David C. Nichols – LA Times A skirmish of wit attends “Much Ado About Nothing” in Griffith Park, and it proves a notable argument. Independent Shakespeare Company concludes its summer season with an agreeably quirky, riotously funny take on the Bard’s evergreen romantic comedy. Read more… Now running through August 30.
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA Media exposure to the tumult in evangelical mega-churches brought about by the clash of money, power, and ego makes David Rambo’s 1999 cautionary tale a familiar story to modern audiences. The examination of faith, conscience, and ambition is great fodder for drama. Read more… Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. Writer-director … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Since it premiered in 1992, Frank McGuinness’ “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” hasn’t lost its plausibility. It takes place in a windowless cell in Lebanon, where three men of differing nationalities are held hostage. Read more… Now running through Sept. 2.
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Country Music Hall of Famer Patsy Cline was celebrated not only for her melodic voice and versatile repertoire but for her warmth, humility and readiness to promote the careers of others, especially women. Read more… Now running through September 27.
Jenny Lower – LA Weekly In All American Girl, a world premiere from InterACT Theatre Company, radical Islam doesn’t take hold of its main character’s life all at once. For Katie, or Karima, as she comes to be known, Islam follows a conservative Christian upbringing, volunteer work in Boston’s slum-poor Dorchester neighborhood, and a stint at … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw I listen to a lot of country music (Charlie Louvin on the turntable at the moment), though for the most part I cannot abide what plays under that pretense on the radio. Most of that seems irretrievably suburban, though one imagines that’s what become of most of the actual countryside … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Thank goodness we’re not living in the 1960s, when racism was at a peak, women were shamed for being overweight, and men with poofy lacquered hair and big mouths grabbed huge TV ratings. Read more… Now running through August 16.
Bob Verini – Stage Raw A modest variation on Noises Off with a hat tip to the musical Mystery of Edwin Drood, Khai Dattoli’s Off Book seemed to inspire considerable mirth in the small but indomitable crowd at the Secret Rose Theater on a recent Friday evening. I wish I could have shared more of that mirth, but I want … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw There’s an old superstition that an empty theater should never be left dark – hence the term ghost light, referring to the solitary light that illuminates the house after everyone’s gone home. Read more… Now running through August 27.
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw Citizen: An American Lyric by poet Claudia Rankine, was published to great acclaim last year, winning the National Book Critics Circle Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize for poetry. In this theatrical realization, it represents an uniquely valuable tool not merely for a keener awareness of the ubiquity of everyday … Read more