Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Adam Szymkowicz’s noir comedy is set in a place of his invention — the clown underworld. Here the clowns are not those funny, entertaining party creatures but criminals with damaged psyches. Sure, there are red noses, silly wigs, painted faces and colorful costumes, but that’s almost as far as the … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw While it probably isn’t quite accurate to say that performer Salome Jens saved my life, I prefer to believe that it’s true. After an evening and morning of obliterative obsession, attending her one-woman show about Anne Sexton didn’t seem like the most propitious choice under the circumstances, but I already … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw English Professor Vivian Bearing, Ph.D. (Kelly Carlton), the central figure in Margaret Edson’s clever and provocative play, has won distinction in the academic world for her masterly critical edition of John Donne’s Religious Sonnets, but scholarship and fame can’t protect her from the ravages of terminal ovarian cancer. Read more… Running indefinitely
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly It’s easy to understand why solo performer Chris Lemmon wants to pay homage to his famous father Jack. Celebrity aside, the parent-child bond is a powerful one. Watching and listening to Jack Lemmon Returns at the Broad Stage, I could almost feel the presence of my own irreplaceable dad, who passed from … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times Remember the scene in “Gone With the Wind” when Scarlett fries latkes for a Hanukkah party at Tara? No? Right, there wasn’t such a scene. American Civil War sagas seldom reflect a Jewish perspective. Read more… Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man is reputed to be one of … Read more
Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly This year was a noisy and divisive one in local theater, punctuated with threats, real and imagined — from sources allegedly ranging from the IRS to the state’s Labor & Workforce Development Agency to the stage actors and stage managers’ union (Actors’ Equity Association) — to disembowel L.A.’s long-standing … Read more
Don Shirley – LA Observed I don’t believe in year-end Top 10 lists, especially if the components are listed in order of best to, say, tenth best. Why is it necessary to draw such distinctions between creations with very different goals and styles? Are apples really better than oranges — or is it vice versa?
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Joe Marshall’s zany farce zeros in on the inept and sometimes disastrous efforts of a small gay theatre company to present a Christmas pageant. The characters include the playwright Rod (Skip Pipo), who specializes in pirating the plots of better writers, the New York director Margie (Moremi Okoroh), who takes … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw If you’re an American woman, chances are that at some point in your life you’ve struggled against the onslaught of media images aimed at persuading you that beauty-wise, you just don’t measure up. Read more… Now running through May 10.
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Raditatical is one of those superb amalgams of music, dance and visuals whose sum eludes description. Introduced as “a journey in rhythm,” and conceived and co-directed by Bronkar Lee and Ameenah Kaplan, this family-friendly show features juggler-beatboxing impresario Lee, and five other remarkably gifted musical performers. Read more… Now running through … Read more