LADCC Critics 
Hearts Like Fists by Adam Szymkowicz. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA A chop-socky cartoon on stage, Hearts Like Fists, written by Adam Szymkowicz, is an action-packed adventure romance set in the surreal world of female crime-fighting superheroes. Nurses by day, skilled warriors by night, a band of ferocious and feisty femmesbattle the dastardly and elusive Dr. X and his deadly war against romance. Read … Read more
Pauline Adamek – LA Weekly Oft staged, Arthur Miller’s 1947 tragedy is a modern American classic for good reason; its powerful message endures. On the surface All My Sons is a slice of post WWII small town family life. Beneath that homespun layer lurk cold-hearted monsters. Read more…
Memphis by David Bryan(music and lyrics) and Joe DiPietro (lyrics and book). Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Kicking off with a frenetic pace that never lets up, Memphis is a high energy, original musical about the explosion of black musical artists into the mainstream during the late 1950s. Read more… Bob Verini – Variety The sleek, stylish Memphis exemplifies the Broadway show tour done very … Read more
Mutually Assured Destruction by Peter Lefcourt. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what is wrong with this play and production. The acting is good. The staging is fluid. The storyline is amusing. The French farce underpinnings give the show some energy. The central conceit is clever and well developed… So why doesn’t this play … Read more
The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol. Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA It’s petty to complain that the clever lines are so plentiful that we don’t have a moment to reflect on them, that the sight gags are too numerous to take in fully, and that the actors are so adept and in sync with [Stefan] Novinski’svision that we sometimes … Read more
Incident at Vichy by Arthur Miller. David C. Nichols – LA Times Resolute craft drives the cautionary content of Incident at Vichy at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Arthur Miller’s 1964 study of detainees in Nazi-occupied France isn’t exactly top tier, but when executed as intensely as this gripping revival, it might as well be. Read more…
West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim andArthur Laurents. David C. Nichols – LA Times It’s not just the exposure to countless editions of West Side Story that causes us to stagger dazed and elated from the Chance Theater. Less a revival than a whole-scale reinvention, this stunning chamber version of the landmark 1957 musical by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur … Read more
The Pianist Of Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek. Mayank Keshaviah – LA Weekly History is most powerful when we see the “all” through the small — the panorama of the textbook through the peephole of the personal. Acclaimed pianist Mona Golabek give us just that in sharing the story of her mother, Lisa Jura, a budding piano … Read more
Fluffy Bunnies in a Field of Daisies by Matt Chaffee. Mayank Keshaviah – LA Weekly “It’s not easy to say what this play is about. It’s not that kind of play,” says writer-director Matt Chaffee in the program notes, and he’s quite accurate in his assessment. What the play is about, he goes on to say, is “four friends … Read more
The Irish Curse by Martin Casella. Bob Verini – ArtsInLA As a dramatic event, Martin Casella’s The Irish Curse is a complete and utter contrivance. But within its rickety structure are some pungent, surprising observations on character delivered with a good deal of sincerity, and that’s not nothing. Read more…