LADCC Critics 
Bob Verini – ArtsInLA The first extended run of the tuner A Man of No Importance is a matter of some importance, as it inaugurates—in this era of folding companies and theaters in transit—a new enterprise: the Good People Theater Company, under the direction of the gifted veteran stager-choreographer Janet Miller. Taking on the countervailing winds (money … Read more
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA It’s not every day you get to be heavyweight champion of the world—for a professional sportsman it’s a once in a lifetime event, at least the first time is… In 1964, at the tender age of 22, boxing legend Cassius Clay (soon thereafter known as Muhammad Ali) ascended to the pinnacle … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb for the Gazette Newspapers Unless you’ve been lost in the desert for the last five decades, you’ve undoubtedly heard of “Little Shop of Horrors.” Originally produced circa 1960 by the infamous Roger Corman, this black-and-white film has become a cult classic that is still going strong.Read more…
Melinda Schupman – ArtsInLA Sarah Ruhl’s slightly daffy but contemplative play takes a shot at our cell phone culture while examining human connections and the nature of love. Jean (Alina Phelan) is sitting in a cafe, ostensibly working on something, when a cell phone at the next table rings over and over, interrupting her concentration. … Read more
Mayank Keshaviak – LA Weekly Bottom is the tops in New American Theatre’s take on the classic tale of love and mischief, here set in 1930s Greece. Director and company founder Jack Stehlin brings energy and cheeky wit to the character of Nick Bottom by fully exploring the hills and valleys of Shakespeare’s linguistic landscape.Read … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Writer-performer Jozanne Marie’s intense solo show encompasses the wrongs done to three generations of women — her grandmother, her mother and herself — but its primary motif is her struggle for a relationship with her sexually abusive father, whose approval she sought despite his pernicious assaults. Read more…
Les Spindle – LA Stage Times Dámaso Rodriguez, who has served as co-founding artistic director for LA’s ever-adventurous Furious Theatre Company since its origin in 2002, is helming his last LA production before he relocates to Portland, Oregon. He recently began his new job as artistic director for that city’s distinguished professional group, Artists Repertory … Read more
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE – Music by Ben Toth, lyrics by Sam Forman. Hoyt Hilsman – Huffington Post After a long journey from the screen to the musical stage – which included numerous comings-and-goings of composer/lyricist teams – the Sleepless in Seattle musical has arrived at the Pasadena Playhouse. It is a huge challenge to adapt … Read more
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS – music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson Les Spindle – Edge Los Angeles The 2010 musical “The Scottsboro Boys” now in its L.A. premiere, is among the most innovative and thrilling shows to have graced Broadway in recent years, justifiably earning 12 Tony nominations. Yet it lost … Read more
PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT by Stephan Elliott Bob Verini – ArtsinLA Anyone who thinks national tours are always done on the cheap need only take a quick gander at the Pantages’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the musical version of the 1994 cult cineclassic whose title begins The Adventures of….Read more…