Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Free Shakespeare in the park is a construct to be cherished. Companies like the Independent Shakespeare Company, who performs in Griffith Park throughout the summers, expose Shakespeare to those not usually concerned with classical theater, broadening culture to the masses. Read more…
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze As the 20th century sped along and barreled into the 21st, people found more and more opportunities available to them. But choices have consequences, and we might not like all of them. Read more… Now running through September 3
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This cheery, lightweight musical — conceived by Rebecca Feldman, with a book by Rachel Scheinkin, and music and lyrics by William Finn (Falsettos, Falsettoland) — has a proven track-record as a crowd pleaser. Read more… Now running through August 21
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw As a film, Baby Doll was a little too racy for segments of America when it premiered in 1956. Its poster featured a scantily clad (by that era’s standards) young woman in a slip, curled up in a crib, sucking her thumb. Directed by Elia Kazan from a screenplay by Tennessee Williams … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Lorraine Hansberry is securely enshrined as an important black playwright, but what few people remember nowadays is that she was also a lovely young woman, with gamin charm and an impish sense of humor. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze “What happens to a dream deferred?” asked Langston Hughes … Read more
Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw There was a time when gas was eleven cents a gallon, a new car might run you a thousand dollars, average wages were under two thousand dollars a year, and thousands of unsuspecting American citizens deemed unfit and undesirable were forcibly sterilized by the government, with the full aid … Read more
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA In the grand scheme of things, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is only as good as its cast, and Sierra Madre has that nailed with a terrific ensemble who enliven William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s amusing take on competition among the young. Read more… Now running through August 21
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Ellen McLaughlin’s Ajax in Iraq is a bruising play, an often painful-to-watch drama that serves as a reminder of the toll war takes on body, mind and spirit. Read more… Now running through August 14