HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING at the James Armstrong Theatre

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Picture an organization of white men, led by those who don’t exactly function on the highest ethical standards. They hire based on similarities to themselves. They’re served by a platoon of women, yet the men need to be taught how to speak to and behave with the women. The … Read more

YELLOW FACE at the Beverly Hills Playhouse

Frances Baum Nicholson – The Daily Breeze When Rachel Dolezal was forced to step down from the presidency of the local branch of the NAACP in Spokane, Wash., in 2015 because she was not (as she had claimed) African-American, it spurred a debate on the nature of race and cultural appropriation which was long past … Read more

SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM at the Odyssey Theatre

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Apparently the songs of composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim are not failsafe. He’s the genius behind some of the last century’s and some of this one’s best musicals. Some of his early songs are showcased in the revue titled “Side by Side by Sondheim,” currently at the Odyssey in West Los … Read more

SHINING CITY at the Hudson Guild Theatre

Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Irish playwright Colin McPherson explores the dark hollows of the human psyche in this penetrating drama. A sad, intensely human story, the play speaks knowingly to the guilt, regret and unfulfilled desires that dwell within many of us.Read more… Now running through August 26

TITUS ANDRONICUS in Griffith Park

Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld TITUS ANDRONICUS is one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedies. Characters are stabbed, beheaded, mutilated, raped, baked in a pie, and one is even buried up to his neck and left to die. At first glance it may not sound like an obvious choice for families who attend the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare … Read more

WAITRESS at the Pantages Theatre

Erin Conley – On Stage and Screen You cannot walk five feet in the Pantages Theatre without encountering a bunch of mini pies for sale, perfectly setting the scene for Waitress, the hit Broadway musical that opened in Los Angeles for the first time last night. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way In 2007 writer/director/actress … Read more

BEETHOVEN at the Wallis Annenberg Center

Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw Actor/writer/musician/producer/designer/musicologist Hershey Felder is about as close as they come to a modern Renaissance man. He has racked up an impressive array of musical biographies — one-man shows in which he plays noted composers. But this time there’s a difference. As narrator, Felder portrays not Beethoven but his friend and … Read more

THE MOTHER-F**KER WITH THE HAT at the Gloria Gifford Conservancy

Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw Plays about broken people dealing with issues of addiction, violence, and toxic sexuality are legion, but they don’t always translate into provocative and humorous theater. Both qualities are found in this dour comedy by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright .Read more… Now running through August 26

SCREWBALL COMEDY at Theatre 40

Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review The classic screwball comedy films of the 1930s and 40s have remained popular from that time on because of four basic elements: the ridiculousness of the essential storyline, the crisp and evocative dialogue, the quality of and apt casting of the performers, and timing – always the fast-paced, … Read more