LADCC Critics 
Philip Brandes – Stage Raw A rowdy, bawdy, over-the-top production of the Off-Broadway hit spoofing Bram Stoker’s seminal 1897 gothic horror novel. Imagine a theatrical love child between Charles Ludlum’s flamboyant gender-bent, cross-dressing antics and Mel Brooks’s spot-on genre parodies and you’ve got the general idea. Best of all, it doesn’t suck. Read more…
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Anyone who’s been privy to my usual grumblings concerning the dated nature of traditional musical comedy as opposed to the innovation of contemporary musical theatre will appreciate my excitement about David Lindsay-Abaire’s multiple-Tony-winning 2021 musical adaptation of his also award-winning play. To me, it’s the quintessential paradigm of how such … Read more
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw As for the production itself, director/choreographer Jeremy Lucas and a vigorous cast remind us of why Rent remains an important theatrical milestone, even after the shadow of AIDS has been largely dispelled by life-saving medical advances. Read more… Harker Jones – BroadwayWorld The Jaxx Theatre is an intimate location, … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA As the most important and scary election in our lifetime looms ahead of us, what this British import beautifully delivers in spite of some theatrical shortcomings is a reminder of how urgently we all, like playwright Dave Johns’ goodhearted workingclass Everyman hero, need to join together to lift one another … Read more
Terry Morgan – ArtsBeatLA Message plays are a pillar of western theater. Our entire theatrical ecosystem is unthinkable without works such as Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House or Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, to name but a few. It’s part of how theater uses its micro lens to examine the macro … Read more
Dana Martin – Stage Raw Guys and Dolls lands firmly in the entertainment and nostalgia categories and it a prime example of the golden age of American Musical. First produced on Broadway in 1950, the story and characters are full of wit and humor. The story itself is most definitely outdated and a relic of … Read more
Patrick Chavis – The Orange Curtain Review Right in time for spookiest season of the year, South Coast Repertory’s Little Shop of Horrors brings back the smooth-talking Audrey 2, aka the houseplant with an agenda and puppetry that made this reviewer look like Audrey 2 more than a couple of times. What I’m trying to … Read more
Patrick Chavis – The Orange Curtain Review Marya Mazor directed Gloria, which is now at the Chance Theater. It is a sharp and witty exploration of the dark side of the publishing industry with an even darker comedic edge. Read more…
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw As for the production itself, director/choreographer Jeremy Lucas and a vigorous cast remind us of why Rent remains an important theatrical milestone, even after the shadow of AIDS has been largely dispelled by life-saving medical advances. Read more… Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA To discover that the Taper would … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Just in time for Halloween, this gothic rock “popera” has taken over the ground floor of the historic space adjacent to the Bourbon Room on Hollywood Boulevard and transformed it into a mad gothic nightclub. It’s the quintessential place to give revelers past the trick or treating and school carnival … Read more