Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania A Christmas Carol is perfect fare for the holidays. It captures the importance of giving, sharing with loved ones, and reevaluating past choices. A Noise Within‘s co-producing artistic director Geoff Elliott has created his own adaptation, which has been performed at the theater for the last six years.Read more…
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw A couple of years ago, looking to do a piece on socioeconomic disparity, Dan Froot & Company conducted a series of interviews with families suffering from food insecurity. From these interviews — in Los Angeles, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Miami — came three short pieces, designed as radio plays but … Read more
Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Just in time for the holidays, the rambunctious, crowd-pleasing national tour of Something Rotten! has opened at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre. This original musical, which ran for nearly two years on Broadway and was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, is a rare show that is equally enjoyable … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Both a gentle parody of the celebrity Christmas specials that ran on network television in the ’60s and ’70s, and a poignant memory play, is a goofy, spirited, lark running at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.Read more… Now running through December
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze It takes guts, or gleeful insanity, to tackle the three pillars of civilization: the Judeo-Christian Bible, Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and audition songs. Whatever the motivation, Phil Swann and Ron West do exactly that in “deLEARious,” Open Fist Theatre Company’s revival of its 2008 production, playing through Dec. 16 in … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze The individual elements may be among the best, but that’s not always sufficient to construct a worthy piece of theater. Take, for example, “Chasing Mem’ries,” subtitled “A Different Kind of Musical,” in its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse through Dec. 17. It boasts lyrics by Alan and Marilyn … Read more
Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw Director Linda Kerns and a spirited cast do an excellent job with this old “chestnut” by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. It’s rarely produced and tricky to stage successfully because of its dizzying carousel of characters and dated strain of humor. This production is a welcome addition to … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main In Yerma in the Desert, the desert is less an external place than the state of mind of the title character. Written by Oliver Mayer, the play is inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1934 classic Yerma, whose central character, the wife of a shepherd, is childless and unhappy.Read more… Now running … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze It’s Dec. 16 in the New Jersey home of Lou and Carol. Their daughter Pia has grown into a foul-mouthed, somewhat Goth adult, his younger sister Mona gets on his nerves, and Carol is just too amenable.Read more… Now running through December 11
Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw When thinking about prolific composer Stephen Sondheim’s canon, it’s easy to forget about A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It’s one of his early works, overshadowed by later shows like Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Company. But the easiest way to differentiate it is through its utter lack of … Read more