City of Angels is a musical comedy which tells two stories. One is set in the real (colourful) world of the 1940s which chronicles the misadventures of Stine, a novelist, as he attempts to write a screenplay for a detective movie. Meanwhile, in parallel, the 'reel' world (in black and white) of the movie plays out on stage with the fictional characters with much of the storyline being influenced by events in the real world.

Beyond the superb performances of the all-star cast, I loved this musical for the beautiful creative synergy of direction, set design, costume, makeup and lighting. The fifth photo in this gallery is a perfect example of this - the (colourful) real world is portrayed alongside the ('black and white') movie world - all accomplished with clever use of set, lighting, costume and makeup.

Reviews: Simon Paris: Man In Chair | Herald Sun | Stage Whispers | Theatre People | AussieTheatre | ArtsHub