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
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
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
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
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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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
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
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
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