]

Excellent production of music and acting.
Enjoyed the presentation immensely. Alan Reid as Rocky is superb. The music rocks and the scenery is quintessential California set in the 70's.
Saw it on Sunday, 2pm matinee on March 16,2008.

[David]

I saw this performance too, on Sunday March 16th at 2pm and I have to say I came away with an entirely different opinion. It is terrible. In almost every way. Some of the songs are well done and the actress playing Rusty is obviously talented, but ugh, 99.9% of it is just what you would think. Ridiculous, over-the-top, terrible acting, bad singing and the cutest number of the show (about a certain CHIPs actor) is ruined by a girl whose "Hispanic" accent is so offensive and bad you have to cringe. Seriously this is a terrible waste of everyone's time. Certainly mine. Everyone around us was appalled. From the wannabe tough "bikers" to the insidious over-acting of the teacher and students (truly mind-blowing how bad -- pretty much acting 101 mistakes) to hilarious revolving mirrors. Just too much. The director is mostly to blame. What possibly could have been workable material becomes a satire, slap-stick humor and completely belittles the original story and the very real people who lived it. I'm shocked that the Pasadena Playhouse would present something not just terrible, but among the worst I have ever seen.

[Irwin Lublin]

The performance of MASK that I saw drew a standing ovation, as I am told every performance has. The music, the staging, the scenic design, and the singing of the leads were all excellent. Altho Mr. Mitchell of the TIMES found nothing in the production to like except Mr. Reid's singing, and dismisses Michelle Duffy's performance as just showing how much better Cher was in the part, Cher did not sing at all, and Duffy's voice is powerful and impressive. Ms. Hitchcock, in her online review on the other hand, liked everything about this musical but the music! They are both wrong. The music is very good, and so is this show.