Bad Apples by Jim Leonard.
Terry Morgan – LAist.com
Circle X Theatre Co. has been one of the best theatre companies in Los Angeles for fifteen years now. One thing the company has never lacked for is ambition, and this admirable quality is on display in their current world premiere, Bad Apples. It’s a musical concerning the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in 2003 and the people involved in it. Although a musical may not sound like the proper format to deal with this serious issue, playwright Jim Leonard and director John Langs use humor, irony and the directness of music to capture the emotional terrain and intellectual sweep of the history in a way that a straight drama might not encompass. It’s not a perfect show–it’s a bit long and has focus issues–but the vast majority of the play that does work is nervy, top-notch theatre. Read more…
David C. Nichols – LA Times
Noteworthy intent permeates Bad Apples in its Circle X Theatre Company premiere. Jim Leonard, Rob Cairns and Beth Thornley’s surreal take on Baghdad’s infamous military prison is nothing if not original. Read more…