Euripides’ Helen, by adapted by Nick Salamone. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA Nick Salamone is most gracious in crediting Euripides as the writer here, merely listing himself as adaptor. He has riffed on the Greek tragicomedy original, working with historical plot and characters but blending in elements of Hollywood movie musicals and characters from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Read more… Pauline Adamek – LA … Read more
Natalie Portman, the Musical! Book and lyrics by Brittany Garms, music by Frankie Marrone and Tara Pitt. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA “What were they thinking?”That’s the polite form of the question critics ask rhetorically when theater productions don’t work. Fortunately regarding this production, the answer is apparent from start to finish. Unfortunately another question hangs over it. “What’s missing?” we wonder. What is … Read more
Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA The quality of this production is undoubtable. Much thought and skill and time have gone into the onstage product. But whether director Terri Hanauer and her duet of fine actors ring all the possible tones in Donald Margulies’s script is another think. Read more…
Silence! The Musical by Jon and Al Kaplan (music and lyrics) and Hunter Bell (book). David C. Nichols — Backstage The impending Book of Mormonnotwithstanding, it’s unlikely that Angelenos will see anything more scabrous or ham’s-holiday funny than Silence! The Musical at the Hayworth Theatre. This “unauthorized parody” of the Oscar-winning thriller is receiving a take-no-prisoners L.A. premiere and in the process decimates its source and … Read more
Focus Group Play by Carrie Barrett. David C. Nichols — L.A. Times The working title says it all in Focus Group Play. Carrie Barrett’s dark-tinged satire of nutritional marketing research gone awry skewers corporate product testing with agreeable, albeit predigested gusto. Read more…
The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, adapted by Dave Barton. Mayank Keshaviah – LA Weekly In pre-19th century plays, the language, culture and norms are far enough removed from their modern equivalents that only proper adaptation and direction foster true understanding. With Middleton and Rowley’s Jacobean tragedy, Dave Barton, who handles both, does a serviceable job in terms of comprehensibility, but the effect … Read more
Ghost Writer by Michael Hollinger. Shirl Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers When the news got out several months ago, a big smile crept across my face. International City Theatre is planning to produce the West Coast premiere of GhostWriter by playwright Michael Hollinger.” Having seen the Fountain Theatre’soutstanding production of Opus, which was extended several times; I was anxious to experience another work by its … Read more
The Para Abnormals by Thomas J. Misuraca. Pauline Adamek – LA Weekly A trio of paranormal investigators has several close encounters with menacing spirits in The Para Abnormals, Thomas J. Misuraca’scomedy thriller now playing at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre in NoHo. Just the opening moments of this little low-budget supernatural chiller manages to offer far more effective shivers and scares than … Read more
The Elephant Room created by Trey Lyford, Geoff Sobelle and Steve Cuiffo. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA A creepy trio of lounge lizard magicians, sporting pedophile moustaches, cheesy outfits, hideous wigs and (in one case) false buck teeth, are the “protagonists” of a spoofy “play” called The Elephant Room, now playing at the Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City. But it’s not really a … Read more
The Blue Iris by Athol Fugard. David C. Nichols – Backstage In The Blue Iris, prolific South African playwright Athol Fugard treads delicately yet resolutely through the landscape of the heart. In doing so, the venerable 80-year-old dramatist cannot help clutching at ours, as this riveting U.S. premiere demonstrates. Read more… Sharon Perlmutter – TalkinBroadway.com It’s hard to know exactly what to make … Read more