Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw The sneaky, overworked phrase “friends with benefits” takes on new meaning in this watery comedy by Bathsheba Doran. Read more… Dany Margolies – L.A. Daily News Family has not changed since ancient times. Our perceptions of family have. Playwright Bathsheba Doran seems to celebrate this in her play “The Mystery … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw Padraic Duffy’s rather sweet romantic comedy — the premiere offering at Sacred Fools’ new home at the former Elephant Asylum complex — is a good workmanlike calling card to introduce the company’s style and tone to its new neighborhood. If the play ultimately strikes one as slight, it’s salvaged by … Read more
Don Shirley – L.A. Observed Two plays named after cities: “Barcelona” at the Geffen Playhouse and Rogue Machine’s production of “Pocatello” (in case that doesn’t ring a bell, its namesake is the fifth largest city in Idaho.) Which theatrical destination sounds more inviting? Well, “Barcelona” isn’t bad. But “Pocatello” pops.
Margaret Gray – LA Times Culture shock, like grief, progresses through distinct stages: There’s the honeymoon period, when an expatriate is enchanted by a new country. Bliss gives way to withdrawal and hostility, the adjustment and, ultimately, acceptance. This journey happens to have a pleasing narrative structure that works well onstage. Read more… Now running through … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw The upside to reinterpretations of classic works is a fresh look at how that art still speaks to us and remains vital. The downside produces Coriolanus on Mars. Read more.. Now running through April 10.
Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. In the debut of his solo vehicle, multi-talented James Mellon gives a crash course on his remarkable life, blending fascinating anecdotes and irresistible musical sequences. Read more… Now running through March 5.
David C. Nichols – LA Times At the outset of “Lear,” now receiving an austerely lunatic West Coast premiere at City Garage, a projected PBS-style host drolly relates the narrative of William Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy, up to Lear’s banishment and Gloucester’s blinding. Read more… Now running through March 13.
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw If you google the town of Pocatello in Southwest Idaho, you’ll get images of dusty hills and a downtown whose architecture might have served as nostalgic backdrop for The Last Picture Show. The place is changing though; look long enough and you’ll see a shot of a Ross store as well, … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw A couple meet, fall in love and marry. But do Whitney and Jake live happily together forever and ever thereafter? Not in Dean Farell Bruggeman’s heart-wrenching drama they don’t. Read more… Now running through March 12.
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This play, by writer-director Paul S. Flores, sets out to examine the life of Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S., but it’s also part of an attempt to stop gang violence. It examines, among other things, the role of placas in gang life. (“Placas” is barrio slang for body tattoos that … Read more