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THE RUFFIAN ON THE STAIR, Hick Street Productions at the LGBT Center

Noah Torjesen
July 14, 2019Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Joe Orton was only 34 when he was bludgeoned to death by Kennegth Halliwell, his jealous lover and one-time writing partner. Halliwell envied Orton’s newfound celebrity as an up-and-coming playwright, launched after the BBC aired The Ruffian on the Stair as a radio play in 1964. Read more… Now running
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SCRAPS at the Matrix Theatre

I.C. Rapoport
July 14, 2019Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Geraldine Inoa’s incisive character-rich drama, directed by Stevie Walker-Webb at the Matrix Theatre, examines the impact of institutional racism on a group of young people in the aftermath of their friend’s murder by police. The off-beat title is a reference to the origin of African-American soul food, prepared by slaves
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THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at the Ahmanson Theatre

Jeremy Daniel
July 14, 2019Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen The tone for the farce that is The Play That Goes Wrong is set long before the curtain rises. Frazzled cast members wander the audience, asking questions such as if anyone has a dog they can borrow for the second act, as others attempt to fix the constantly malfunctioning set.
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THE PRODUCERS at Celebration Theatre

Matthew Brian Denman
July 4, 2019Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw I’ve always admired Celebration Theatre for its expert staging of technically demanding plays in tiny venues. The company’s musical productions — last year’s Cabaret, the Boy from Oz (2016)and Women of Brewster Place, the Musical (2010) — have been especially impressive. Now comes The Producers, Mel Brooks’s wacky stereotype-laden show about an
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WAIT UNTIL DARK at the Loft Ensemble

Victoria Anne Greenwood
July 4, 2019Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw Frederick Knott’s edgy thriller was first performed on Broadway back in 1966 and ran for 373 performances. It’s had many stage revivals, not to mention the well-touted film version that starred the talented Audrey Hepburn, along with Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna. In short, this “slow-burn” thriller has been
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GOOD BOYS at the Pasadena Playhouse

Jenny Graham
July 4, 2019Terry Morgan  -  Stage Raw When, in 2008,  premiered Good Men and True, his tale of privileged young prep school students acting badly, it certainly wasn’t new or surprising — this sort of pernicious behavior has gone on for generations. But the obnoxious, beer-relishing example of Brett Kavanaugh brought entitled, smug white men back into
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DEATH OF A SALESMAN at the Ruskin Group Theatre

Ed Krieger
June 29, 2019Jonas Schwartz – Broadway World DEATH OF A SALESMAN, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Arthur Miller, is the American Hamlet for actors of a certain age. Its protagonist is a complex, frighteningly bare role, that provides an acting challenge relished by the greats. Rob Morrow, best known for Robert Redford’s QUIZ SHOW and the quirky
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Archive for Kristin Towers-Rowles

NUNSENSE at Crown City Theatre

By LADCC critics · Comments (0)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2015

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Neal Weaver – Stage Raw

If you’re looking for a fun holiday show that’s free of both sentimentality and Christmas propaganda, the folks at Crown City Theatre have obligingly provided one. Read more…

Now running through January 17.

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SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET at the El Portal

By LADCC critics · Comments (0)
Friday, April 17th, 2015

Sweeney 2

Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw

There’s such an assortment of riches in this stellar rendering of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s operatic musical that I can only begin by commending director Kristin Towers-Rowles. She’s brought together a superb ensemble, equally impressive musically and in dramatic performance. It’s an accomplishment all the more notable for being produced in such a small venue. Read more…

Now running through May 10.

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