Terry Morgan – Stage Raw It’s been a familiar gambit for some time for actors to take a famous play and turn it into a one-person show ‑ essaying all the roles to display his or her virtuosity — but I’d never heard of the reverse being done until now. Read more… Dany Margolies – The … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw This lightweight comedy, largely about legacy, by TV veteran and former sportscaster Ken Levine revolves around the hopes and fears of four L.A. sportswriters who are covering a baseball game that’s gone into extra innings. Read more… Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA The sitcom originated in the early days of … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze It’s a shame to reveal how “he Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare)T” gets recounted, but it seems impossible to write about it without divulging the basis for this genius concept. Read more… Now running through November 6
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw William Wycherley’s The Country Wife premiered in 1675. Charles II had then been on the throne for 15 years and his libertine court was in full swing. Wycherley’s play about a womanizing trickster who pretends to be a eunuch so he might go around seducing married women without provoking their husband’s suspicions … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw We’ve been besieged of late by a plethora of juke-box musicals, but the production company For the Record has put a new spin on it. They bring us a soundtrack musical, whose score is derived from the soundtracks of movies by major directors. In the past they’ve paid tribute to … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw Adam Mervis’s romantic satire, set amongst a group of youngish Los Angelinos, is caparisoned with many of the bells and whistles of the millennial generation: Mentions of Tinder and Bumble, ipads, video games, and bitcoin abound, as well as the (quite narratively irrelevant) spiritual presence of the actress Natalie Portman, … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Siamese Sex Show is one of those offbeat musicals where it doesn’t seem to matter that one or two plot threads are a little hard to follow. The choreography by April Thomas is so exuberant, the costumes by Michael Mullen are so fanciful, and the story and spectacle so deliciously … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw In 1958, 18-year old Shelagh Delaney saw a production of Terrence Rattigan’s play Variations on a Theme, and was appalled by what she saw. The play had a reputation for boldness in tackling hot-button issues — it dealt with homosexuality, promiscuity, and bisexuality — but in Delaney’s view it was … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze It’s likely you already know the Old Testament story of Jacob and his favorite son, Joseph. So, for you, the pleasure is in the way “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” tells its tale, in musical theater form, this time by 3–D Theatricals. Read more… Now running through October 23
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw The most painful duty of a critic is watching a group of very talented people knock themselves out in support of a project that simply doesn’t work. One has some idea of the level of effort that goes into such an ambitious endeavor, and it’s no fun to proclaim the … Read more