Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Constellations, the character piece by Nick Payne that is now playing in a new production at the Geffen Playhouse, requires a talented cast to succeed. The expansive themes of love in an ever-expanding cosmos, the jarring sequencing of the moments, and their repetition could turn audiences off quickly. Read more… Erin … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw Playwright Boni B. Alvarez cunningly adapts Anton Chekhov’s 19th century drama “Ivanov,” shifting the setting from the Russian provinces to California’s own land of internal exile (that is, if you’re a gay man of a certain age), Palm Springs. Read more… Now running through July 1
Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw A few minutes into her autobiographical show, acclaimed transgender artist Alexandra Billings plops down on a stool center stage, and in an easy conversational tone tells her audience fifteen things about herself. Among these are that she has AIDS, is a recovering heroin addict, was a prostitute for six … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In Archipelago, Caridad Svinch spins a love story about a man and a woman from two different cultures, and sets it against a backdrop of war and apocalyptic upheaval. Director Barbara Kallir oversees an attractive and imaginative staging, but the vagueness of the play’s dramatic events and the absence of detail in … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Director Glenn Casale helms a masterful production of one of Broadway’s greatest musicals. Man of La Mancha is a triumph of visuals and vocal talents. Sharing the stage with a gifted ensemble, Davis Gaines astonishes as the mad but pure Don Quixote. Read more…
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw In addition to challenging the Stage Raw copy editing department with a title that uses one of those squiggly math signals, playwright Jonas Hassen Khemeri’s powerful drama embraces such a multitude of themes that it’s hard to adequately sum them up. One thing’s for sure, though: Donald Trump would hate … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way The composing team of Benji Pasek and Justin Paul are very hot right now having just won an Academy Award for their song in the film La La Land. Read more… Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This new musical, with book by Peter Duchan and music and lyrics by the team … Read more
Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Before Hamilton came along, there was another modern musical that took the world by storm, achieving rare crossover appeal with both theater and mainstream audiences and earning a place in the pop culture zeitgeist. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way Joseph Smith. Angel Moroni. Nephites. Lamanites. Brigham Young. Golden … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw The title of Georgette Kelly’s play is both literal and figurative. On the literal level, it’s about a heart transplant and its emotional ramifications for the families of both the recipient and the donor. On the philosophical level, it has multiple implications: It refers to a mother’s feelings for her … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw It’s kind of amazing that a major play by Lorraine Hansberry is just having its Los Angeles premiere now. Perhaps the tide of criticism that caused the play to close after one month on Broadway in 1970 tainted its reputation in some way, or its need for a 24-member cast … Read more