Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw The distinguishing theatrical device in Archway Theatre’s is that all the performers appear in their undergarments — or rather, they appear costumed (by Sara Davenport) in undergarments suitable to the Victorian era roles they are assuming. Read more…
Don Shirley – LA Observed The end of summer approaches. Have you seen any alfresco theater this year? Fortunately, the 299-seat Theatricum Botanicum keeps its expansive stage busy from the first week of June through the first weekend of October, in Topanga Canyon. That’s twice as long as the Old Globe’s outdoor season in San … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical tackles a subject that many regarded as inimical to the musical format: mental illness and its effect on a family. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Next to Normal is a contemporary musical in many ways. First produced in 2008, its … Read more
Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw So what do an ostentatious transsexual, a sassy Blaxploitation film star and a bitter washed up TV actress all have in common? Norma Desmond! Read more… Now running through September 25
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw What is to be done with the prodigals and the fuckups, those we love in spite of logic, those who will likely never change but instead haunt us for the rest of our lives? Everybody knows someone like this, and it’s heartbreaking not knowing what to do. Wendy Graf’s Please Don’t … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times From the title of Jerry Lieblich’s play “D Deb Debbie Deborah,” I was ready for an exploration of the fluidity of identity, perhaps at different stages of a woman’s life. But in this West Coast premiere at Theatre of Note in Hollywood, the blurring of selfhood cuts a lot deeper than … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Conventional wisdom says laughter is the best medicine. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum fills prescriptions in generous supply with its production of Molière’s “The Imaginary Invalid,” adapted by Constance Congdon. But beware: In doing so, it raises quite a stink. Read more… Now running through October 2
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw The Victorian Era operettas of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan are almost unique in the theatrical canon in that sometimes talent is not as important to a production’s success as gusto and enthusiasm. Read more… Now running through August 28
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw In the last few years, musician Hershey Felder has used his multiple talents — as writer, actor, singer, virtuoso pianist and general raconteur — to create a memorable series of portraits of major figures in the music world, including George Gershwin, Fredric Chopin, Ludwig Beethoven, Franz Liszt and Irving Berlin. Read … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main Most Americans have limited knowledge of the history and hardships of ethnic groups and nationalities outside their own (despite the best efforts of progressive educators in some of our urban schools to have it otherwise). With As Straw Before the Wind, Filipino-American playwright Felix Racelis aims to fill some of the … Read more