shAme
King King Nightclub, Hollywood
Director/Choreographer
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“Puritans breaking into power ballads makes heady sense in Mark Governor’s rock musical “shAme,” adapted from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet
Letter. Director-choreographer Janet Roston uses
King King's grunge chic club space, with its
exposed brick and steel beams, to set an aesthetic
that emphasizes raw performance
This vivid inaugural production of
the Los Angeles Rock Opera Company,
“shAme” now pumps up the volume of this classic pageant on Wednesdays at
King King in Hollywood.”
Los Angeles Times
“In best rock opera fashion, musical styles
and behavioral anachronisms pile on in
service to the central story and the overall
effect is impressive indeed.. . .who knew that all the
material needed was an eclectic rock score
by Mark Governor and a little direction
and choreography, both achieved with
clarity and wit on the part of Janet Roston,
to kick its dry old husk into life?”
Backstage West
“L.A. ROC’s “shAme” is a pulsating
study in scarlet. Imagine the oh so straight-laced Puritans turned inside-out
so all their repressed urges are on the surface. Director/choreographer Roston uses nearly every square inch of Hollywood’s King King nightclub to pilot Hester Prynne, Arthur
Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth to their respective destinies…the evening is vibrant..”
Daily News
“Music is catchy and the performances rock. And there’s no shAme in that!”
StageSceneLA.com
“Who’d have guessed that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The
Scarlet Letter would be a ripe fruit for an adaptation
into a rock opera? Yet Mark Governor’s creation for
an ensemble of 10 uses the saga of Puritan guilt as a
valid exploration of “The Interior of a Heart” under
director-choreographer Janet Roston’s snappy staging.
L.A. Weekly
“The production is pretty much flawless, and the use of the limited space (with hardly any backstage) is admirable. The show is technically one of the most proficient I’ve seen in a small theater. And the cast can actually sing, and sing well.”
Curtainup.com
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The Wanting
Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica
Director/Choreographer/Conceived By
TheWanting.net |
"...a group of dancers, portraying members of a family look like they might be right out of Norman Rockwell - except, within minutes of starting the show, the clan suddenly shifts into being something from an Edward Gorey nightmare. Director Janet Roston's choreography is tight, energetic, and extremely sophisticated...the sense of detail in the movement suggests a mood that's both kinky and beguiling. The gleefully sour ball atmosphere is ultimately effective at crafting the sad yet bleakly funny meditation on the abject emptiness of longing."
L.A. Weekly
"Sometimes the best performance is the kind that takes time to grow and enfold you in its clutches, but once it has you, you’re in so deep you feel a love slave to it. Such is the case with "The Wanting." It’s a who’s groping on who type of family affair, whose torridness is portrayed entirely through the emotional tone of the music and impeccable choreography by Janet Roston. Roston’s direction of the movement of the bodies, the perverse grasping, grinding and pulling away make this production hard to dislike, ignore or forget. Part concert, part dance, part tale of love, lust, seduction, betrayal and insatiable desire, it is nothing short of a small masterpiece."
SoCal.com
“The Wanting” takes the audience for quite a wild ride. Director and choreographer Janet Roston blends the musical and dance performances seamlessly...it offers a music/dance/theatre experience like nothing else you will see in Los Angeles this season."
DanceHelp.com |
Walk'n Thru the Fire
Hayworth Theater
Director/Choreographer |
John DiFusco, creator of "Tracers", and four talented actors share the touchstones and lessons of his life with appealing brio. Equal parts memory play and cauterizing ritual, this absorbing autobiographical piece reflects DiFusco's lifelong search for meaning. Under the smooth direction of Janet Roston and Che'Rae Adams, "Walk'n" dives into what he's learned with passion, grace and humor. As sparely elegant as the pantheistic shrine that centers the set.
Los Angeles Times
Thanks to an exquisitely written script, coupled with the imaginative, tight direction of Janet Roston and Che'Rae Adams, what could easily become an exercise in self-indulgence becomes a riveting journey incorporating poetry humor, music and movement.
Santa Monica Mirror
An inner and personal journey...the play explores different kind of worship, from stunning Native American ritual to Tai Chi. Staged and directed with intuitive grace and spare elegance by Janet Roston and Che'Rae Adams.
Curtain Up
Co-Directors Janet Roston and Che'Rae Adams frame a spiritual quest...with rich theatrical imagery.
Back Stage
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Once On This Island
International City Theater
NAACP Award NomineeNamed one of the Best New Plays in the L.A. Weekly by Steven Mikulan, NAACP Nomination
Choreographer
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Janet Roston's lithe, folk-flavored choreography convulses the stage, particularly an elegant ball that Ti Moune turns into a liberating dance fever.
Los Angeles Times
Flaherty's music matches up equally well with choreography by Janet Roston that has an authentically primitive look whether joyous, savage or – as in one key scene at the Beauxhommes’ formal ball – a delicate, graceful dance by Ti Moune that evolves into uninhibited moves backed by a driving, insistent rhythm.
The Orange County Register
The multi-talented performers are equally adept at dancing, and Roston’s high-octane choreography is as integral to the story as the lyrics.
Daily Breeze |
A…My Name is Alice
International City Theater
Choreographer
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A wonderfully entertaining piece of live theater comes to the Center Theater…all elements come together to make this an outstanding production. Choreographer Janet Roston builds on the strengths of each of her cast members giving the show a wonderful look.
Press-Telegram |
Avenue X
Odyssey Theater
Ovation Award Nominee
Winner Drama-Logue Award, Best Choreography
Choreographer
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Viscerally entertaining and musically inventive Avenue X is a feast for the ears... Musical staging by Janet Roston is excellent.
Drama-Logue
Janet Roston’s clever choreography adds flair to this enthralling production.
Back Stage West |
Hair
Helioptrope Theater
Choreographer
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The sheer gusto and simple precision of Janet Roston’s choreography activates the proceedings even further. They seem to know that love, peace and happiness are not just the themes of the play, they’re, more importantly, the feelings.
Los Angeles Theater and Entertainment Review
This cast projects an air of late ‘60’s spontaneity that belies their strength. Under the guidance of choreographer Janet Roston they hit their marks with precision and exuberance. Roston’s dances make imaginative use of the large platform across the back of the stage, with dance occasionally expanding into the audience.
Los Angeles Times |
Partners
Matrix Theater
Choreographer
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The production has a modern look thanks to Janet Roston’s bright choreography…Roston’s choreography enables Hinton Battle to become ballistic as he shoots across the stage, bringing fun and energy to the show.
Daily Variety
A dandy little musical, Partners, arrives at the Matrix Theater. Janet Roston’s choreography is first-rate. With nothing more than three chairs and an office desk the dance numbers are splashy and inventive.
Daily News |
Tracers
Odyssey Theater
Choreographer
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If you’re looking for a definition of theatrical ensemble, here it is – a living entity with all members sound, a body with all its parts but no “star”…true ensemble requires excellence from it’s production team…Janet Roston’s fine choreography, featuring fights and a t’ai chi/yoga session is first rate.
Back Stage West |
Lorna Mae Takes a Walk
Hollywood Playhouse
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At the Hollywood Playhouse nine choreographers from film, TV, dance-video and musicals present new pieces ….several choreographers overturn commercial-dance clichès. . For instance, Janet Roston’s “Lorna Mae Takes a Walk” focuses on the disgust of a restless young woman who discovers too late that she hates being a babe.
Los Angeles Times |
The Tanjore Project
Dance Spectrum
Ivar Theater
Winner, Muse Award for
Outstanding Choreography
Palm Desert
Choreography Festival
Choreographer
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There’s a special art to getting noticed and remembered on a program of short pieces by many choreographers…clarity of purpose is a must…the trick to being memorable may lie in projecting a singe high-profile concept…as in the juxtaposition of antique Barat Natyam from India with contemporary hip-hop and jazz dancing in Janet Roston’s The Tanjore Project.
Los Angeles Times |