Don Shirley – LA Observed Watts Village Theater Company is observing the 50th anniversary of its community’s most famous historical moment with “Riot/Rebellion,” an ensemble-driven documentary-style production.
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA When Stars Align is a novel by Carole Eglash-Kosoff, chronicling conflicts between advantaged whites and black slaves in the Civil War–era South. Now adapted into a play (by the author, with co-writer and director John Henry Davis) spanning many years, it blends history with the story of young black Thaddeus … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Traumas from our childhood frequently haunt us for the rest of our lives. In her uneven family melodrama, writer/director Kimberly Demmary writes about three half-sisters, scarred by the cruel and random behavior of their manipulative mother. Read more… Now running through Sept. 19.
Don Shirley – LA Observed Alfresco theater is one of the best features of an LA summer, yet the big LA media usually ignore it. Charles McNulty, the LA Times theater critic for nearly a decade, wrote an essay last week about ensemble acting in three of LA’s tiny indoor stages, but he has never … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Rick Segall’s epic solo-drama focuses on the last hours of Jesus’ disciple, Simon Peter, later canonized as St. Peter. Condemned to death for refusing to reject Jesus and accept the Roman emperor as a living god, he spends his last night sharing a cell with Marcus Attilius Regulus, a former … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw There are several hearty laughs to be had as the credits roll on Peter Lefcourt’s clichéd comedy, which is set in a West L.A. Starbucks where a homegrown terrorist is holding people hostage. Read more… Margaret Gray – LA Times One unintended consequence of the communications age is the increased difficulty … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw In the 4th century B.C., a villainous thug, Herostratus, set fire to the tomb of Artemis. His reason? He had been a nonentity his entire life, and by committing this crime, he knew he would be remembered. Of course, the Greek judges, in their wisdom, executed him, and passed a law … Read more
Bob Verini – Variety Playwright Ken Ludwig’s work thrives at regional theaters coast to coast, despite only intermittent New York appearances since 1989’s “Lend Me a Tenor” and his 1992 book for “Crazy For You.” His latest entertaining outing get its West Coast premiere at the Old Globe with a title announced in the program as … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly August Wilson’s plays are as much about the historical experience of African-Americans as they are about any one of his characters. This is certainly true of Fences, which begins in 1957, a year marked by federal troops on the ground in Arkansas and the forced desegregation of Little Rock Central High … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw It’s a little difficult to get a fix on writer-performer John Posey’s solo show Father, Son & Holy Coach, which first premiered in 1993 at The Santa Monica Playhouse. Is it a true story? Is it about a real person? No and yes (I think). Although voicing numerous characters throughout the … Read more