Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Tony Abatemarco’s play Forever House, about a gay couple who purchase a home and then struggle to make a go of their partnership, is something of a hybrid. In some places it’s an airy situation comedy that drifts into horror-lite…… Read more… Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw For Jack and Ben (Michael Rubenstone, … Read more
Bob Verini – Variety The stunningly appointed “Empire The Musical,” world premiering at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (and no relation to the hit Fox series), gains strength from the entire company’s shared desire to erect the unprecedentedly tall Empire State Building, in stubborn defiance of the Great Depression. Alas, authors Caroline Sherman and Robert … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw …James Lecesne conjures up a community in his a guest production in a brief run at the Kirk Douglas after a successful New York run, winning this year’s United Solo Special Award. Read more… Now running through January 31.
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw …Will Eno’s acclaimed Thom Pain (based on nothing) arrives in Los Angeles after a decade of playing virtually everywhere else. Read more… Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Thom Pain is antagonistic toward his audience. He shouts at them, starts tangents that he suddenly drops, draws seemingly interminable pauses, and rambles on about stories that lead … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Instead of seeming dated, Lorraine Hansberry’s classic 1959 two-act “A Raisin in the Sun” is more burnished than ever. Read more… Now running through February 13.
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Playwright Ira Levin’s Deathtrap became the longest-running thriller in Broadway history, playing for nearly four years — topped only by the London production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, which seems destined to run forever. And Levin’s other works are not to be sneezed at: they include such trifles as Rosemary’s Baby, A Kiss Before Dying, The … Read more
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA A chilling stage adaptation of Orwell’s novel 1984 is now playing at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica through February 6. This adaptation, written and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, highlights today’s serious issues of state-sponsored surveillance, identity and intrusions into our privacy. Read more… Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Another day, … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw The charm of Sandra Tsing Loh — or of any successful comedian and satirist for that matter — lies in the ability to transform commonplace yet intensely private experiences into performance material that is entertaining, enlightening and, for some viewers perhaps, cathartic. Read more… Now running through January 24.
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA The U.S. premiering Act 3 is the story of a couple of a certain age who have been together for nearly 13 years without benefit of marriage. They have been married before, but not to each other. Things are getting monotonous and stale, so something needs to happen to liven up … Read more
David C. Nichols – LA Times Vintage nightclub artistry ignites palpable frissons around the Geffen Playhouse, where “Louis & Keely: ‘Live’ at the Sahara” has sailed back in triumph. Read more… Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw A hit at Sacred Fools back in 2008, Louis & Keely: ‘Live’ at the Sahara proved to have legs; it’s been picked up and … Read more