OBAMA-OLOGY at the Skylight Theatre

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Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main Obama-ology, written by Aurin Squire, takes place in 2008 and revolves around a youthful volunteer for the Obama campaign and the life education he receives from his senior colleagues and the folks in the community where he’s working. Read more… Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw Despite the title, Aurin Squire’s … Read more

ONE OF THE NICE ONES – Echo Theatre Company at Atwater Village Theatre

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Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Not all sociopaths reach for a gun. Some people appear normal until one day an event triggers their rage and they go off the deep end. A few of these individuals turn violent, but others, like Tracy (Rebecca Gray), the loose-lipped but (deceptively) harmless-looking woman at the core of Erik … Read more

RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

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Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw This high-spirited biopic of musical entrepreneur John Dolphin (Stu James) is part juke-box musical, part music history, and part a recreation of past performers and their hits.  For those of us old enough to remember the songs and events, it’s a trip down memory lane. Read more… Now running through August 7

GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

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Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw One of the definitions of “meta-theatrical” is a theatre piece that constantly reminds the audience that they’re watching a play — one which comments on theatre in general. One famous example of this technique is Our Town, where the Stage Manager — not the narrator, mind you, but explicitly the Stage … Read more

right left with heels at City Garage at Bergamot Station

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Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly In the fantastical right left with heels, Polish playwright Sebastian Majewski reflects on grim historical events as observed by a pair of shoes once owned by the wife of Joseph Goebbels. Black high-heel pumps with “attitude” they reek of tart sexuality and a sense of privilege. Read more… Now running through … Read more

GREY GARDENS at the Ahmanson Theatre

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Jonas Schwartz –  TheaterMania Grey Gardens, based on the 1975 cult classic documentary, is a gem of a one-act musical. Unfortunately, there are two acts. In wanting to flesh out the characters who were captured in the film, book author Doug Wright, composer Scott Frankel, and lyricist Michael Korie focus the entire first act on … Read more

THE HILLARY GAME at The Other Space at the Actors Company

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Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw I was perplexed by the title The Hillary Game, so I googled it, and got some odd results: There was a Slap Hillary Game, a Kill Hillary Game, and several other violent games attacking Ms. Clinton, and provided by vindictive GOP PACs, and other oddities, none of them helpful. Guy Zimmerman’s … Read more