Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze The individual elements may be among the best, but that’s not always sufficient to construct a worthy piece of theater. Take, for example, “Chasing Mem’ries,” subtitled “A Different Kind of Musical,” in its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse through Dec. 17. It boasts lyrics by Alan and Marilyn … Read more
Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw Director Linda Kerns and a spirited cast do an excellent job with this old “chestnut” by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. It’s rarely produced and tricky to stage successfully because of its dizzying carousel of characters and dated strain of humor. This production is a welcome addition to … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main In Yerma in the Desert, the desert is less an external place than the state of mind of the title character. Written by Oliver Mayer, the play is inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1934 classic Yerma, whose central character, the wife of a shepherd, is childless and unhappy.Read more… Now running … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze It’s Dec. 16 in the New Jersey home of Lou and Carol. Their daughter Pia has grown into a foul-mouthed, somewhat Goth adult, his younger sister Mona gets on his nerves, and Carol is just too amenable.Read more… Now running through December 11
Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw When thinking about prolific composer Stephen Sondheim’s canon, it’s easy to forget about A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It’s one of his early works, overshadowed by later shows like Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Company. But the easiest way to differentiate it is through its utter lack of … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania No one parodies the Great White Way like Gerard Alessandrini. For 35 years, he’s made audiences sidesplittingly laugh with his Forbidden Broadway series where, through song, he’s shattered the idols of Broadway like Ethel Merman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Mary Martin. In Spamilton, Alessandrini tightens his target to assassinate the biggest musical sensation of … Read more
Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw Mike Bartlett’s play King Charles III is, in many ways, a snapshot of an earlier era. Given that the whole thing is written in iambic pentameter, you might think it’s a throwback to Shakespeare’s time. Instead, it depicts an alternate history that diverged from our own in late 2015. This is a … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Rogue Machine, one of the theatre companies in town I most admire, has been promoting its new show, Ruth Fowler’s bled for the household truth, as something important and shocking, and warning that easily offended people may walk out at intermission. In my experience, having specific expectations for a play or … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This Cornerstone Production of Magic Fruit, written by Michael John Garces and directed by Shishir Kurup, is a dystopian fantasy, loosely based (oddly enough) on Mozart’s The Magic Flute. It asks the question, along with several others: Can we produce enough food to feed Earth’s ever-growing population without destroying the planet?Read more… … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw City Garage Theatre has been one of the more interesting companies in L.A., and their work has always been polished and professional. Director Frederique Michel and producer Charles Duncombe are good people. But over the years they have seemed to become more aggressively stylized in their work.Read more… Now running … Read more