LADCC Critics 
Snapshot by Mitzi Sinnott. Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Mitzi Sinnott was not yet born when her African-American father was drafted to fight in Vietnam. Like many soldiers, he returned a shattered man haunted by guilt and unable to emotionally connect with his wife and daughter. First performed in 2004, Sinnott’s solo show juxtaposes family history and her experience as … Read more
Orange Flower Water by Craig Wright. Pauline Adamek – LA Weekly In Craig Wright’s 80-minute domestic drama, a pair of mid-western married couples face the dissolution of their respective marriages. David and Cathy Calhoun (Jeff Denton andLeslie Liberman) and Brad and Beth Youngquist (Mick Thyer and Sarah Ann Schultz) have been friends for a few years before David comes to the realization … Read more
Billy & Ray by Mike Bencivenga. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Boasting a superb clowny performance by Kevin Blake as Hollywood filmmaker Billy Wilder, Billy & Ray is a light comedy about the making of the groundbreaking motion picture Double Indemnity. Mike Bencivenga’s enjoyable new play is currently running at the Falcon Theatre in Toluca Lake. A producer at Paramount Studios, Joseph Sistrom (Anthony Starke), has just … Read more
Neverwhere by Robert Kauzlaric, adapted from the novel written by Neil Gaiman. Pauline Adamek – LA Weekly After assisting a distraught and injured woman named Door (Paula Rhodes), a milquetoast office worker named Richard (Bryan Bellomo) embarks on a journey that draws him into a fantastical subterranean world that lies beneath London. Neil Gaiman’s Wizard of Oz-esque story promises a … Read more
Dreamgirls by Tom Eyen andHenry Krieger. David C. Nichols – L.A. Times Reviewing the 1981 premiere of “Dreamgirls,” critic Frank Richwrote, “When Broadway history is being made, you can feel it.” To paraphrase him, when Equity-waiver history is being made, it can feel you. Read more…
The Nether by Jennifer Haley. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA A creepy, futuristic mystery drama, Jennifer Haley’s The Nether starts off in a grey interrogation room starkly lit by neon lighting, but soon gets very complicated indeed. It transpires that a man named Sims (Robert Joy) is being held for questioning regarding a virtual crime. That is to say, crimes that … Read more
A splendid time was had by all who attended the 44th 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 44th Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony took place Monday, March 18, 2013 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Downtown Los Angeles. Home-grown … Read more
Tribes by Nina Raine. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Intense and heartbreaking, Nina Raine’s drama Tribes is about a turbulent family and the one member who feels left out. A Bohemian British family consisting of a loud, domineering and profane writer father, a hippy mother, and three grown children — two sons and a daughter, who have all moved home — all … Read more
Master Class by Terrence McNally. David C. Nichols – L.A. Times It’s a softer-grained “Master Class” than usual in Long Beach, but just try to look away. Although more muted than some past editions, this adroit International City Theatre revival of Terrence McNally’s Tony-winning fantasia on Maria Callas’ life and art carries real immediacy and thematic point. Read more… Hoyt Hilsman – The Huffington Post Gigi … Read more
Mrs Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw. Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly George Bernard Shaw made his case for women’s lib in this 1894 play involving the contentious struggle between an assertive young feminist and her brothel-managing mom. Educated at Cambridge, Vivie (Rebecca Mozo) exemplifies a new breed of woman who loves her work and is lukewarm to … Read more