Three Views of the Same Objectby Henry Murray. Sharon Perlmutter – TalkinBroadway.com It’s a play about aging—Stop! Wait! Don’t turn away! It’s an honest, frank-and-sometimes-funny look at people making difficult life decisions at a time of life when their conversation focuses…
Encounter by Aparna Sindhoor, Anil Natyaveda, and S M Raju. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA The wisdom of the adage “Show, don’t tell” quickly becomes apparent in this dance-theater piece. And symbolic “showing” can be even more evocative than realism, which may explain why the…
The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez andMatt Stone. David C. Nichols – Backstage With a subversive chortle and a heart bigger than the Great Salt Lake, The Book of Mormon hits Los Angeles and triumphantly becomes the hottest attraction in town. The…
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced that its awards for qualifying year 2012 will be held on Monday evening, March 18, 2013, at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 South Spring St. in downtown Los Angeles. In addition, the Circle’s invitation-only nominees’ reception will…
Euripides’ Helen, by adapted by Nick Salamone. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA Nick Salamone is most gracious in crediting Euripides as the writer here, merely listing himself as adaptor. He has riffed on the Greek tragicomedy original, working with historical plot and characters but blending in elements…
Natalie Portman, the Musical! Book and lyrics by Brittany Garms, music by Frankie Marrone and Tara Pitt. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA “What were they thinking?”That’s the polite form of the question critics ask rhetorically when theater productions don’t work. Fortunately regarding this production, the answer is…
Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA The quality of this production is undoubtable. Much thought and skill and time have gone into the onstage product. But whether director Terri Hanauer and her duet of fine actors ring all the possible tones in Donald…
Silence! The Musical by Jon and Al Kaplan (music and lyrics) and Hunter Bell (book). David C. Nichols — Backstage The impending Book of Mormonnotwithstanding, it’s unlikely that Angelenos will see anything more scabrous or ham’s-holiday funny than Silence! The Musical at the Hayworth Theatre. This “unauthorized parody” of the Oscar-winning…
Focus Group Play by Carrie Barrett. David C. Nichols — L.A. Times The working title says it all in Focus Group Play. Carrie Barrett’s dark-tinged satire of nutritional marketing research gone awry skewers corporate product testing with agreeable, albeit predigested gusto. Read more…
The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, adapted by Dave Barton. Mayank Keshaviah – LA Weekly In pre-19th century plays, the language, culture and norms are far enough removed from their modern equivalents that only proper adaptation and direction foster true understanding. With Middleton and Rowley’s Jacobean tragedy, Dave…