LADCC Critics 
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw One of the hallowed maxims of writing teachers everywhere is: “Show, don’t tell.” Simply put, the actual experience of a thing is much more effective than simply hearing about it. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule (Swimming to Cambodia comes to mind), but it’s a solid one to follow … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Just what does it mean to be human? Are men and women merely the sum of our neurons and biological processes, or is there a spiritual force that drives our actions, one that empirical science needs to acknowledge? That question has preoccupied playwright Matt Chait for some time, and in A … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times As a punctuation nerd, I may be reading too much into the parentheses in “Culture Clash (Still) in America,” the satiric troupe’s latest anthology of sketches at South Coast Repertory.Read more… Now running through January 20
Harker Jones – Arts In LA After showcasing cheeky musical adaptations of films as diverse as Bridesmaids, Jurassic Park, and Hocus Pocus, Rockwell Table & Stage is back with a seasonal story that has enchanted audiences for 28 years. Tim Burton’s 1990 film Edward Scissorhands is an enduring classic that all misfits identify with—and we’ve … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw The Brontë sisters were part of a talented, tightknit family whose contributions to the canon of English literature included Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, by Charlotte and Emily respectively. Tragically, none of the siblings lived long; Charlotte died at 38, surviving her brother and four sisters, none of whom made it past 30.Read more… … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld What would Christmas in LA be without the Troubies? A lot less funny. Happily, artistic director, writer, and head jokester Matt “Mashup” Walker and his coterie of clowns aren’t about to let anyone down. Not only are they back with their seventeenth annual holiday show, they’re proving just how smart they … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld The countdown to Christmas begins and ends with an all-out love blitz this year in For the Record’s latest world premiere, LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE, a hybrid entertainment that blends scenes from Richard Curtis‘ 2003 film Love Actually with live performances of the movie’s soundtrack. Co-produced by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily News Sure, “Dixie’s Tupperware Party” keeps its audience amused. The show also educates, teaching us a bit about the history of Tupperware and the woman, Brownie Wise, who invented the Tupperware party. But mostly, at least if you’re interested in comedy as an art form, this solo show is mighty … Read more
Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Around this time of year, productions of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol are a dime a dozen, but none is quite like the moody, spooky version currently running at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.Read more… Now running through December 16
Margaret Gray – LA Times The eponymous, fictional Kansas City rock band in Stefan Marks’ new play, “Middle8,” now at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, almost made it big — 20-some years ago. Now losing their hair, paunchy, slogging away at ordinary jobs to support ordinary families, the five of them are still haunted … Read more