LADCC Critics 
Pauline Adamek – ArtsbeatLA Four monologues written by diseuse Ruth Draper are brilliantly performed by Annette Bening as a 90-minute one act evening of entertainment. This new show at the Geffen begins nicely enough, with a couple of odd character pieces. The first is a slightly bizarre speech and movement class and lesson “in Greek … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA Jason Chimonides’s three-hander The Optimistdeveloped something of a reputation back east in 2008 and has gotten quite a few stagings around the country since, probably not least because it is an affordable piece that offers meaty roles for three attractive 20-somethings. The West Coast premiere at Elephant Stages has corralled … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA Trey Nichols’ long one-act begins reasonably enough with two men, Eddie (Luke Baybak) and Moe (Tony Williams), arriving in the bleachers for a high-school football game in which their sons are playing. They talk about the beautiful fall weather, and reminisce about how long they’ve been coming to these games: six … Read more
Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter In the real world, does integrity merely consist of managing to compromise just enough to get what you desire, while permitting yourself not to feel compromised? So the Devil rather persuasively argues in this often pointed, intricately conceived set of nested Matryoshka dolls depicting three different epochs, each worthy … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times You may have seen your share of makeovers, but nothing like the one Sheila Callaghan inflicts on her heroine in “Everything You Touch,” her lushly written dark comedy world-premiering at Boston Court Performing Arts Center. Read more… Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Sheila Callaghan’s compelling play examines the dysfunctional dynamic between … Read more
David C. Nichols – LA Times Social commentary, familial relationships and quantum theory collide in “Time and the Conways” at the Old Globe, and the results are as formidable as they are engrossing. If any doubts remained that J.B. Priestley was one of the most insightful British dramatists of the 20th century, this translucent revival of … Read more
Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter As long as I have attended the theater, I have been an adherent of Peter Brook and for nearly 50 years have never missed any available opportunity to experience his work. Since he split his over 70-year career between London and Paris, that has meant for me only those … Read more
BobVerini – Arts In LA The premise of Benjamin Brand’s Taste, as the management of Sacred Fools Theater Company has been unabashedly eager to trumpet in preopening publicity, is a compact made between two men to meet for dinner, at which the guest is to be killed, butchered, cooked, and eaten by the host in what … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Papers As you take your seat in the Carpenter Center, the first thing you notice is the curtain has been raised. The bare stage is dark and there is no scenery — only a grand piano, plus empty chairs and music stands silhouetted against a royal blue backlight. Then the musicians … Read more
A marvelous time was had by all who attended the 45th Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards event. A group of professional theater critics, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC), annually gives awards for excellence in theater. The 45th Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony took place on Monday, March 17, 2014 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, and … Read more