LADCC Critics 
Terry Morgan – ArtsBeatLA The phrase “for want of a horse” is most commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack from 1758, describing the cascading effect of how the absence of one small, necessary thing can affect many other, bigger things. The example of Richard III comes to mind, ready at the end to … Read more
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw The superb actors, many of whom have been with the Latino Theater Company for years, deliver on all levels, from the funny to the devastating. The ease of their long association is apparent in director José Luis Valenzuela’s staging, which establishes an authentic family dynamic of liveliness, humor, and … Read more
Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive The Robey Theatre Company’s production of Leslie Lee’s circa 1983 “Colored People’s Time, A History Play” recounts 100 years in the life of African Americans. Through a series of 13 vignettes presented more or less in chronological order, Lee traces the evolution of Blacks from the 1850s to the 1950s, … Read more
Harker Jones – BroadwayWorld The energy from the performers is infectious, translating to the audience, and even though there is a vein of wistfulness running through the night — the story is, after all, about searching for one’s home — it’s a pleasantly sweet pang of yearning. BACK TO OZ is a worthy entry in … Read more
Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive In “Master Harold”…and the Boys, which was set in 1950 and written circa 1982 when apartheid was still enforced in South Africa, playwright Athol Fugard seems to have dramatized Frantz Fanon’s theories about the psychological impact of racism and colonialism on the human mind. Through action, dialogue and character, Fugard, … Read more
Anita W. Harris – Long Beach Post Long Beach Playhouse executive director Madison Mooney recently said that “Harvey” is just the sort of play we need right now. And she’s right. If you are among those trading your smartphone for a flip phone, resisting ChatGPT and wondering where common decency went, “Harvey” is all that … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA While Jacques Heim’s internationally renowned company is famous for its gravity-defying feats, since it’s being performed in this eclectic private former warehouse studio, this production brings the audience literally within five feet of the action. With only 90 seats in the house, the massive yet somehow intimate black box setting … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Although people say the long-running 2023 Pulitzer-winning play, just opening for a too brief run at the Wallis, is being presented at a bad time, it’s something with which I could not disagree more strongly. This stunning masterwork lifts us from the discouragement and ugliness of the moment as it … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Although I have to admit Julie Shavers’ rather predictable tale of a Fourth of July family reunion in the rural Tennessee backyard of the miserable Moon family womenfolk covers absolutely no new ground, she breaths glorious life into the familiar convoluted goings-on with her unique knack for creating lovable—though suitably … Read more
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix The 4,000-year-old epic tale of Gilgamesh was brought to life last weekend in the form of a lush opera five years in the making. With culturally inflected orchestral music, a rich libretto in English and Akkadian, and an astounding cast of vocalists and dancers, “Gilgamesh: The Opera” mesmerized and … Read more