Water for Elephants @ HOLLYWOOD PANTAGES

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Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre Bites Podcast 7.5 out of 10! Above Average! Listen here… Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA The musical identity of this production provides its truest soul. The score is the single finest element of the entire magical production, infused with a rich bluegrass and early roots-Americana that evokes a haunting weather-beaten … Read more

Devils in America @ ZOMBIE JOE’S UNDERGROUND

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  Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA In an era where so much theatre has grown safe, polite, and overly cautious, this true counter-culture teat arrives like a brick through a stained-glass window–and Zombie Joe’s provides the quintessential intimate crucible for Michael Sargent’s outrageous brand of over-the-top and dangerous comedy. Read more…

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom @ A NOISE WITHIN

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  Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive A Noise Within’s production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is ANW’s seventh mounting since 2019 of August Wilson’s 10 “American Century Cycle” plays, directed by Gregg T. Daniel, and in my humble opinion, it is the best one I’ve seen so far. Wilson’s wide ranging decalogue of dramas about … Read more

Conscience @ INTERNATIONAL CITY THEATRE

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  Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive In playwright Joe DiPietro’s Conscience the hero – or rather, heroine – is a real-life historical figure who truly did do something rather heroic: Senator Margaret Chase Smith (Sharon Gardner). Maine and senators have been much in the news lately, but in 1950 Smith was the only woman serving … Read more

Pericles @ BOSTON COURT PASADENA

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  Edward Hong – The Nerds Of Color Despite a mighty and delightful ensemble cast, the Play On Shakespeare‘s modern verse translation of William Shakespeare‘s Pericles at Boston Court Pasadena is a bit of a head-scratcher. By attempting to fuse modern dialogue with Shakespearean language, it creates an off-putting rhythm that isn’t helped by the direction’s contrived ‘play within a play’ … Read more

Green Corridors @ CITY GARAGE THEATRE

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  Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Few theatres in SoCal engage with global socio-political urgencies as relentlessly or uncompromisingly as City Garage. With their West Coast premiere of this Ukranian drama by Natalka Vorozhbyt, artistic director Frédérique Michel brings a devastating and timely piece of contemporary theatre to Santa Monica. Translated with razor-sharp precision, the … Read more

Enemy of the People @ ODYSSEY THEATRE ENSEMBLE

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  Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive …in his unyielding crusade to warn his neighbors about the dangers of the “healing” H2O, Tom reveals himself to be quirky and self-righteous. In doing so, he undermines his cause, taking the spotlight off the urgent issue on hand, and putting the focus on his own erratic self instead. … Read more