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Archive for February 2018 – Page 2

THE IMPOSTER – New Guard Theatre Company at Atwater Village Theatre

Garrett Coffey

Garrett Coffey

Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw

This adaptation of Moliere’s Tartuffe abridges Richard Wilbur’s translation to a succinct 90 minutes and transforms a witty satire into a heated ballast-filled melodrama.
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Now running through February 28

 

 

SWEET VALLEY GROUNDLINGS at the Groundlings Theatre

Photo courtesy of The Groundlings

Photo courtesy of The Groundlings

Jenny Lower – Stage Raw

This latest outing from The Groundlings’ main company earns a respectable B. Directed by Kevin Kirkpatrick, the show at its best moments delivers the comedic goods, with writing that’s fresh, taut and clever, and performances of disciplined zaniness. In its weaker moments, ill-conceived sketches peter out or linger too long, leaving a whiff of self-indulgence.
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Now running through April 14

DESSA ROSE – The Chromolume Theatre at the Attic

James Esposito

James Esposito

Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw

This 2005 musical, here receiving its Los Angeles premiere, was written by Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music), based on the novel by Sherley Anne Williams. It’s set in the American South in 1847 and deals with two strong-minded, volatile women.
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Rob Stevens – Haines His Way

The 2005 off-Broadway Dessa Rose, a little gem of a musical by the team of Ahrens & Flaherty (Once on This Island, Ragtime), is getting a strong production by the Chromolume Theatre in its Los Angeles debut.
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Now running through February 25

ELLIOT: A SOLDIER’S FUGUE at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

Craig Schwartz

Craig Schwartz

Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly

The first play in a three-part trilogy, Elliot: A Soldier’s Fugue delves into the experience of war for three generations of soldiers in a Puerto Rican–American family. Written by Quiara Alegría Hudes (who wrote the book for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights), it’s a lyrical exploration of the fear, bravado and bewilderment of lonely soldiers struggling to survive the dubious battles our country has waged over the last seven decades.
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Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen

“Fugue” is a musical term, defined as a piece in which a melody is introduced by one voice, mimicked by others, and continues on by interweaving those parts. Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 and written by Quiara Alegría Hudes as the first installment in her Elliot Trilogy, opened this weekend at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre.
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Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw

For so long, stories about war have belonged to men. Traditionally, military tales have been about men and told by men. Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, now playing at the Kirk Douglas in Culver City, shifts these paradigms slightly.
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Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review

What happens when a young man joins the service as his father and grandfather before him did? Over the course of our national narrative, particularly over the last century, this has been a recognized, even celebrated legacy.
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Now running through February 25

THE BRICK: A ONE MAN MUSICAL at the Whitefire Theatre

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Ellen Dostal – Broadway World

In Bill Berry’s solo show THE BRICK: A ONE MAN MUSICAL, Berry isn’t addressing the audience in a theater. He’s on a beach having a two-way conversation with his dead mother and we are the accidental eavesdroppers who witness their complicated relationship unfold piecemeal.
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SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE at South Coast Repertory

Paul David Story and Carmela Corbett in South Coast Repertory's 2018 production of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Terry Morgan  -  Talkin’ Broadway

These days, films are regularly being converted into musicals, some which actually benefit from the change. It’s rarer to see a film made into a dramatic play, perhaps because of the belief that there’s less box office profit to be had.
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The 1998 period romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love was an upset winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture of the year, leaving Stephen Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan floundering on the beaches of Hollywood.

Now running through February 10

THE CHINESE WALL at the Group Rep

Doug Engalla

Doug Engalla

Harker Jones – Edge on the Net

Kicking off the 44th season of the Group Rep, “The Chinese Wall” (originally “Die Chinesische Mauer”) was written as a satire (and warning) about world politics and the advent of the atomic bomb way back in 1946. Scarily, our current tumultuous and ridiculous political arena makes it even more relevant today.
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Now running through March 11

PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE at the Norris Theatre

Ed Krieger

Ed Krieger

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze

As we count the years, or lately the days, of the 21st century, what are we taking pride in? Are we already viewing the 20th century with nostalgia? And regret?
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Now running through February 4

THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM – 1963 at the Hudson Backstage

Jamal Y. Speakes Sr.

Jamal Y. Speakes Sr.

Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw

The Watsons of Flint, Michigan are an African-American family of five: dad Daniel (Marcus Clark-Oliver), mom Wiloma (Tiffany Coty), sons Byron (Javen Marquise Smith) and Kenny (Ken Ivey), and daughter Joetta (Victoria Elizabeth Newman). Byron is the family bad boy and the despair of his parents.
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Now running through February 25