And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Melinda Schupmann – ArtsInLA.com Many consider Dame Agatha Christie the finest mystery writer of all time. Whether you agree, it can certainly be said that her work And Then There Were None has been one of the most successful play adaptations from a mystery novel to date. A clever … Read more
You Can’t Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA.comThe family at the heart of this George S. Kaufman–Moss Hart play is so cheerful, non-critical, and forgiving, it’s obviously sheer fantasy. It’s certainly unusual on stages so often filled with alcoholism, abuse, manipulation, and self-loathing. The Vanderhofs and Sycamores and their hangers-on live for … Read more
The Turn of the Screw by Jeffrey Hatcher. Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA.com To attend this production, one should be able to see in the dark. To best enjoy this production, one should probably be at least a little afraid of the dark. Read more…
Creation by Kathryn Walat. Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA.comThe premise is promising, but the sum of this Kathryn Walatscript feels unoriginal and uninspiring. However, it gets much tender care from director Michael Michetti and his design team, and the quartet of actors steps up in all seriousness to deliver lines that might flop from the mouths of lesser performers. Read more…
Mad Women by John Fleck and Catch 23: Broken Negatives by Karen Finley Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers It all happened twenty-two years ago, but people are still buzzing about the notorious case of the “NEA 4.” To be more precise: Due to pressure in 1990 from Jesse Helms, Dana Rohrabacher, and the religious-right, grants already given to Karen Finley, John … Read more
Fraternity by Jeff Stetson. Pauline Adamek – LA Weekly Jeff Stetson’s all-male political drama Fraternity, written 25 years ago, has a prescient power to it. Set in Birmingham, Ala., the storyline presents a prosperous group of black men, members of a private gentleman’s club, and the tragic history that shaped each of their lives. A shocking bombing of the … Read more
Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Samuel Beckett’s melancholy one man, one act play is being performed superbly by John Hurt in his first appearance on a Los Angeles stage, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, in a production imported from the Gate Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Much like Clint Eastwood waited until he was sufficiently old and grizzled enough to play the … Read more
November by David Mamet. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA David Mamet’s grubby and farcical political play November, now playing at the Mark Taper Forum Downtown, is a riot of foul language and racial epithets, all tumbling from the mouth of the President of the United States, as daffily portrayed by Ed Begley Jr. Read more… David C. Nichols – Backstage It’s a week before Election … Read more
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA.com Apparently this Shakespeareplay doesn’t need to be performed on the steps of a real-life city hall to impress. Here, a chamber version captures the story’s expanse while feeling immediate, near, and unfortunately modern. Add in the casting of women in traditionally male roles, modern-day business attire, and non-declamatory performances, … Read more
Cymbeline by William Shakespeare. Terry Morgan – LAist.com There are two primary reasons Shakespeare lovers should go see the new production of Cymbeline at A Noise Within. The first is that the play is rarely produced, and here’s an opportunity to experience it as done by one of the best classics-based theatre companies in town. The second reason is that one will … Read more