LADCC Critics 
Bob Verini – Arts In LA The pleasures of solid musical comedy craftsmanship are amply on display in 3D Theatricals’s fine production of Damn Yankees. Alan Souza’s staging has its excesses and blind spots, but they result from good intentions rather than bad taste. Everything that matters, this show gets right. Read more… Now playing through August … Read more
Dany Margolies – Daily Breeze Let’s be clear from the outset: The one-woman show “I Married a Neanderthal and Other Modern Problems” does not bash men. It gently ribs them, but, hey, who can’t take a little ribbing? And Honey Buczkowski, the life coach who hosts this show, er, coaching session, did not marry a … Read more
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA With gusto, this musical taps into the rock ’n’ roll’ 50s and examines the backstory of this seminal artist. Like the legends of James Dean and others who died tragically and very young, Buddy Holly’s has achieved almost mythic proportions. Read more… Now playing through August 10.
David C. Nichols – LA Times “Your – whaddyacallit – your world view? It ain’t mine. And the day it is, that’s the day I shoot myself in the head. I didn’t get clean to live like that.” That statement suggests the gravitas that drives the scabrous hilarity of “The Mother… With the Hat” at … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw A playwright and a well-regarded translator and adapter of Moliere’s work, Freyda Thomas found inspiration for her The Gamester in Le Joueur, a late 17th century play by Jean-Francois Regnard. Read more… Now playing through August 24.
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Is it sexual abuse when one of the participants experienced it as a love affair? Or does that merely make it more abusive? This is just one of the disturbing and provocative questions that emerge from Neil LaBute’s gripping three-character play. It is, as the playwright has observed, his most … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw The current production of Tennessee Williams’s classic A Streetcar Named Desire by The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre is a pleasant surprise, a robust take on the material that features a strong ensemble, an outstanding Blanche, and smart direction that brings the material to vibrant life. Read more… Now playing through … Read more
Steven Leigh Morris – Stage Raw That David Melville should bring La Dolce Vita into his family-friendly outdoor staging of Shakespeare’s knotty Italian comedy makes sense. Italian comedies of the 1960s are no less dodgy, regarding their sexual politics, than the amused brutality towards a defiant spouse found in Taming of the Shrew’s central story. Independent-minded, embittered Katherine (Melissa … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw In addition to the two-show schedule Rogue Machine generally runs, the company also does things such as their late-night “Off The Clock” productions. Daphne Malfitano’s Paternus is the latest entry in this series, and while it’s enjoyable for its strong acting and some good writing, its structure is flawed and it’s too … Read more
Les Spindle – Edge on the Net Thanks to fans of iconic movie star Doris Day, this past April felt like a month-long Day-fest in cyberspace, as postings about the reclusive performer’s unexpected appearance at her 90th birthday celebration flooded social media for several weeks. Ardent admirers of the beloved film and TV luminary aren’t … Read more